DevOps company GitLab Inc. today said Chief Executive Officer Sid Sijbrandij is stepping down from his role with immediate effect, replaced by technology industry veteran Bill Staples.

Sijbrandij (pictured), who revealed six months ago that he’s undergoing treatment for cancer, is stepping down so he can focus on his health, the company said.

The revelation came as GitLab delivered third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company’s stock was up more than 7% in after-hours trading.

Staples, 48, has plenty of experience in leadership roles, having most recently served as CEO of New Relic Inc. from May 2021 until November 2023, when he stepped down shortly after the company went private. Prior to that, he held senior executive positions at Microsoft Corp. and Adobe Inc.

GitLab said Staples will receive a base salary of $600,000 and be eligible for bonuses equal to that amount, subject to the company’s future performance. He’ll also receive stock awards worth about $24 million.

Sijbrandij, who will take on the role of executive chairman of the board of directors at GitLab, said he’s leaving the day-to-day running of the company to Staples so he can focus on making a full recovery. Last July, he revealed that he is undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma, which is a form of bone cancer. He said today he’s optimistic of making a full recovery, noting that the cancer is not metastatic.

The transition may put an end to any ongoing rumors regarding the future of GitLab. In the summer, reports emerged claiming that the company was exploring the possibility of a sale, with the observability firm Datadog Inc. named as a potential suitor. At the time, analysts said Sijbrandij’s uncertain health was likely one of the main factors causing GitLab’s board to consider such an option.

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said executive transitions are never easy, especially when a new CEO arrives, but in GitLab’s case it seems to have made a solid choice in Staples (pictured, adjacent).

“Bill Staples has already engineered a successful turnaround at New Relic, and with that under his belt it’s clear that GitLab’s board of directors wanted an experienced operator at the helm for the next phase of its growth,” the analyst said. “And that’s exactly what they’re getting.”

Investors are likely to be encouraged that the company is in steady hands with Staples in charge, and its latest financial results seem to have boosted that sense of optimism. In its report, it posted earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of 23 cents per share on revenue of $196 million, up by an impressive 31% year-over-year.

Those numbers came in well ahead of expectations, with analysts looking for earnings of just 16 cents per share on sales of $187.9 million. GitLab also boosted its bottom line, reporting a net profit of $28.3 million, up from a loss of $286.4 million one year earlier.

Sijbrandij said the results reflect strong momentum for the platform-based approach to software development that GitLab enables.

Looking to the fourth quarter, the company is forecasting earnings of between 22 and 23 cents per share on sales of $205 million to $206 million. Those numbers will further reassure investors, coming in ahead of the Street’s consensus estimate of 14 cents per share and $204.4 million.

Featured photo: SiliconANGLE