Joel Hellermark has assumed the role of Chief AI Officer at Workday while continuing to lead Sana, marking a significant step in Workday’s strategy to expand its enterprise AI capabilities.
Announcing the move, Hellermark described it as a “refounding moment” for Workday as the company accelerates its transition from traditional software solutions to AI-powered work execution. The vision centers on intelligent AI agents capable of managing and automating functions across HR, finance and IT operations.
In his new position, Hellermark will focus on advancing AI for work and shaping Workday’s long-term enterprise AI strategy. He also highlighted the strength of the company’s leadership, product, engineering, research and design teams as key drivers of future innovation.
Before taking on the expanded role, Hellermark spent nearly a decade building Sana as Founder and CEO. Under his leadership, Sana developed AI-powered solutions that transformed how organizations learn, search for information and automate workplace tasks. The company emerged as one of Europe’s leading AI startups before being acquired by Workday in 2025 in a deal reportedly valued at approximately $1.1 billion.
Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Hellermark played a major role in advancing enterprise AI applications focused on workplace productivity, knowledge management and intelligent automation.
Beyond his operational leadership responsibilities, Hellermark has also established himself as an active investor in the global AI ecosystem. He has backed several emerging AI startups, including Lovable, Legora and Clay.
His investment portfolio also includes companies such as viktor.com, CuspAI and Tandem Health. In addition, he has supported ventures including Odyssey, Omnea and Galileo AI.
The appointment underscores Workday’s growing focus on enterprise AI and intelligent agents as organizations increasingly seek automation tools capable of improving productivity, decision-making and operational efficiency.
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