Snowflake, the cloud software company, has announced the retirement of its CEO, Frank Slootman, who took the company public in 2020. The stock plummeted by 24% in extended trading following the news. Slootman, 65, will be succeeded by former Google ad chief Sridhar Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy, 57, brings with him a wealth of experience, having spent 15 years at Google, where he led the ads and commerce business until 2018. He then co-founded Neeva, a consumer search engine, which was later acquired by Snowflake in June for $185 million.

The announcement of Slootman’s retirement came alongside Snowflake’s fourth-quarter financial results. The company reported a 32% year-over-year increase in sales to $774.7 million, with product revenue for the fourth quarter reaching $738.1 million, a 33% increase from the previous year. However, operating losses for the quarter amounted to $275.5 million, up from $239.8 million in the previous year.

Looking ahead, Snowflake provided guidance for the first quarter, stating that product revenue is expected to be between $745 million and $750 million, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $759 million. Additionally, the company projected an adjusted operating margin of 3%, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 7.2%.

Slootman’s total compensation in 2023 totaled $23.7 million, primarily from stock and option awards. As of February 9, he owned 10.6 million Snowflake shares.

The market’s reaction to Slootman’s retirement and the company’s financial results underscores the significance of these developments for Snowflake’s future trajectory. The appointment of Ramaswamy as the new CEO signals a new phase of growth and opportunity for the company, particularly in the realms of AI and machine learning.