Couchbase Announces Appointment of BJ Schaknowski as CEO and Amir Jafari as CFO

Rhea-AI Summary

Couchbase (NASDAQ:BASE), a developer data platform company, has announced significant leadership changes with the appointment of BJ Schaknowski as CEO and Amir Jafari as CFO, effective immediately. Schaknowski, who succeeds Matt Cain, brings over 20 years of software industry experience, most recently serving as CEO at symplr where he tripled the business size and launched an innovative healthcare operations platform.

The new CEO's background includes leadership roles at Vertafore, LexisNexis Software Solutions, CA Technologies, Intuit, and Sage Software. Jafari joins from Blend Labs, where he served as CFO and Head of Finance & Operations, bringing expertise in scaling technology companies through public and private growth stages.

Positive

• None.

Negative

• Sudden departure of previous CEO Matt Cain who held multiple key positions (Chair, President, CEO)
• Potential disruption in company strategy and operations during leadership transition

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 29. 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Couchbase, Inc. ("Couchbase"), the developer data platform for critical applications in our AI world, today announced that it has appointed BJ Schaknowski as the company's new Chief Executive Officer and Amir Jafari as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Schaknowski succeeds Matt Cain who is stepping down as Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Schaknowski is a seasoned software industry executive with more than 20 years of experience in various leadership roles. Most recently he served as the Chief Executive Officer at symplr where he launched the first non-clinical integrated Operations Platform to the U.S. healthcare industry, and more than tripled the size of the business during his tenure. Prior to symplr, Mr. Schaknowski served as the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Vertafore, the world's leading provider of insurance technology. He has also held numerous global senior leadership roles earlier in his career at LexisNexis Software Solutions, CA Technologies, Intuit, and Sage Software. Mr. Schaknowski also served in the United States Marine Corps.

Mr. Jafari has demonstrated success in scaling technology companies through public and private growth stages and joins Couchbase from Blend Labs, where he most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Finance & Operations. Prior to Blend, Mr. Jafari held Chief Financial Officer roles at multiple companies, as well as in finance and product leadership roles at ServiceNow. Mr. Jafari brings deep expertise in financial transformation, operational excellence, and aligning strategy with execution to his new role as CFO of Couchbase.

"I would like to extend my gratitude to Matt Cain for his outstanding leadership and lasting contributions to Couchbase. His vision and dedication have been instrumental in driving continuous growth, developing industry-leading solutions, and establishing Couchbase as a market leader," said Sumit Pande, Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments. "As we enter an exciting new chapter, I am energized by the opportunity to partner with BJ and Amir with the aim to accelerate Couchbase's next phase of growth and success. We are committed to continued investment in the product and technology to help ensure Couchbase is the data platform of choice for our customers' AI application needs."

"It's an honor to join Couchbase at such a transformative moment in its journey," said Mr. Schaknowski. "As a market leader in modern databases with demonstrated excellence in high performance and generative AI use cases, I believe Couchbase is uniquely positioned to lead the future of data-driven innovation. I'm excited to collaborate with our customers, partners, and exceptional team to accelerate our vision and unlock new opportunities for Couchbase."

"I'm incredibly excited to join Couchbase and its experienced team as we endeavor to scale our impact, drive operational excellence, and spark innovation that delivers transformative value to our customers worldwide," added Mr. Jafari.

About Couchbase
As industries race to embrace AI, traditional database solutions fall short of rising demands for versatility, performance and affordability. Couchbase is seizing the opportunity to lead with Capella, the developer data platform architected for critical applications in our AI world. By uniting transactional, analytical, mobile and AI workloads into a seamless, fully managed solution, Couchbase empowers developers and enterprises to build and scale applications and AI agents with confidence – delivering exceptional performance, scalability and cost-efficiency from cloud to edge and everything in between. Couchbase enables organizations to unlock innovation, accelerate AI transformation and redefine customer experiences wherever they happen. Discover why Couchbase is the foundation of critical everyday applications by visiting www.couchbase.com and following us on LinkedIn and X.

Couchbase®, the Couchbase logo and the names and marks associated with Couchbase's products are trademarks of Couchbase, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Haveli Investments
Haveli Investments is an Austin-based private equity firm that seeks to invest in the highest quality companies in the technology sector through control, minority or structured equity and debt investments with a focus on software, data, gaming and adjacent industries. The firm seeks to partner with innovative companies, entrepreneurs and management teams throughout a company's life cycle. Haveli's experienced team of investors and diverse industry experts will provide operational and strategic support, enabling portfolio companies to focus on driving innovation and increasing growth, scale and operating margins. Underscoring Haveli's investments is an unwavering focus on a culture of inclusivity and sustainability. For more information, please visit www.haveliinvestments.com, or follow Haveli on LinkedIn, @Haveli Investments.

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SOURCE Couchbase, Inc.

FAQ

Who is the new CEO of Couchbase (BASE)?

BJ Schaknowski has been appointed as the new CEO of Couchbase, bringing over 20 years of software industry experience. He previously served as CEO at symplr where he tripled the business size.

Why did Matt Cain step down as Couchbase CEO?

The press release does not specify the reason for Matt Cain's departure from his positions as Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Couchbase.

What is Amir Jafari's background as Couchbase's new CFO?

Amir Jafari previously served as CFO and Head of Finance & Operations at Blend Labs, and has held CFO roles at multiple companies. He brings expertise in financial transformation and scaling technology companies through public and private growth stages.

What are BJ Schaknowski's previous leadership experiences?

Before joining Couchbase, Schaknowski was CEO at symplr, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Vertafore, and held senior leadership roles at LexisNexis Software Solutions, CA Technologies, Intuit, and Sage Software. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.

How will the new leadership affect Couchbase's AI strategy?

According to the announcement, Couchbase will maintain its focus on being the data platform of choice for AI application needs, with continued investment in product and technology development under the new leadership.