Barbry McGann, senior VP and managing director at Workday Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.
Barbry McGann’s extensive experience in product management and strategy at PeopleSoft, Oracle and ultimately Workday made her a perfect fit when Workday was looking to hire for its ventures team. Workday founder and CEO Aneel Bhusri emphasised the importance of having operator experience to be a successful investor in technology, and McGann’s background in these leading companies aligned perfectly with this vision.
Since 2021, McGann has served as senior vice president and managing director of Workday Ventures. Founded in 2018, the $500m fund is dedicated to accelerating the growth of emerging enterprise software companies. As a strategic corporate venture capital unit, McGann’s team of five is evaluated based on how well its investments evolve into partnerships that drive opportunities and revenue, ultimately enhancing the value of Workday’s applications for customers.
The team is structured around the key buyer segments that Workday serves. For instance, McGann focuses on chief human resources officers, while a colleague covers chief financial officers. Together, they also manage relationships with chief information officers. This strategic division fosters strong networks and relationships, boosting the internal recognition and value of the ventures team.
“We do not sell secondaries or exit out. We remain committed to our portfolio companies through either acquisition or IPO.”
Workday Ventures manages a portfolio of 53 companies, viewing these as long-term partnerships. “We do not sell secondaries or exit out. We remain committed to our portfolio companies through either acquisition or IPO,” says McGann.
One notable success for Workday Ventures is its 2019 investment in the online coaching platform BetterUp. The partnership has resulted in more than 300 joint customers and an expanded integration was announced in 2024, with BetterUp leveraging insights from Workday’s Peakon survey tool to improve coaching outcomes. Another success is the $250m investment in Paradox AI in 2021, a conversational recruiting software. This investment has paid off, with Paradox achieving Workday certified integration status in 2023.
Looking ahead, Workday Ventures plans to focus on AI in areas such as agentic tooling, digital worker identity and authorisation, and agentic platforms.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
