Barbry McGann, SVP and managing director at Workday Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Since 2021, Barbry McGann has served as senior vice-president and managing director of Workday Ventures, Workday’s $500 million strategic investment arm focused on what’s next in the future of work. The venture fund has more than doubled in size since 2023 and now backs 80+ early-stage enterprise software startups at the intersection of AI, automation and the future of work.
Workday Ventures is tightly woven into Workday’s AI platform for managing people, money and agents.
McGann’s team invests in founders building transformative technologies, such as AI agents, automation, orchestration and security that are not just additive but foundational to how people work. Success is measured by impact, not just returns, and how the team turns investments into strategic partnerships that deliver real customer outcomes and new product and revenue opportunities for Workday.
To stay close to customers, the team is organised around Workday’s key buyer segments—the CHRO, CFO, and CIO—so each function has a venture partner who understands its priorities and can translate startup innovation into trusted, enterprise-ready solutions. This model has fueled meaningful outcomes, including Workday’s acquisitions of Paradox and Sana and a wave of major exits such as Astrix Security (Cisco, $400m), Metronome (Stripe, $1bn), Securiti (Veeam Software, $1.725bn) and Veza (ServiceNow, $1bn).
McGann has also been a prominent advocate for responsible AI adoption, emphasising the importance of trust, governance and measurable business value as enterprises deploy increasingly autonomous systems. Under her leadership, Workday Ventures has sought to identify not only category leaders, but companies capable of integrating seamlessly into complex enterprise environments where security, compliance and reliability remain paramount.
Drawing on deep product and strategy experience at PeopleSoft, Oracle and Workday, McGann has shaped Workday Ventures into a high-discipline, strategy-led investor whose influence comes from its ability to help shape the enterprise software roadmaps that define the future of work.
The GCV 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.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
