It was a pivotal moment Brian Robins tells us he’ll never forget: stepping onto a makeshift stage to address some 400 employees just minutes before a key 8-K filing would publicly announce the potential sale of a major business unit. The room bristled with anxiety—people worried about their jobs and the future of the company. Robins recalls that, instead of relying on scripted talking points, he spoke from the heart and vowed to keep everyone informed as events unfolded. By offering that openness, he reinforced his belief that finance isn’t just about numbers, but about building trust and forging a clear path forward.
Read MoreToday, that spirit of transparent communication fuels Robins’s approach as CFO. Above all, he prioritizes strong relationships across every organizational function, from sales and marketing to product and engineering. This is why go-to-market execution, he explains, has become the centerpiece of his strategic leadership. Robins embeds dedicated finance professionals alongside revenue-focused teams, helping to fine-tune territory splits, refine pricing, and calibrate product positioning based on real-time data.
Rather than simply hand over spreadsheets, Robins wants his people to interpret the data, spark conversations, and push for proactive decisions. Driving growth, he tells us, hinges on blending finance acumen with operational insight—ensuring that each deal, each campaign, and each new product aligns with broader company objectives. By weaving financial facts into a collective narrative, Robbins transforms the go-to-market function from a standalone department into a central engine that powers sustainable, long-term value.
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CFOTL: Tell us about GitLab—what does the company do, and what are its offerings today?
Robins: GitLab is (among) the most comprehensive DevSecOps platforms for creating software. We cover the entire software development life cycle. The way I love to explain it (to) a nontechnical person is this: before the iPhone, I’d go on a business trip carrying a duffel bag of electronics—a big yellow Walkman for jogging, a Garmin GPS for directions, and other devices. Then the iPhone brought everything into one seamless device with a great user experience. Similarly, GitLab is like the iPhone for software developers: we enable people (to) make software better, faster, cheaper, and more secure.
This really shows across our customer base—about 50% of the Fortune 100 and roughly 25% of the G2 1000 rely on GitLab. Over the last fiscal year, we grew 31% with strong non-GAAP (gross) margins. All this is really attributed to (our platform’s) integrated approach.
CFOTL: Looking ahead, what are your key priorities as CFO over the next 12 months?
Robins: Let me start with our mission in finance: we provide critical business data that’s timely and factual to drive important decisions and add shareholder value. During our recent earnings call, we outlined three principles guiding the company, and I’m focused on supporting each.
First, we continue adding ‘first orders,’ which means new business. We typically land relatively small, but customers stay with us for a long time—our net dollar retention rate from nine or ten years ago is about the same as it is from two years ago.
Second, we’re increasing the value proposition for existing customers, often upgrading them from Premium to Ultimate (our highest-priced tier), which now makes up roughly 50% of our ARR thanks to its advanced security and compliance features.
Third, we’re heavily focused on R&D innovation, especially around AI. Currently, we offer Duo Pro and Duo Enterprise, and we’re working to release Duo Workflow (our agentic AI) soon. These efforts all align with our goal of continuous innovation and added value for customers.
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