Who Is VMware’s Current CEO? Broadcom Leadership Explained

Update: This article was substantially revised on August 18, 2026, to correct VMware’s ownership and leadership, clarify the roles of Hock Tan, Krish Prasad, and former CEO Raghu Raghuram, and add current VMware Cloud Foundation and licensing context.

VMware does not have a separately listed CEO in 2026. VMware now operates as part of Broadcom rather than as an independent publicly traded company.

Hock E. Tan is Broadcom’s president and chief executive officer, while Krish Prasad leads the VMware Cloud Foundation Division.

The most accurate answer is therefore:

• Hock Tan is the CEO of VMware’s parent company, Broadcom.
• Krish Prasad leads the core VMware Cloud Foundation business.
• Raghu Raghuram is VMware’s former CEO, not its current CEO.

Why VMware No Longer Has the Same CEO Structure

VMware previously operated as an independent public company with its own chief executive, board, financial reporting, and publicly traded stock.

That structure changed when the Broadcom acquisition closed on November 22, 2023. VMware’s common stock stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and the business became part of Broadcom.

Broadcom’s current public leadership structure does not identify a separate VMware CEO. Hock Tan holds the highest corporate leadership role at Broadcom, while Krish Prasad oversees the VMware Cloud Foundation Division and its multi-cloud software portfolio.

This distinction is important. Calling Hock Tan simply VMware’s CEO leaves out the parent-company structure, while calling Krish Prasad the CEO would give him a title Broadcom does not use.

What Happened to Raghu Raghuram?

VMware appointed Rangarajan Raghu Raghuram as CEO effective June 1, 2021. His appointment followed Pat Gelsinger’s departure for Intel and a period in which VMware Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe served as interim CEO.

An SEC filing confirms that Raghuram was VMware’s chief operating officer for products and cloud services before becoming CEO.

Raghuram led VMware through its separation from Dell Technologies and remained CEO until Broadcom completed the acquisition. After the deal closed, he confirmed in a public statement that he had stepped down as VMware CEO.

Raghuram’s multi-cloud strategy remains useful historical context, but it should not be presented as VMware’s current leadership strategy.

How Broadcom Changed VMware’s Strategy

Raghuram positioned VMware as an independent multi-cloud platform company. Broadcom has retained multi-cloud capabilities, but its public strategy places greater emphasis on VMware Cloud Foundation and private cloud infrastructure.

When the acquisition closed, Broadcom said its focus would be helping enterprises build and modernize private and hybrid cloud environments. It identified VMware Cloud Foundation as the central software platform for that strategy.

The current direction has three important elements.

VMware Cloud Foundation as the Core Platform

Broadcom presents VMware Cloud Foundation, or VCF, as an integrated private cloud platform.

VCF combines infrastructure technologies used to operate virtualized computing, storage, networking, management, automation, security, and modern applications. The objective is to give enterprises a consistent platform for operating private and hybrid cloud environments.

The multi-cloud theme has not disappeared, but Broadcom’s public messaging now places private cloud and VMware Cloud Foundation at the center of the business.

A Simplified Product Portfolio

Broadcom reorganized VMware’s commercial portfolio around a smaller number of primary offers, led by VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation.

Some capabilities that were previously marketed or licensed separately have been incorporated into larger platform offerings. Enterprises should therefore verify which functions are included in their current agreement instead of relying on older VMware product descriptions.

This consolidation can simplify platform management, but it also means that older product names, licensing guides, and purchasing assumptions may no longer describe the current commercial structure.

Subscription and Term Licensing

Broadcom announced major licensing changes in December 2023, including the end of new perpetual-license sales and a transition to subscription and term offerings.

Broadcom said customers could continue using perpetual licenses they had already purchased. Support for those licenses would continue according to active contractual commitments.

However, future purchases, renewals, product bundles, and support arrangements may differ from the terms customers used before the acquisition.

Exact pricing is not presented as one universal public rate. Organizations should review their deployment size, required products, support rights, contract dates, and authorized partner status before making purchasing or migration decisions.

What the Leadership Change Means for Customers

Hock Tan sets Broadcom’s overall corporate, investment, and business direction. Krish Prasad is the more directly relevant executive for VMware Cloud Foundation products, engineering, and multi-cloud software operations.

For customers, the practical questions are no longer limited to who holds the CEO title. They also include:

• Which VMware Cloud Foundation components are included in the contract
• Whether an existing perpetual license still has active support
• Which subscription or term offer fits the deployment
• Whether the customer’s reseller or cloud service provider remains authorized
• How regional licensing, tax, support, and regulatory requirements affect the agreement

Commercial availability, partner access, pricing, support, tax treatment, and contract terms can vary by market. Commercial availability, partner access, pricing, and contract terms may still differ by market.

European customers face an additional area of uncertainty. In July 2026, Reuters reported that several European cloud and business groups had requested interim regulatory measures over alleged post-acquisition licensing and cloud-provider restrictions.

Broadcom disputes those allegations, and the regulatory matter remains unresolved. Customers should therefore distinguish confirmed licensing terms in their own contracts from broader industry allegations or ongoing legal proceedings.

The Bottom Line

Raghu Raghuram is not VMware’s current CEO. He served as CEO from June 2021 until Broadcom completed its acquisition in November 2023.

VMware now operates within Broadcom. Hock Tan is Broadcom’s president and CEO, while Krish Prasad leads the VMware Cloud Foundation Division.

For customers and partners, that ownership structure and Broadcom’s focus on private cloud, VMware Cloud Foundation, and subscription licensing are the most important current context.