docusign55Four top executives have left DocuSign in another unexpected leadership change at the digital signature giant, GeekWire has learned.

The sudden departures of the company’s chief operating officer, chief human resources officer, chief product officer and chief growth officer come after DocuSign’s pick for its new CEO backed out in March, after initially accepting the position.

The executives who have left the company are Mike Dinsdale, chief growth officer and former chief financial officer; Peter Navin, chief HR officer; Matt Malden, chief product officer; and Gordon Payne, chief operating officer, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s operations.

In addition, the executives are no longer listed on the company’s leadership page, where they all appeared as recently as March. Payne’s LinkedIn profile confirms that his employment at DocuSign ended this month.

The circumstances of the departures aren’t clear. Company representatives have not responded to requests for comment this week. We’ve contacted each of the four executives seeking comment.

DocuSign's CEO and Chairman Keith Krach.
DocuSign’s CEO Keith Krach

DocuSign, the top company on the GeekWire 200 index of the Pacific Northwest’s privately held tech companies, is said to be valued at more than $3 billion, and has large operations in Seattle and San Francisco. The company has raised $525 million from a wide variety of investors, including big name venture capital firms and surprising individual investors like skateboard legend Tony Hawk, actor and musician Jared Leto and former McDonalds CEO Don Thompson.

DocuSign executive Brad Brooks, the company’s chief marketing officer, is believed to be taking on the roles of some of the former executives during an interim period. Michael Erisman, vice president of human resources, is serving as interim chief HR officer.

In February, Fortune reported that DocuSign founder and chief strategy officer Tom Gonser would step back from his role as chief strategy officer. However, Docusign said in March that Gonser remained involved as “founder and evangelist for the company.”

The company has been searching for a new CEO since at least October 2015, when current CEO Keith Krach indicated in an internal memo that he was planning to step down as CEO. Krach said at the time, “with the company on such solid footing, now is the perfect time to move forward with our succession plans.”

Krach appeared at a NetSuite conference this morning to announce that the software company will resell DocuSign to NetSuite customers. Krach also noted that the company has 235,000 companies now using its technology.

Krach, who has been CEO for the past six years, has said he will continue until a successor is selected. After his previously designated successor — who was never publicly named — backed out in March, the company said its “primary focus remains on bringing in a world class leader as successor CEO, and we will continue to engage with the best and the brightest in that search.”

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