Automation Anywhere vs Sage Group: Founders, CEOs and History
Automation Anywhere was founded in 2003 by Mihir Shukla, Ankur Kothari, Neeti Mehta Shukla and is led by Mihir Shukla. Sage Group was founded in 1981 by David Goldman, Graham Wylie, Paul Muller and is led by Steve Hare.
Company facts
Automation Anywhere
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- San Jose, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Mihir Shukla
- Employees
- 2,400
Sage Group
- Founded
- 1981
- Headquarters
- Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
- Current CEO
- Steve Hare
- Employees
- 12,000
Founders
Automation Anywhere
Mihir Shukla
Mihir Shukla is co-founder, chief executive officer and board chair of Automation Anywhere, and the only chief executive the company has had.
Ankur Kothari
Ankur Kothari is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief operating officer, and sits on the board.
Neeti Mehta Shukla
Neeti Mehta Shukla is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief impact officer. She started the company in 2003 with her husband, Mihir Shukla, alongside Ankur Kothari and Rushabh Parmani, launching it from the guest bedroom of their house.
Rushabh Parmani
Rushabh Parmani is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief customer officer. He started the business in 2003, originally named Tethys Solutions, alongside Mihir Shukla, Neeti Mehta Shukla and Ankur Kothari.
Sage Group
David Goldman
David Goldman was the businessman behind Sage's founding in 1981. Looking for a computer program to speed up job estimating at his Newcastle print firm, he worked with Graham Wylie and Paul Muller, then turned the software into a product for other small busine…
Graham Wylie
Graham Wylie wrote much of Sage's early software while a student at Newcastle University and became one of the company's co-founders in 1981.
Paul Muller
Paul Muller co-founded Sage in 1981 with David Goldman and Graham Wylie, helping develop the original estimating and accounting software that the company commercialised for small businesses. Paul Muller was born in 1937 in Los Angeles.
CEOs and their tenures
Automation Anywhere
- Mihir Shukla2003–present
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair
Co-founded the company in 2003, has been its only chief executive, and is also board chair. Serves as an information and communications technology governor at the World Economic Forum, where he speaks on agentic enterprise operations.
Source
Sage Group
- David Goldman1981–present
Co-Founder
Founding businessman behind Sage.
Source - Graham Wylie1981–2003
Co-Founder & Executive Architect
Technical co-founder of Sage.
Source - Paul Walker1994–2010
Chief Executive Officer
He expanded Sage through more than 100 acquisitions and it joined the FTSE 100 in 1999. Guy Berruyer succeeded him in 2010.
Source - Stephen Kelly2014–2018
Chief Executive Officer
He bought Intacct in 2017. He left in August 2018 and Steve Hare succeeded him.
Source - Steve Hare2018–present
Chief Executive Officer
Led Sage's shift to a focused cloud subscription business.
Source
Timeline: Automation Anywhere and Sage Group side by side
1981Sage Group
Sage founded in Newcastle
David Goldman, Paul Muller and Graham Wylie founded Sage after building estimating software for a Newcastle print business.
1984Sage Group
Amstrad bundling drives adoption
Accounting software bundled with Amstrad PCW computers in the mid-1980s brought Sage to a mass UK small-business market.
1989Sage Group
London Stock Exchange listing
Sage listed on the London Stock Exchange and began acquiring accounting software firms abroad.
1999Sage Group
FTSE 100 entry and Peachtree deal
Sage joined the FTSE 100 and bought US small-business accounting brand Peachtree, later sold as Sage 50 in the US.
2003Automation Anywhere
Incorporation as Tethys Solutions in San Jose: Mihir Shukla, Neeti Mehta Shukla, Ankur Kothari and Rushabh Parmani incorporated Tethys Solutions, LLC in San Jose, California, selling software that rec…
2010Automation Anywhere
Renamed Automation Anywhere, Inc.: The company rebranded from Tethys Solutions to Automation Anywhere, Inc.
2014Sage Group
Stephen Kelly Becomes CEO
Stephen Kelly became chief executive of Sage in November 2014.
2017Automation Anywhere
First Imagine customer conference: Automation Anywhere held its first Imagine customer and partner event in New York on May 24 and 25, 2017, and ran a second Imagine in Bengaluru in September of the s…
2017Sage Group
Intacct acquired for $850 million
Sage bought US cloud financial management company Intacct for $850 million, creating Sage Intacct.
2017Sage Group
Acquired Fairsail (Sage People)
The Sage Group acquired Fairsail (Sage People).
2018Automation Anywhere
Bot Store opens as an RPA bot marketplace: Launched in London in March 2018, Bot Store offered prebuilt, plug and play bots from Automation Anywhere and partners including EY and Genpact, cutting the…
2018Automation Anywhere
$250M Series A at a $1.8B valuation: After fifteen years without institutional equity, the company raised $250 million on July 2, 2018 led by New Enterprise Associates and Goldman Sachs Growth Equity,…
2018Automation Anywhere
SoftBank Vision Fund adds $300M: In November 2018 the SoftBank Vision Fund invested $300 million as an extension of the Series A, taking the round to $550 million and the post-money valuation to $2.6…
2018Sage Group
Steve Hare becomes CEO
CFO Steve Hare succeeded Stephen Kelly as CEO in November 2018 and focused Sage on cloud subscriptions.
2019Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of Klevops in Paris: Automation Anywhere acquired Klevops SAS of Paris in August 2019 to orchestrate work between employees and bots, the technology behind the attended automation interfac…
2019Automation Anywhere
Enterprise A2019 launches as a web-based platform: In October 2019 the company shipped Enterprise A2019, a cloud-native browser-based rewrite that it said added more than 175 features across 40 produc…
2019Automation Anywhere
$290M Series B at a $6.8B valuation: Salesforce Ventures led a $290 million Series B announced on November 21, 2019, with SoftBank Investment Advisers and Goldman Sachs participating, at a $6.8 billio…
2019Sage Group
Sage Pay Sold
Sage agreed in 2019 to sell its payments business Sage Pay to Elavon.
2020Automation Anywhere
Pandemic restructuring and workforce reduction: In April 2020 Automation Anywhere cut jobs and restructured parts of the company, saying the COVID-19 pandemic and the change it brought to the global e…
2021Automation Anywhere
Enterprise A2019 rebranded Automation 360: In March 2021 the company introduced Automation 360 as the brand for its unified cloud-native platform and widened deployment across AWS, Microsoft Azure and…
2021Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of FortressIQ for process discovery: Announced in December 2021, the FortressIQ deal added computer vision process discovery that maps how work is done across applications and turns it int…
2023Automation Anywhere
Start of an unbroken non-GAAP profitable run: The quarter ended October 31, 2023 began the run of non-GAAP profitable quarters with positive free cash flow that the company counted as ten by the quart…
2024Automation Anywhere
AI plus Automation Enterprise System and AI Agent Studio: At Imagine 2024 in Austin in June 2024 the company unveiled an AI plus Automation Enterprise System with AI Agent Studio, letting customers bu…
2024Sage Group
Sage Copilot launched
Sage introduced Sage Copilot, a generative AI assistant built into its accounting products.
2025Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of Aisera: On November 4, 2025 Automation Anywhere acquired Aisera and its team of more than 100 AI engineers, adding self-service AI agents for IT service management, HR and customer serv…
2025Sage Group
FY25 revenue reaches ~$3.32 billion (£2,513 million)
Underlying revenue rose 10% to ~$3.32 billion (£2,513 million), 97% recurring, with a 23.9% underlying operating margin.
2026Automation Anywhere
OpenAI collaboration and a tenth profitable quarter: Reporting the quarter ended January 31, 2026, Automation Anywhere recorded its tenth consecutive non-GAAP profitable quarter, said AI products were…
2026Sage Group
Growth accelerates to 11%
Revenue rose 11% to ~$2.72 billion (£2,062 million) in the nine months to 30 June 2026; Jacqui Cartin became CFO in January.
Acquisitions
Automation Anywhere
- Aisera2025Undisclosed
- FortressIQ2021Undisclosed
- Klevops2019Undisclosed
Sage Group
- AutoEntry (OCREX Limited)2019Undisclosed
- Intacct Corporation2017$850M
- Fairsail (Sage People)2017Undisclosed
Questions about Automation Anywhere vs Sage Group
Who is the CEO of Automation Anywhere and The Sage Group plc?
Automation Anywhere is led by Mihir Shukla and The Sage Group plc is led by Steve Hare. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Automation Anywhere founded vs The Sage Group plc?
The Sage Group plc was founded in 1981 — 22 years before Automation Anywhere, which was founded in 2003. The Sage Group plc's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Automation Anywhere.
How many employees does Automation Anywhere have compared to The Sage Group plc?
Automation Anywhere employs approximately 2,400 people, while The Sage Group plc employs approximately 12,000. The Sage Group plc has the larger workforce at 12,000 employees, compared to Automation Anywhere's 2,400. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Automation Anywhere and The Sage Group plc headquartered?
Automation Anywhere is headquartered in United States and The Sage Group plc is headquartered in United Kingdom. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Automation Anywhere and The Sage Group plc?
Automation Anywhere was founded by Mihir Shukla, Ankur Kothari, Neeti Mehta Shukla, Rushabh Parmani. The Sage Group plc was founded by David Goldman, Graham Wylie, Paul Muller.
Which company has a longer operating history — Automation Anywhere or The Sage Group plc?
The Sage Group plc has been operating for approximately 45 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Automation Anywhere has been in operation for around 23 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Automation Anywhere vs Sage Group overview