Dropbox CEO Drew Houston Steps Down After 19 Years as Ashraf Alkarmi Takes Co-CEO Role
Updated
Updated · CNBC · May 26
Dropbox CEO Drew Houston Steps Down After 19 Years as Ashraf Alkarmi Takes Co-CEO Role
1 articles · Updated · CNBC · May 26
Drew Houston, 43, will move from Dropbox CEO to executive chairman, initially sharing the co-CEO title with product chief Ashraf Alkarmi before Alkarmi becomes sole CEO.
Houston said he is leaving after 19 years because he wants to build something new in AI, calling this "the most exciting period" for entrepreneurship rather than citing any specific trigger for the timing.
The handoff comes as Dropbox tries to revive growth with AI tools such as Dash; the company has more than 18 million paying users, but revenue has been roughly flat for two years and slipped slightly in 2025.
Dropbox's market value is just over $6 billion—about half its 2018 first-day trading peak—as the cloud-storage pioneer continues to face pressure from Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and rival Box.
Dropbox also said Mike Torres will join from Google in July as chief product officer, underscoring a broader leadership reset as Houston backs Alkarmi to push faster customer response and bigger innovation bets.
As its founder leaves for AI, can Dropbox's own AI strategy save it from being crushed by tech giants?
With insiders selling shares, is Drew Houston's new AI venture a passion project or an escape from stagnant growth?