Allspring Expands SS&C Relationship to Unify U.S. Distribution Data

Autodesk has named Diana Colella executive vice president of its architecture, engineering and construction business, succeeding Amy Bunszel, who previously announced her retirement and will remain with the company through November 2, 2026, to support the transition. Colella will lead Autodesk's largest industry business as the company enters its next phase of AEC growth, driven by Autodesk Forma, its industry cloud that connects data, context and workflows to deliver AI and project intelligence across the AEC lifecycle. In the role she will advance the Forma strategy while continuing to evolve desktop products such as Revit and Civil 3D and connecting them more closely to Forma workflows. Colella brings nearly three decades of Autodesk leadership experience spanning finance, strategy, sales, operations, product management and industry leadership, including leading the AutoCAD business and helping launch One AutoCAD, and most recently leading the AI transformation of the Media & Entertainment business, where she advanced the Flow platform strategy and expanded Autodesk's role across the production lifecycle through acquisitions including Moxion, PIX and Wonder Dynamics. She will continue to oversee the Media & Entertainment business and will open a search for a new leader reporting directly to her.

Citi has updated its rankings for U.S. application software stocks, naming Box, Navan and Appian as its reiterated top picks while downgrading Dropbox to Sell. The investment bank said it is prioritizing companies with clear acceleration paths supported by differentiated artificial intelligence strategies that analysts believe remain underappreciated by the market. Citi also made adjustments to other coverage names, including Manhattan Associates and Workday, due to valuation concerns. The bank noted it continues to favor infrastructure-like names where consumption-driven monetization potential exists, a description it applied to all three of its top picks. The rankings update follows recent adjustments to earnings estimates and valuations, with Citi reassessing the back office software landscape.

U.S. investment firm Bain Capital and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC are considering an initial public offering or a sale to a third party for WHI Holdings, which operates human resources management systems, aiming for a valuation of more than 500 billion yen, according to two people familiar with the matter. The two firms have begun approaching advisors, potential buyers and investors as part of the process, the people said, with a listing in the Japanese market under consideration as one option, along with a sale to operating companies or other funds. The discussions are at an early stage and no final decision has been made, and Bain and GIC may ultimately choose to retain their holdings. Bain and GIC declined to comment, and WHI could not be reached for comment at this time. Bain acquired the HR software business from Works Applications in 2019 and established WHI. The acquisition price was not disclosed, and in March 2023 GIC co-invested in WHI, making the two firms joint controlling shareholders. WHI's core operating subsidiary, Works Human Intelligence, develops, sells and supports the COMPANY HR system for large enterprises, which includes functions such as HR management, payroll, time and attendance management, and talent management. According to WHI Holdings' website, it is used by roughly 1,200 major corporate groups in Japan.

Goldman Sachs maintained its sell rating on Adobe as Anil Chakravarthy prepares to take over as president and CEO on Dec. 1, saying competition is intensifying and new entrants are gaining ground in areas that could expand Adobe's market. The broker said it wants clearer evidence of Adobe's strategy and execution before changing its view, and sees the leadership change as a potential catalyst even as the market remains concerned that artificial intelligence could weigh on Adobe's growth. Chakravarthy's appointment follows a transition announced in March; he previously led Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations, while David Wadhwani, who headed the Creativity & Productivity business, is also leaving to start a new venture and Adobe is appointing a permanent chief financial officer. Goldman said a successful turnaround will depend on Adobe simplifying its product architecture, speeding up innovation through internal investment and targeted acquisitions, and converting adoption of new features into revenue, with the key question being whether the new management makes significant strategic changes or largely extends the existing three- to five-year plan. Among the five areas Goldman flagged, monthly active users across Acrobat, Creative Cloud, Express and Firefly exceeded 1 billion in the third quarter, up more than 20% from a year earlier, while Express trails Canva, which has more than 265 million monthly users and at least $4 billion in annual recurring revenue, with Goldman estimating Express had about 70 million monthly users in 2025.