In episode 22 of The DS Show, Daanish Soomar sits down with Neil Thomas, Senior Vice President of Finance and Workforce Applications at Anaplan, to explore a remarkable career spanning four decades across finance, sales, and enterprise software innovation. From his early days at Johnson & Johnson to pivotal roles at Adaytum and Adaptive, Neil shares how he evolved from a traditional accountant into a driving force behind some of the most influential planning tools in the market today.

This episode dives deep into Neil’s personal and professional journey—how a commission check sparked his pivot to sales, the challenges and rewards of scaling startups, and the evolution of enterprise performance management from green-screen tools to modern AI-driven applications. Neil also offers insight into Anaplan’s platform and its application-first strategy, highlighting the power of AI to democratize planning and boost time-to-value.

Whether you're in finance, sales, product, or tech strategy, Neil’s wisdom offers a front-row seat to the future of planning, leadership, and customer success in an AI-powered world.