Scott Farquhar steps down from Atlassian

Scott Farquhar has announced he will be stepping down as co-chief executive of Atlassian with Mike Cannon-Brookes set to lead the software giant as its sole chief executive.

Atlassian said Farquhar came to the decision to step down after 23 years to spend more time with his family and focus on philanthropic ventures.

"While it's a difficult decision to step away, I do so knowing Atlassian is exceptionally positioned to take hold of the massive opportunities at its feet," Farquhar said.

"We have a strong leadership team, and great momentum around cloud, enterprise, and now, AI."

Farquhar will remain on the board of Atlassian and take on a special adviser role when he steps down on August 31.

Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes co-founded Atlassian in 2001 after meeting at the University of New South Wales.

Cannon-Brookes said he had known Farquhar for nearly three decades and had "experienced every major life milestone together".

"The contribution Scott has made at Atlassian is impossible to quantify," Cannon-Brookes said.

"Starting with just the two of us in 2001, to a global company of over 11,000 employees and over $US4 billion in annual revenue, Atlassian would not be the company it is today without Scott. I am truly grateful to have had him by my side every day for the last 23 years.

"Scott and I have both worn every hat over the last two decades. So, I'm confident in taking over full responsibility of the company."

According to the Financial Review Rich List, Farquhar is worth $18.16 billion, while Cannon-Brookes is worth $19.01 billion.