Salesforce announced late Tuesday that there will now be two sheriffs atop the Salesforce Tower in downtown San Francisco, now that President and Chief Operating Officer Keith Block has been elevated to the co-CEO position alongside company co-founder Marc Benioff.
In a press release, Salesforce said Benioff would continue to focus on technology, marketing, and culture, while Block will focus on operations and growth. Block, who worked for Oracle an astounding 26 years before joining Salesforce in 2013, will remain on the board of directors, and he now will be joined by Salesforce co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Parker Harris.
Congrats @KeithBlock on becoming the co-ceo of Salesforce! We’ve had an amazing 5 years & I am thrilled to extend our partnership as co-ceos leading Salesforce to over $20B in revenue & beyond. I couldn’t be more excited for our future together. https://t.co/eygW6liz6m
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) August 8, 2018
The moves are certain to stir up succession talk at Salesforce, which has been run by Benioff since its inception. Since it was founded nearly 20 years ago, Salesforce has defined the software-as-a-service market, proving that the days of boxed enterprise software installed on self-maintained servers are relics in the age of always-on connectivity through web browsers and mobile apps.
The company continues to grow at a steady clip, and it just opened the landmark Salesforce Tower in downtown San Francisco, which unlike other buildings in its neighborhood does not appear to be sinking into San Francisco Bay just yet. It has also seen increased success moving beyond its core salesforce-management software product, with marketing technology services among its fastest-growing divisions.
“Salesforce’s success is a testament to Marc’s visionary leadership, which has created an unparalleled culture of trust, innovation and equality, as well as a relentless focus on customer success,” Block said in one of those press release quotes that was probably vetted by six lawyers and 12 public-relations staffers. “I’m honored to be co-CEO and to leverage each of our strengths as we lead Salesforce, our employees, customers and partners into the future.”
[Editor’s Note: Salesforce is a GeekWire annual sponsor.]
