Salesforce has adopted a new co-CEO leadership model. Almost two years after co-founder and current CEO Marc Benioff took sole leadership, he will soon be joined by Bret Taylor, the company announced.
The decision is effective immediately, with Taylor, who has been the company’s COO and president since 2019, also promoted to vice chairman of the Board.
However according to The Information, an internal Slack message from Benioff to employees noted that Taylor will still report to the company's co-founder.
"Bret is a phenomenal industry leader who has been instrumental in creating incredible success for our customers and driving innovation throughout our company. He has been my trusted friend for years, and I couldn't be happier to welcome him as Co-CEO," Benioff said.
"We're in a new world and Salesforce has never been more relevant or strategic for our customers. Together, Bret and I will lead Salesforce through our next chapter, while living our shared values of trust, customer success, innovation and equality for all."
Back to co-CEOs
Having two CEOs is nothing new for the CRM giant, as until late February 2020, Benioff was sharing the position with Keith Block, who joined the company from Oracle as President and Vice Chairman back in 2013.
Block became operating chief in 2016, and was promoted to co-CEO in August 2018. After leaving the position in 2020, he remained as an advisor for a year.
Discussing the modus operandi in 2019, Benioff told CNBC that Block helped him create a “divide and conquer” strategy, as well as free up some of his time. CNBC reminds that after elevating Block, Benioff took two weeks to focus on Proposition C, a legislation that aimed to solve the problem of homelessness in San Francisco.
Salesforce also published its financial results for the third quarter of the year, beating analyst estimates. Benioff said the company is aiming for $50 billion in revenue, in FY26.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.27, beating analyst estimates of $0.92 per share. Q3 revenue was $6.86 billion, representing a 27% increase compared to the same period last year, while analysts expected $6.8 billion.
The company’s Board of Directors also has two new members: Laura Alber (President and CEO of Williams-Sonoma), and Oscar Munoz, former United Airlines Chairman and CEO.
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