Board of Directors

The salesforce.com board of directors is an exceptional group of individuals who have helped, advised, and established many of the premier companies of Silicon Valley.

The current board of directors at salesforce.com is comprised of:

 

Marc Benioff

Chairman & CEO


Marc BenioffMarc Benioff is chairman and CEO of salesforce.com. He founded the company in 1999 with a vision to create an on-demand information management service that would replace traditional enterprise software technology. Benioff is regarded as the leader of what he has termed "The End of Software," the now-proven belief that multi-tenant, on-demand applications democratize information by delivering immediate benefits at reduced risks and costs.

Under Benioff's direction, salesforce.com has grown from a groundbreaking idea into a publicly traded company that is the market and technology leader in on-demand business services. For its revolutionary approach, salesforce.com has been lauded as one of BusinessWeek’s Top 100 Most Innovative Companies, named No. 7 on The Wired 40, and selected for the past two years as a Top Ten Disrupter by Forbes. The product has won the Software & Information Industry Association Codie Award for Best CRM for the past six years, and the Codie Award for Best On-Demand Platform in 2007, as well as multiple “Editor’s Choice” designations from PC Magazine. Benioff has been widely recognized for pioneering innovation with honors such as the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the SDForum Visionary Award, Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business, and being ranked No. 7 on the Top 100 Most Influential People in IT survey by eWEEK. He was appointed by President George W. Bush as the co-chairman of the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee and served from 2003-2005, overseeing the publishing of critical reports on health care information technology, cybersecurity, and computational sciences.

Throughout his career, Benioff has also been committed to using information technology to produce positive social change. In 2000, he launched the Salesforce.com Foundation—now a multimillion-dollar global organization—establishing the “1/1/1 model,” whereby the company contributes one percent of profits, one percent of equity, and one percent of employee hours back to the communities it serves. Benioff authored The Business of Changing the World, in which 20 great leaders reveal how businesses can go beyond writing a check and leverage the full scope of their resources to make a difference. Compassionate Capitalism, also authored by Benioff, is the first-ever best-practices guide for corporate philanthropy that illustrates the success of the integrated model. Acknowledging his commitment to building partnerships between business and society to improve the state of the world, the members of the World Economic Forum named Benioff as one of its Young Global Leaders, and in 2007 the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy presented Benioff with the coveted Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award.

Prior to launching salesforce.com, Benioff, a quarter century veteran of the software industry, spent 13 years at Oracle Corporation from 1986-1999. In 1984, he worked as an assembly language programmer in Apple Computer’s Macintosh Division. He founded entertainment software company Liberty Software in 1979 when he was 15 years old. Benioff received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1986. In 2008, for his thought and action leadership in corporate responsibility, CRO Magazine named Benioff CEO of the Year.

Some of the top awards Marc Benioff has received include:

  • CRO Magazine CEO of the Year, 2008
  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, 2007
  • eWEEK Top 100 Most Influential People in IT, 2007 (No. 7)
  • Business 2.0 50 People Who Matter Now, 2006 (No. 11)
  • Network World Top 50 Most Powerful People, 2006
  • NEA Outstanding Entrepreneur, 2006 
  • DEMO World-Class Innovator Award, 2005
  • World Economic Forum's Global Leaders for Tomorrow, 2005
  • SDForum Visionary Award, 2004
  • USC Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, 2004 
  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Northern California, 2003
  • BusinessWeek ebiz 25, 2003
  • Fortune Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Watch, 2003
  • "True Friend of the User Community"—International Oracle Users Group, 1995

Some of the top awards that salesforce.com has received, include:

  • CODIE Software & Information Industry Association Codie Award for Best CRM, six years in a row, 2002-2007; Codie Award for Best On-demand Platform, 2007
  • The Wired 40, three years in a row: 2005-2007 (No. 7 in 2007)
  • Forbes Top Ten Disrupters, 2006-2007
  • Forbes 25 Fastest-growing Tech Companies, 2007 (No. 3)    
  • CRN Top 25 Tech Breakthroughs Of All Times, 2007 (SaaS )
  • BusinessWeek Top 100 Most Innovative Companies, 2006 (No. 79)
  • CRM Magazine Market Leader, enterprise CRM, midsize CRM, and sales force automation categories, 2006
  • Forbes Top Ten Disrupters of 2006 
  • Harvard Business School Association of Northern California, Entrepreneurial Company of the Year, 2005
  • InfoWorld Technology of the Year, 2003-2005
  • PC Magazine Editors’ Choice, 2002-2004, 2007
  • Gartner CRM Excellence Awards, 2003 
  • Fortune Cool Company, 2001

Some of the acknowledgements the Saleforce.com Foundation has received on behalf of its work in the community include:

  • Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award, awarded to Marc Benioff, 2007
  • Ethisphere Magazine Top Ethical Companies, 2007
  • Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award, awarded to Marc Benioff, 2007
  • Business Ethics magazine: 100 Best Corporate Citizens, 2006 (No. 7)
  • KLD Social Index; salesforce.com added to the Domini Social Index 400, 2005
  • U.S. Department of Commerce Corporate Stewardship Award, 2003
  • Points of Light Foundation Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service, 2003

  

Craig Conway

Former CEO, PeopleSoft


Craig ConwayCraig Conway has enjoyed one of the most distinguished and successful careers in the technology industry. He has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Managers by BusinessWeek, one of the Ten Most Influential People In High Technology by Computer Business Review, and one of the Fifty Most Powerful People in Networking by NetworkWorld.

As president and chief executive officer, Conway has led several technology companies to success including most recently, PeopleSoft. Conway joined PeopleSoft in 1999 and began one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the technology industry. His vision to develop the industry's first pure Internet architecture, determination to expand into new products and markets, and intense focus on execution drove PeopleSoft to become the world's second largest provider of business software. In 2002 Fortune magazine named PeopleSoft the Second Most Admired Company, and Forbes magazine named PeopleSoft one of Five Overachieving Companies.

On June 2, 2003, Conway announced the acquisition of JD Edwards, making PeopleSoft a $2.9 billion company with 12,000 customers in 150 countries and starting a wave of industry consolidation. Four days later PeopleSoft itself became a takeover target by Oracle Corporation, and so began the longest hostile takeover attempt in history. Eighteen months later PeopleSoft was sold for $10.3 billion, almost $4 billion more than Oracle's initial offer and $7 billion more than the value of the company when Conway took over as CEO.

Conway has served as president and CEO of TGV Software, One Touch Systems, and PeopleSoft. He has also held executive management positions at a variety of leading technology companies including executive vice president at Oracle Corporation.


 

Alan Hassenfeld

Chairman, Hasbro, Inc.


Alan Hassenfeld Alan Hassenfeld is chairman of the board of Hasbro, Inc., a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment with $2.9 billion in revenues and an impressive blue-chip portfolio of familiar and popular brand names such as PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, and PARKER BROTHERS. Hassenfeld began his career at Hasbro in 1970. He was appointed vice president of marketing and sales in 1978, became the president of the company in 1984, and received the titles of chairman and CEO in 1989. In May 2003, he passed on the responsibilities of CEO in order to fully concentrate on his position as chairman. Hassenfeld sits on the board of the Salesforce.com Foundation as well as Hasbro's two philanthropic divisions, the Hasbro Charitable Trust and the Hasbro Children's Foundation. He is the former chairman of the Right Now! Coalition and Admiral of Rhode Island Commodores (a governor-appointed business advisory group). Hassenfeld is the recipient of the Honorary Doctor of Humanities Award from Bryant College and the Honorary Doctor of Business degree from Roger Williams University and Johnson and Wales University.


 

Craig Ramsey

Former CEO, Pay By Touch


Craig Ramsey

A 35-year veteran of the technology industry, former Siebel Systems Executive Vice President Craig Ramsey joined salesforce.com's board of directors in April 2003, assuming the position vacated in 2000 by Lawrence J. Ellison, chairman and CEO of Oracle Corporation. While at Siebel, Ramsey served as executive vice president of worldwide sales and oversaw the company's sales growth from $4 million to more than $1.5 billion.

Ramsey most recently served as CEO of Pay By Touch, a biometrics payment company. Previously, Ramsey was VP of U.S. sales at Oracle Corporation and has held positions at Amdahl as well as other high tech software and hardware companies. Ramsey began his career in technology with IBM, and currently sits on the board of ArcSight, Guidewire, M-Factor and Verticals onDemand.


 

Sanford Robertson

Principal, Francisco Partners


Sanford RobertsonSanford Robertson pioneered the creation of West Coast technology banking as an industry in the late 1960s, and has remained one of the industry's most renowned participants. He served as vice president and director at Smith Barney before founding a firm that later became Montgomery Securities. In 1978, he founded Robertson, Stephens & Co, one of the most significant underwriters of IPOs, mergers, and acquisitions. After selling the company in 1998, he founded Francisco Partners, the world's largest technology-focused private equity fund. Robertson has had significant financing involvement in over 500 growth technology companies, including 3Com (NASDAQ: COMS), America Online (NYSE: AOL), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Ascend, Dell Computer (NASDAQ: DELL), E*Trade (NYSE: ET), Siebel, and Sun (NASDAQ: SUNW). He serves on the boards of Dolby Laboratories, Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE), and the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, as well as on the President's Board at the University of Michigan.


 

Stratton Sclavos

Partner, Radar Partners


Stratton SclavosStratton Sclavos currently serves as Partner of the investment firm Radar Partners. Sclavos formerly served as chairman and chief executive officer of VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers, and individuals.

Sclavos sits on the board of directors of several companies including Juniper Networks and Intuit, Inc. He was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as the Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998 in the emerging companies category.

In addition to being active in the local community, Sclavos and his wife formed the Sclavos Family Foundation in 1999 to support charitable efforts in education and medical research.

Sclavos has also held executive management positions with several Silicon Valley technology companies. From 1994 to 1995, he was vice president of worldwide marketing and sales for Taligent Inc., a joint venture of Apple, IBM, and Hewlett Packard. Sclavos served as vice president of worldwide sales and business development for GO Corporation, a mobile computing company, from 1992 to 1993. Prior to that, he spent five years at MIPS Computer Systems in various executive positions and as a member of the senior management team during the company's successful IPO in 1989 and subsequent merger with Silicon Graphics Inc. in 1992. Sclavos also held executive positions at Megatest Corporation, a semiconductor equipment firm, from 1982 through 1987. Sclavos holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California at Davis.


 

Larry Tomlinson

Former Senior Vice President, Treasurer, Hewlett-Packard


Larry Tomlinson
With over thirty-five years of global financial and administrative experience in a Fortune 15 corporation, Larry Tomlinson has substantial expertise in focusing management on achieving revenue and margin objectives during periods of both double digit and slow growth. Since beginning his career at Hewlett-Packard Company in 1965, Tomlinson has held management and executive positions in multiple domestic and international divisions with responsibilities spanning controllership, tax, treasury, order fulfillment, information technology, distribution, logistics, and financial strategic alliances. He formerly served as senior vice president and treasurer for Hewlett-Packard in San Jose, California.  Mr. Tomlinson currently serves as a director of Coherent, Inc.


 

Maynard Webb

CEO, LiveOps


Maynard WebbIncluding his current role as CEO of LiveOps, Maynard Webb has almost 30 years of experience developing and leading high-growth companies. Webb served as chief operating officer at eBay, Inc. from June 2002 to August 2006 and was responsible for the company-wide implementation of all business strategies. Previously, he served as president of eBay Technologies, where he was responsible for all engineering and technical operations at eBay, including product and technology strategy, engineering, architecture, site operations, and customer support.

Prior to joining eBay, Webb was senior vice president and chief information officer at Gateway, Inc., where he contributed to Gateway's rapid expansion and Internet-enabled business operations. In years prior, he has also worked at Quantum, Thomas-Conrad Corporation, Bay Networks, and IBM. Webb sits on the boards of several companies in addition to salesforce.com, including Admob and Baynote. Webb received a Bachelor of Arts from Florida Atlantic University.


 

Shirley Young

President, Shirley Young Associates, LLC

Shirley YoungShirley Young is president of Shirley Young Associates, LLC, a business advisory company, and serves as senior advisor to General Motors, China. From 1988 until December 31, 1999, she served as corporate vice president of General Motors Corp. As vice president for China strategic development and Asia Pacific counselor, Young had key involvement with General Motors' two-billion-dollar investment in China's auto industry, particularly with Shanghai GM building Buick cars. Subsequently her responsibilities included operational responsibility for marketing, distribution, and sales in China. Prior to this, Young served as vice president for consumer market development at General Motors' headquarters, working across the various marketing divisions of the company.

Young serves on the board of Teletech Holding, Inc. and salesforce.com. She has served as director of the Bank of America, Bell Atlantic/Verizon Corporation, Dayton-Hudson/Target Corporation, Holiday Inn/Promus/Harrah's, and the Bombay Company and as vice chairman of the nominating committee of the New York Stock Exchange.

Young is Governor and ex-Chairman of the Committee of 100, a national Chinese-American leadership resource, and serves as chairman of the Committee of 100 Cultural Institute. She serves on the worldwide board of directors of The Nature Conservancy and on its Asia-Pacific Council. She is a founding member of the Committee of 200, an international organization of leading businesswomen. Young was appointed to the President's Commission on Executive Exchange and was a member of the Business Advisory Council for the U.S. State Department Agency for International Development.