Salesforce Loses Co-CEO Block Who Propelled Growth Strategy

(Bloomberg) -- Salesforce.com Inc. Co-Chief Executive Officer Keith Block stepped down Tuesday after revamping the software maker’s growth strategy, helping fuel a fourfold increase in revenue during his tenure.

Block garnered less public attention than founder and Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff during his seven years at the market leader for customer-relations software, but took command of day-to-day operations behind the scenes. Block, promoted from president to chief operating officer to co-CEO with Benioff in August 2018, professionalized the sales organization, taking lessons from his 26-year stint at Oracle Corp. He persuaded Benioff the company should tailor software for different industries, which expanded the universe of customers. And, as co-CEO, Block allowed Benioff time to focus on his many political and philanthropic initiatives.

“Keith has really inspired us to be much more committed to verticals and vertical solutions than ever before,” Benioff said on a conference call with analysts. “It’s going to be a huge part of his legacy here.”

Benioff said he would partner with Block in his undisclosed “next chapter.” The former co-CEO will remain an adviser, the company said.

“Keith Block’s departure as Salesforce.com CEO dims enthusiasm over a strong 4Q, as he’s been critical to successes over the past seven years and leaves a short-term vacuum,” Anurag Rana, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a research note. Salesforce shares declined about 2.5% in extended trading after the announcement.

Despite Block’s departure, Benioff tried to reassure investors that Salesforce has a deep leadership bench. The company recently promoted Bret Taylor, the former product head, to chief operating officer and gave him additional responsibilities, suggesting he will become even more consequential in Block’s absence.

Block’s focus on selling industry-specific software will remain prominent at the company, which also Tuesday announced a $1.3 billion acquisition of Vlocity Inc. to bolster that effort. Vlocity’s apps focus on six specific industries and help subscribers manage relationships with their customers, including T-Mobile US Inc. and TELUS Corp.

Salesforce was an investor in the San Francisco-based startup founded by former Oracle executive David Schmaier. Vlocity’s software is built on Salesforce’s platform and Schmaier consulted Benioff and other Salesforce executives before starting the business, he said in a 2018 interview. Vlocity had a habit of locating its offices in Salesforce-occupied buildings, ensuring it would remain visible to the cloud-software pioneer.

Vlocity’s current headquarters is in the Salesforce Tower, suggesting a relocation won’t be necessary if the deal closes as expected in the fiscal second quarter.

Though Block was known for his sales acumen, he wanted to broaden his duties, which was part of the reason he took on a more diversified co-CEO role, Benioff said.

Benioff and Block had sought to maintain Salesforce’s annual growth rates of about 25% through frequent acquisitions and international expansion. By the end of the fiscal year, the company is on target to have doubled its annual revenue over the past three years, spurred by snapping up MuleSoft Inc. in 2018 and Tableau Software Inc. in 2019.

Sales will be as much as $21.1 billion in fiscal 2021, the San Francisco-based company said. Analysts projected $20.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, which is at the top end of what the company had forecast in early December.

In the fiscal fourth quarter, Salesforce reported Tuesday that revenue gained 35% to $4.85 billion, marking the second consecutive period of more than 30% year-over-year growth. Analysts, on average, projected $4.75 billion. Earnings, excluding some items, were 66 cents a share, topping analysts’ estimates of 56 cents.

Revenue from Sales Cloud, the company’s flagship product, grew about 17% to $1.23 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 31. The company leads the market for sales-tracking software, but growth rates have slowed down, prompting Salesforce to diversify its business.

Service Cloud sales increased 26% to $1.22 billion. The software maker offers this tool so companies can communicate with field employees and customers, a space where it faces competition from ServiceNow Inc., Zendesk Inc. and others.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in San Francisco at ngrant20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Edwin Chan

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