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Is Salesforce Solidifying Its Succession Plan With New Co-CEO Appointment?

Chris Lange

Published: August 8, 2018 12:25 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 7:42 pm

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is shuffling its deck of executives and making a fresh appointment at the top for its co-CEO position. It seems logical that this is also a move by the company to solidify its succession plan.

In a move announced on Tuesday, Keith Block is being promoted by the board to directors to co-CEO where he will serve in this role alongside the co-founder and board chair, Marc Benioff.

Previously, Block served as Salesforce’s vice chair, president and as a director since joining the company in June 2013, and most recently served as the company’s chief operating officer since February 2016.

Benioff commented:

Keith has been my trusted partner in running Salesforce for the past five years, and I’m thrilled to welcome him as co-CEO. Keith has outstanding operational expertise and corporate leadership experience, and I could not be happier for his promotion and this next level of our partnership.

Block added:

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. 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.

Excluding Wednesday’s move, Salesforce had outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up nearly 60% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up about 41%.

Shares of Salesforce were last seen up 0.5% at $145.18, with a consensus analyst price target of $150.40 and a 52-week trading range of $87.26 to $149.35.

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