Last August 2018, Salesforce promoted Keith Block as a co-CEO with Marc Benioff. It stated this move as one geared towards the growth of the company. This decision was evident with their customer base shifting from only small-to-medium sized firms to now including big companies like American Express and Toyota.
The Need for Two CEOs
Keith Block states that this need for two CEOs is for the company to scale its efforts. Salesforce requires faster decision-making, and a focused effort to meet their goals for the 2022 fiscal year. This goal involves getting USD 23 billion in sales and eventually surpassing it to reach around USD 30 billion.
Also, it seems this nature of decision-making is not new in practice in Salesforce. Block has been splitting the decision-making with Benioff for a long time. His promotion to co-CEO merely formalizes his position, role, and responsibilities in the company. He shares that it prevents inefficiencies that might result from such ambiguity.
How Block and Benioff Differ as CEOs
Block has more involvement in decisions regarding the back office infrastructure, corporate sales, and finances of the organization. He is also in-charge of the enterprise software company Mulesoft that Salesforce acquired in early 2018. As for Benioff, his efforts are more focused on the company’s culture, overall strategy, and product strategy.
Although Block is also passionate about politics, he does not share the same approach as his co-CEO. Benioff would often state his position publicly whereas Block prefers to state his positions through the decisions he makes for Salesforce.
A Similar Passion for Communities
Just like his co-CEO, he believes that CEOs can bridge the distrust between organizations and their communities. He thinks that CEOs must speak out and work with the public sector in tackling social issues. Block believes that this action stems from how CEOs are essentially representatives of organizations with thousands of individuals. If the CEO speaks out, they communicate to the community the values and culture of their organization.