Salesforce's Benioff gets co-CEO

Software company announced the promotion of Bret Taylor along with its third-quarter results

Salesforce chief Marc Benioff now has a partner at the helm after the cloud-based business software company promoted president and chief operating officer Bret Taylor to co-CEO.

Marc Benioff Saleforce

Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich - LR1ED1H1DWS0L (REUTERS/Ruben Sprich / Reuters Photos)

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
CRM SALESFORCE INC. 341.99 +6.21 +1.85%

"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 in a statement announcing the news on Tuesday. "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."

Bret Taylor Salesforce

Bret Taylor, president and chief product officer for SalesForce.com Inc., speaks during the opening keynote of the 2019 DreamForce conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg vi (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Taylor has been at Salesforce since 2016, when the company acquired Quip Inc., a software firm he founded. The Wall Street Journal reported that Taylor is a Silicon Valley veteran who previously worked at Google before becoming chief technology officer at the company formerly known as Facebook.

"I’m grateful that Marc and our Board have put their faith in me to help lead Salesforce through our next chapter," Taylor said in a statement Tuesday. "Marc has been my mentor, my greatest supporter and my trusted friend for years. Partnering with him to lead the company he co-founded 22 years ago is an enormous privilege."

Salesforce

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali (Reuters / Reuters Photos)

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Salesforce announced the elevation of Taylor alongside its third quarter earnings results, which showed $6.86 billion in sales – a 27% boost over the same quarter a year ago. However, the company's revenue forecast fell short of analysts' expectations, and its stock dropped more than 5% in extended trading following the report.