Salesforce co-CEO steps down as former BT boss lands international role

Vendor also announces Q4 numbers and $1.3bn acquisition

Salesforce's co-CEO Keith Block has stepped down, with Marc Benioff now flying solo as the vendor's chief exec.

The CRM vendor announced the news at the same time as it published its quarterly results and revealed that former BT CEO Gavin Patterson will lead its business outside the US.

Block, who joined Salesforce in 2013, said he stepped down because he is "ready to start a new chapter". He held the roles of head of sales and COO before becoming joint CEO in 2018.

On an earnings call, transcribed by Seeking Alpha, he said: "It has been my greatest honour to be part of Salesforce over the last seven years.

"When I first joined the company in 2013, we were generating $4bn in revenue; amazingly about the same amount that we just delivered in this last quarter.

"It's a tremendous accomplishment but I am ready to start a new chapter."

Block is set to stay on as an adviser to CEO Benioff.

Meanwhile, former BT boss Patterson has been appointed president and CEO of Salesforce International, focusing on the vendor's largest markets outside the US.

Patterson joined as EMEA boss last September, having left BT in February last year.

Benioff said: "We are thrilled that Gavin has chosen to lead Salesforce International headquartered in London. Salesforce International oversees our business in EMEA, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.

"Gavin's global leadership will help us continue to deliver customer success in these important markets. I could not be more excited to have Gavin in our Ohana (family)."

Rounding off a packed day of Salesforce news, the vendor also announced the $1.33bn (£1.03bn) acquisition of specialist CRM start-up Vlocity.

The vendor's Q4 numbers beat expectations, with revenue up 35 per cent year on year to $4.85bn.

Non-GAAP operating margin was down was down 110 basis points to 15.4 per cent, which Salesforce said was a result of its integration of Tableau and the fact that its Dreamforce event had moved from Q3 to Q4.