Salesforce appoints ex-Virgin Money chief as new UK CEO

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will lead CRM vendor's UK operations from 1 October

Salesforce has appointed Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia as CEO of its UK and Ireland operation. She will start in the role on 1 October.

The move comes a year after the CRM software vendor announced a $2.5bn (£2.05bn) investment in its UK business over the following five years.

Gadhia (pictured) co-founded Virgin Direct in 1995, which was later renamed Virgin Money. She held the chief exec role there for 11 years before stepping down in 2018.

Since then she has founded Snoop, a tech start-up that utilises consumer data to save money on household bills.

She was made a Dame in the 2019 New Year Honours list for her contributions to financial services and to women in the finance industry.

"I've admired Salesforce from afar for a long time," Gadhia stated.

"This is a different kind of business, with deeply held values and a true focus on transforming the experience of every customer through cutting-edge technology.

"I'm looking forward to working with the team as we continue to invest and support Salesforce's growing customer base in UKI."

Salesforce's UKI operation has already seen change at the top this year. Former EVP and GM Andrew Lawson left in May to join data insights company New Relic. His vacancy was filled by Paul Smith.

Marc Benioff and Keith Block, co-CEOs, stated: "Jayne-Anne is one of the most respected CEOs in the UK and we are thrilled to welcome her to Salesforce.

"The UKI is our largest market outside the US and with Jayne-Anne's leadership we are well positioned to move into the next stage of growth and success for Salesforce, our customers, partners and communities."