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Marc Benioff

Thought Leader

Marc Benioff is the co-founder, Chair, and CEO of Salesforce, the world's leading CRM platform and a cornerstone of the modern marketing and advertising technology ecosystem. He is widely credited with pioneering the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing delivery model, fundamentally disrupting enterprise software and enabling the data-driven customer engagement infrastructure that underpins today's AdTech and MarTech industries. Salesforce's Customer 360 platform, Marketing Cloud, and Data Cloud products are deeply embedded in how brands manage audience data, personalize advertising, and measure campaign performance at scale.

Last updated Sep 26, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment

Role
Chair & CEO
Company
Salesforce
Based
San Francisco, California, United States
Boards
2
Connections
1
Years in industry
27 years

Bio

Marc Benioff is the co-founder, Chair, and CEO of Salesforce, the world's leading CRM platform and a cornerstone of the modern marketing and advertising technology ecosystem. He is widely credited with pioneering the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing delivery model, fundamentally disrupting enterprise software and enabling the data-driven customer engagement infrastructure that underpins today's AdTech and MarTech industries. Salesforce's Customer 360 platform, Marketing Cloud, and Data Cloud products are deeply embedded in how brands manage audience data, personalize advertising, and measure campaign performance at scale.

Career

  • Senior Vice President

    Oracle · 1986-1999

  • Co-founder & CEO

    Salesforce · 1999-2018

Board memberships

Salesforce (Chair)World Economic Forum Board of Trustees

Advisory roles

MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

Expertise & education

Expertise

CRM and Customer Data PlatformsCloud/SaaS Enterprise SoftwareMarketing Cloud and AutomationFirst-Party Data StrategyAI-Driven Customer EngagementDigital TransformationEnterprise AdTech and MarTech IntegrationData Privacy and Ethical AI

Education

  • B.S., Business Administration, University of Southern California

Speaking topics

The Future of AI and Autonomous Agents in BusinessCloud Computing and Digital TransformationEthical AI and Responsible TechnologyCustomer-Centric Business StrategyStakeholder Capitalism and Corporate PhilanthropyFirst-Party Data and the Future of CRM

Recognition

Notable achievements

  • Co-founded Salesforce in 1999, pioneering the SaaS/cloud model for enterprise software
  • Grew Salesforce into a Fortune 500 company with over $34 billion in annual revenue
  • Led acquisitions of Tableau, MuleSoft, Slack, and ExactTarget (Marketing Cloud), expanding Salesforce's data and marketing capabilities
  • Launched Salesforce Data Cloud, positioning the company as a major player in first-party data and identity resolution for advertising
  • Introduced the 1-1-1 philanthropic model (1% equity, product, and time) adopted by thousands of companies globally

Awards

Fortune Businessperson of the Year (2014)Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People (multiple years)Forbes World's 100 Greatest Living Business MindsWorld Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow

Publications

  • Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change (2019)
  • Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company (2009)
Connection details