Salesforce Hire New Board Members as Investors Push for Change

Nonetheless, Rishi Jaluria, Software Analyst, RBC Capital Markets, has suggested Salesforce needs to move away from building an empire and focus on its core markets. He points out that a sale of Slack, which Salesforce bought for $27 .7 billion, would now bring in about $12 billion, or $9 billion in cash if Salesforce retains a 20% stake.

• Salesforce to Cut 10% of Workers in New Year Slowdown
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• Slack CEO to Leave the Company

Slack Acquisition and Key Departures

Salesforce completed its acquisition of Slack in July 2021 and paid $27.7 billion, including shares. Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce, stated: “Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.”

Analysis around the purchase suggested UCaaS vendors would not be so impacted, but for Microsoft, it was a warning that Salesforce could take them on directly with Slack.

At the time of the acquisition, the CEOs of both companies were optimistic.

"We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and reshape how and where we work,’ enthused Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder. ‘Salesforce and Slack are uniquely positioned to lead this historic shift to a digital-first world. I could not be more excited for what’s to come."

Bret Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer of Salesforce, enthused: "We’ve learned over the past year that the workplace isn’t snapping back to the way it was. Together, Slack and Salesforce Customer 360 will give every company in the world a single source of truth for their business and a single platform for connecting employees, customers and partners with each other and the apps they use daily."

Since then, Butterfield has left Slack and been replaced by Lidiane Jones, an Executive Vice President at Salesforce. Bret Taylor also announced he was stepping down from Salesforce last November, leaving Marc Benioff, the company's sole leader. Salesforce is currently estimated to be worth around $167 billion.