Benioff says he’s ‘never leaving’ Salesforce, but is thrilled to have Bret Taylor alongside him as co-CEO

Salesforce’s Marc Benioff told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that he was “never leaving” the enterprise software giant he co-founded in 1999, but is excited that Bret Taylor is joining him as co-CEO.

Benioff’s comments in a “Mad Money” interview came shortly after Salesforce announced Taylor’s promotion. Before his elevation to co-CEO, Taylor had served since 2019 as president and chief operating officer.

“I love Salesforce. You see me with our customers and how much fun I have with all of our stakeholders. I’m never leaving Salesforce. This is my life’s pursuit,” said Benioff, who also serves as chair of the company’s board.

“But I couldn’t be more thrilled to have a great partner here with Bret Taylor, and he’s just amazing,” Benioff continued. “This is my dream, that Bret would come in the company and we could work it and run it together and lead it together in a trusted partnership, and that’s happening.”

Cramer had asked Benioff whether Taylor’s designation as co-CEO meant the outspoken billionaire entrepreneur was going to “go to the beach, run for president, whatever, or are you going to stay as co-CEO?”

In posing the question, Cramer noted that speculation about Benioff’s future as chief executive swirled up in August 2018, when Salesforce tapped Keith Block to be co-CEO. Block stepped down in February 2020, leaving Benioff as sole CEO until Tuesday’s promotion of Taylor.

The 41-year-old Taylor joined Salesforce in 2016 after the company’ acquired his productivity software start-up Quip. He previously worked at Google and Facebook, and, on Monday, he became chairman of Twitter’s board.

Salesforce shares fell in extended trading Tuesday after the company released its latest quarterly results. While revenue and per-share earnings topped forecasts, earnings guidance for the company’s fourth quarter came in lighter than Wall Street expected.

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