Bret Taylor today announced that he will step down as vice chair and co-CEO of Salesforce effective Jan. 31, leaving Marc Benioff as chairman and sole CEO of the company.
Taylor was promoted to co-CEO exactly a year ago today (on Nov. 30, 2021) after spending two years as Salesforce's president and chief operating officer. Taylor joined the company in 2016 when it acquired cloud-based word processing app provider Quip, a company he founded in 2012.
"I am grateful for six fantastic years at Salesforce," Taylor said in a statement. "Marc was my mentor well before I joined Salesforce, and the opportunity to partner with him to lead the most important software company in the world is career-defining. After a lot of reflection, I've decided to return to my entrepreneurial roots. Salesforce has never been more relevant to customers, and with its best-in-class management team and the company executing on all cylinders, now is the right time for me to step away."
"It's bittersweet that Bret has decided to step down as my co-CEO," Benioff said in a statement. "He made his mark on Salesforce as an incredible technologist, leader, and friend to us all. Bret founded two incredible companies, so it's understandable why he wants to return to his entrepreneurial roots. I'm excited to see his next chapter unfold, as I'll always be his biggest champion, and he'll always be part of the Salesforce [family]."