Gavin Patterson, former chief executive of BT Group has been appointed to serve as Salesforce’s chairman for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Patterson’s new role at the $134bn American enterprise software giant and global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) will see him provide strategic guidance to Salesforce’s rapidly growing business in EMEA, the company’s fastest-growing region globally.
The new appointment will be the first post Patterson has taken on since stepping down after five-and-a-half years running BT.
Patterson’s previous role as Chief Executive at BT Group and CEO of the Group’s BT Retail division saw him complete the UK rollout of the superfast fibre broadband and started the deployment of ultrafast fibre broadband. He led the £15 billion acquisition of EE, launched BT Sport, expanded BT’s cyber security practice and championed BT’s social purpose agenda.
Salesforce’s Co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Keith Block said: “Gavin is a highly respected leader and innovator, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to Salesforce as our EMEA Chairman,” said Salesforce co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Keith Block. “His extensive experience in digital communications, customer engagement and systems delivery makes him a powerful addition to our EMEA team as we head into the next phase of growth and customer success in the region.”
Salesforce, headquartered in San Francisco, has invested significantly in EMEA over many years, adding new jobs, building new data centres and offices, and expanding its partner ecosystem. Last year, the company announced plans to invest $2.2 billion in France and $2.5 billion in its UK business, over the following five years. Earlier this year, Salesforce Ventures, the company’s global corporate investment group, launched a $125 million Europe Trailblazer Fund to continue fuelling enterprise cloud start-ups. Salesforce EMEA saw growth of 30 percent in the second quarter of Fiscal 2019.
Patterson said: “Salesforce is a special company with an enviable track record and phenomenal future opportunities in EMEA.
“I look forward to supporting this team of talented leaders as the business moves into its next phase of growth.”