In a significant leadership development, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed on Monday that Denise Dresser has been appointed as the upcoming Chief Executive Officer of Slack. Dresser, who brings 12 years of experience to the role, currently serves as the President of Accelerated Industries at Salesforce.
Expressing confidence in Dresser’s capabilities, Benioff tweeted, “Denise is an incredible business leader & champion of Salesforce customer success and innovation who’s deeply committed to our values and our customers.”
Denise Dresser will be succeeding Lidiane Jones, who is set to step down from her position at the end of this year. Jones had taken the helm at Slack less than a year ago, following the departure of the founding CEO, Stewart Butterfield. Salesforce acquired Slack for a whopping $28 billion in 2021, and Jones was selected to lead the company at the conclusion of last year.
This leadership transition marks the third change at the helm of Slack in approximately a year. The departure of Stewart Butterfield was among the initial shifts in a series of executive changes at Salesforce, starting late last year.
In light of these changes, Salesforce recently initiated a hiring campaign, signaling a shift from previous months marked by layoffs and budget cuts. Benioff aims to recruit 3,000 individuals as the company intensifies its efforts in generative-AI. The hiring spree has seen the return of several “boomerangs,” former employees who voluntarily left Salesforce and have chosen to rejoin in recent months.
This latest leadership announcement underscores Salesforce’s ongoing evolution and strategic efforts to fortify its executive team amidst dynamic shifts in the tech landscape.
