Last Wednesday, the news that Brett Taylor, co-chief executive of Salesforce, was stepping down seemed so sudden that even the CEO of Salesforce’s Slack and his lieutenants were taken by surprise.
Fortune found that Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said in an internal message to employees that Taylor’s departure would have a negative impact and the future was unpredictable. Butterfield wrote: “I was saddened by the news that Brett was leaving SAIF. It was never a good thing, and I don’t intend to make it a good thing.”
In the message, Butterfield was outspoken, praising Taylor for his hard work over the years and explaining that even his executive team was caught off guard by the news.
“My executive team and I were there all day, and we were also surprised. (The fact that in itself shouldn’t be too surprising: the news moves the markets, so there are very few people in the know).” Butterfield wrote.
Shares of Salesforce fell about 10% in midday trading on Thursday after news of Taylor’s resignation was announced. News of Taylor’s resignation was announced at the same time as Salesforce’s quarterly earnings report.
Taylor will work at Salesforce until the end of January, after which he will leave the company and the board to focus on an unspecified “startup” project.
Taylor is leaving after just one year as co-CEO alongside Salesforce founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff. In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday, Benioff described Taylor’s departure as a “huge blow” to the company.
Software entrepreneur Butterfield founded Slack and sold it to Salesforce last year for $27.7 billion. Butterfield said in his internal message that Slack’s executive team had to “stop for a drink and offer sympathy” after learning of the leadership change. But he stressed that Slack’s plans won’t change.
Butterfield also praised Taylor’s leadership skills, both at Salesforce and during his previous tenure as Twitter chairman. During Taylor’s tenure as Twitter Inc. chairman, Elon Musk sparked confusion by offering to buy the social networking company.
Butterfield wrote: “As the chairman of the Twitter company’s board of directors, he also has to deal with the madness of Twitter, which is particularly impressive. The guy’s poise, poise and persistence in the face of chaos is really impressive. Envy.”
A spokesman for Salesforce did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Fortune Chinese website)
Translator: Zhong Huiyan-Wang Fang
Wednesday’s news that Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor is stepping down appears to have been so sudden that even the CEO of Salesforce-owned Slack, and his circle of lieutenants, were taken by surprise.
Stewart Butterfield, CEO of professional chat service Slack, described Taylor’s departure as a negative and unforeseen development in an internal message to employees viewed by Fortune. “I’m sad about the news of Bret’s departure from Salesforce,” Butterfield wrote. “No way to spin this as a good thing, so I’m not going to try that.”
In the candid message, Butterfield gave accolades to Taylor’s years of hard work at Salesforce and explained that his executive team was even caught off guard by the announcement.
“I’ve been in an on-site with my exec team all day, and we were all surprised too. (That fact should not itself be too surprising: This is market-moving news, and therefore the group in the know was extremely small),” Butterfield wrote.
Salesforce shares were down roughly 10% in midday trading on Thursday, following the news of Taylor’s resignation, which was announced in concert with Salesforce’s quarterly earnings.
Taylor will remain at Salesforce through the end of January, after which he will leave the company and its board to focus on an unspecified “entrepreneurial” project.
Taylor is leaving after just one year in the co-CEO job alongside Salesforce founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff. In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday, Benioff characterized Taylor’s departure as “a gut punch.”
Butterfield, a software entrepreneur who founded Slack and sold it to Salesforce last year for $27.7 billion, said in his internal note that the Slack executive team had to “pause to have a drink and commiserate” on learning the news about the leadership change. But he stressed that Slack’s plans would not change.
Butterfield also praised Taylor’s leadership, both at Salesforce and in his previous role as chairman of Twitter during Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of the social networking company.
“It’s especially impressive when you factor in that he also had to deal with the insane bullshit at Twitter as chair of the board,” Butterfield wrote. “That fellow has enviable reserves of equanimity, poise, and patience.”
A Salesforce spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
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