Technology

Marc Benioff Is Alone Atop Salesforce After Bret Taylor’s Exit

Two co-CEOs have resigned from the software giant as Benioff’s tenure stretches beyond two decades.

Benioff

Photo illustration: 731; Photos: Bloomberg; Getty Images

Bret Taylor was supposed to be the future of Salesforce Inc. In his rapid ascent to co-chief executive officer, he led major acquisitions and product rollouts, and managed relationships with Salesforce’s most important clients. He did all this while sparring with Elon Musk in his side gig as board chairman of Twitter Inc.

Most of the C-suite already reported to Taylor, 42. If founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff ever stepped aside, Taylor was the obvious choice to replace him. But that changed when Taylor announced he would resign at the end of January to “return to his entrepreneurial roots.”