Ex-BT chief Patterson to head Salesforce sales
May 13, 2020
CRM specialist Salesforce has appointed Gavin Patterson as President and Chief Revenue Officer. Patterson, who has served as the company’s President and CEO of Salesforce International, will lead the company’s global sales organisation and will continue to report to Chair and CEO Marc Benioff.
Patterson joined Salesforce in 2019 as Chair of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Salesforce’s fastest-growing region globally. Earlier in 2020, Patterson was named President and CEO of Salesforce International where he led the company’s go-to-market strategy across all international regions. His appointment to President and Chief Revenue Officer is effective August 1st and he will be based in San Francisco.
“Gavin is an outstanding global leader and I’m delighted to welcome him as the Chief Revenue Officer of Salesforce,” said Benioff. “Gavin’s global experience, network, and public company CEO experience uniquely position him for this critical leadership position at Salesforce.”
“I am excited to be part of the global success story of Salesforce,” said Gavin Patterson, President and CEO of Salesforce International. “In the months ahead, we will remain focused on helping our customers recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, deploying our technology and enabling them to re-open their businesses and communities safely. Our world-class sales organisation is built for moments like this, being a trusted advisor able to deliver the full power of Salesforce to help make our customers successful.”
Prior to Salesforce, Patterson served as Chief Executive of BT Group from 2013 to 2019. During his tenure at BT, he led the £15 billion acquisition of EE, launched BT Sport, expanded BT’s cyber security practice and championed BT’s social purpose agenda. He joined BT in 2004 as Managing Director of Consumer and joined the board as CEO BT Retail in 2008.
Prior to BT, Patterson spent four years at Virgin Media and nine years at Procter & Gamble. He graduated from Cambridge University with a Master of Engineering.