Thoughts from Day 1 as CEO of Service Cloud

Today, I start a new role leading Service Cloud at Salesforce, where I spent my early career 15 years ago. While on sabbatical the last five months, I reflected deeply on what I should do next, and this was my thought process. 

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We are living and shaping an important moment in history. One that will crown winners and losers, and from which stories which will be told for generations. We have a Covid vaccine, but the vast majority of people haven’t yet been vaccinated. Last week, we witnessed the peaceful transition of power in America, but many remain disillusioned, disenfranchised, and out of work. The pandemic forced all of us to pivot to remote work and running our lives online, and no one knows when and to what degree we will go back to in-person or even a hybrid world. It is an important moment for us each to lead and serve. Today’s uncertainty combined with new digital possibilities offers unprecedented opportunity to own the future by defining it. 

Against the backdrop of a pandemic, customer service has taken on a whole new meaning and level of urgency– serving customers and serving employees. Every company needs to become a digital-first, work-from-anywhere Service organization in order to survive in the new world order.

Organizations today have three mission-critical imperatives: first, to deliver thoughtful experiences, whether digital or in-person. Second, to increase operational efficiency and resiliency through digitalizing processes to harness intelligence and automation. Third, to define and manage the future of work, which will be remote, hybrid, and mobile. Service is the foundation for all three of these imperatives, and for this reason I'm thrilled to join Salesforce today as CEO of Service Cloud.

Coming back to Salesforce

I first joined Salesforce in 2006 as a product manager on the AppExchange team. At the time, the company run rate was approaching $1B, almost all from sales force automation. I remember when Service Cloud was launched, and Marc Benioff declared Service would become the next billion-dollar business line. It was an exciting, audacious goal. 

The innovative culture at Salesforce inspired me in 2009 to leave and start my own company, Hearsay Systems. I‘ve loved being a startup entrepreneur and it was the privilege of my lifetime to serve as Hearsay’s CEO (where I‘ll continue to serve on the Board of Directors). But for me, being a startup CEO came at a tremendous personal cost, with no weekends, days off, or downtime. Last summer, I realized that after 11 years, it was time to pass the torch and take a break from 24/7 startup CEO life, while my son was still young. 

During my sabbatical, I reflected deeply on what I should do next – who I’d want to work with each day, where I could bring a beginner’s mind and learn the most, what kind of impact I could have, how I could honor my promise to my family to not travel constantly. I believe everyone can benefit from working at a startup (to learn range and hustle) and also from working at a well-run corporation (to learn world-class scale). As I looked to my next chapter after Hearsay, I thought back to my early career at Salesforce– the unrelenting focus on customers and innovation, and commitment to trust, equality, and community, and decided to come back. It was an easy decision because I share the company’s values and believe Salesforce is one of the most powerful platforms for positive change in the world. 

My pandemic crash course

Though I have a lot to learn about Service, the pandemic has given me a beginner’s crash course. I’ve called contact centers to ask about missing or late orders, been put on hold, and then figured out I could self-service much more quickly on portals, apps, and with bots powered by Service Cloud. When in a bind, I order food delivery for my family from Uber Eats and Doordash (both made possible by Service Cloud) and last week had furniture delivered and the cable guy come to my house (businesses enabled by Salesforce Field Service). When my husband needed to take our car to visit his mom in LA, I scheduled a contactless curbside rental car pickup, made possible by Service Cloud. Last April when my driver’s license expired, I drove to the DMV and was disappointed to see it was closed. Thankfully, I was able to get what I needed by interacting with the DMV bot.

Last but not least, Service Cloud enables brick-and-mortar store experiences. Recently, my mom’s T-Mobile phone was acting up. As her IT person (by her choice, not mine ??), I booked an appointment at the local T-Mobile store. When we arrived, a store employee checked us in using the Service Cloud app on his tablet. He was able to instantly pull up her account details while ensuring proper distancing inside the store. I marveled at the operational seamlessness and friendly experience, and was filled with gratitude for front-line workers in today’s complex environment.

As we look ahead, one of the most challenging and important areas leaders must navigate is the future of work. Hiring, onboarding, and managing a workforce have all become much more difficult in today’s remote and hybrid environment. Right now, millions of contact center agents are working from home. Some may go back in person, others will stay home or go to a hybrid model. Working remotely during the pandemic may convince many to become gig workers, continuing the trend that started pre-pandemic. 

Even what constitutes a contact center has changed. At a major global retail brand, store employees have become distributed contact center agents when store traffic is light. Same for branch financial specialists at one of the largest banks in North America. These major shifts are hugely disruptive to managing a workforce. There are no playbooks or technology solutions yet. We have to invent them, and do so ethically and responsibly. 

To the future

Given my longtime passion for customer experience, automation, and creating dignified work, I couldn’t ask for a more personally meaningful business at Salesforce to be joining. From Adidas, Southwest Airlines, and Wells Fargo to the City of Chicago (my hometown!), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Code.org (of which I serve on the Diversity Advisory Council), Service Cloud delivers customer and employee experiences, automation, and workforce transformation. It is the foundation for the future, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to join this team.

To my new coworkers, customers, and partners – I look forward to meeting all of you and working together to define and build the future of Service. Thank you for your trust and partnership. We are going to do amazing things together!

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Thank you to the many of you who supported me on this journey, took my calls, and shared your wisdom about life, family, and career. I couldn't be more excited about my next chapter!