When it comes to purchasing gifts for certain executives, Marc Benioff pulls out all the stops and goes all out.
Insider reported a week ago that the CEO of Salesforce has generously given away several watches with prices in the five-figure range as well as cars with prices well into the six-figure range.
According to sources within the company, Salesforce splashed out and bought an Aston Martin for its top marketing officer, Sarah Franklin, as well as an electric BMW for the chairman of the company’s advisory board, Alex Dayon. Both of these purchases are seen as lavish.
In 2017, the company also purchased an automobile for its cofounder Parker Harris with a price tag of $271,439, according to regulatory documents. In 2019, a vehicle worth $211,703 and a watch worth $86,423 were presented to former co-CEO Keith Block.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff lavished executives with Cartier watches.
At the very least, Salesforce’s tradition of excessive spending dates back to 2015, when the company purchased a watch for Block, who was serving as COO at the time, for the price of $40,564. It was presented to him “in recognition of his success leading the sales organization in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016,” according to the SEC filing.
At executive meetings for Salesforce, Benioff is known for giving away watches from Cartier valued at $10,000 each.
However, not every worker receives lavish gifts or perks in their employment. In spite of posting “record” adjusted operating margins of 22.5% for its most recent fiscal year, the corporation reduced annual bonuses by 30% earlier this month.
An SEC filing revealed that during the company’s most recent fiscal year, which ended in January 2023, Benioff was paid a remuneration package with a value of $30 million. That was a $1.4 million increase over what he had made in the preceding year’s earnings.
Its marketing boss received an Aston Martin, while another executive received an electric BMW.
The details of Benioff’s compensation were made public during the same month that Salesforce announced plans to reduce its employment by approximately 10%, or close to 8,000 employees, in an effort to increase profitability.
In a letter to shareholders dated April 27, Benioff stated, “We’re moving aggressively across all four fronts of our transformation plan, which include short-term and long-term restructuring of the company; improving productivity and performance; prioritizing our core innovations; and building a deeper and even stronger relationship with our stockholders.”
A request for a reply from Insider that was made outside of Salesforce’s typical working hours did not receive an instant response from the company.
To learn more, click here: The inside tale of how Salesforce went from giving out ultra-luxury cars to laying off a significant number of employees and having a “showdown” between the co-CEOs of the company
Network Hype Team