Marc Benioff: 10 Facts About The CEO Of SalesForce
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He Interned At Apple
While attending USC in the 1980s, Benioff also held an internship at Apple. He worked as an assembly language programmer in the Macintosh division.
Benioff stated on many occasions that he was inspired by the late Steve Jobs to get into the tech field. Elaborating on his admiration for him, Benioff praised what Jobs did at Apple. Benioff also even suggested that SalesForce would have never existed without Jobs because of the sound advice that he provided.
He Interned At Apple
While attending USC in the 1980s, Benioff also held an internship at Apple. He worked as an assembly language programmer in the Macintosh division.
Benioff stated on many occasions that he was inspired by the late Steve Jobs to get into the tech field. Elaborating on his admiration for him, Benioff praised what Jobs did at Apple. Benioff also even suggested that SalesForce would have never existed without Jobs because of the sound advice that he provided.
Here Was The Youngest Vice President At Oracle Corporation
Before graduating from college, Benioff began working at Oracle Corporation. He initially worked within the tech company's customer service department. By age 23, Benioff was named Rookie of the Year for Oracle. A few years later, he became the youngest person at Oracle to be promoted to vice president. Over the next 13 years, he worked on a variety of projects at Oracle, including sales and project development. He eventually left the company to launch SalesForce.
SalesForce Started In A Rented Apartment
Benioff joined forces with Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez in 1999 to launch SalesForce. With no money to spend on an office, Benioff had no choice but to use a rented apartment as the first headquarters for the company. It was a small one-bedroom apartment where the four founders started SalesForce. Space was so tight that the server was in a bedroom closet and some people slept on a futon. Eventually, they moved SalesForce to a formal office.
He Had Two Buddhist Monks Stay In His House
When SalesForce welcomed Buddhist monks to its headquarters to reinforce mindfulness and meditation, it needed a place for them to stay while in San Francisco. Naturally, Benioff invited the monks to stay at one of his houses.
Benioff has a long history of embracing spirituality and Eastern religions. As a young man, he visited India on a trip to find spiritual enlightenment. While on the trip, a spiritual monk explained to Benioff the importance of charity.
He Founded The 1-1-1 Model
As a humanitarian, Benioff believes that everyone should give back — including organizations. He established the 1-1-1 model at SalesForce which achieves this goal. The 1-1-1 model holds that companies should contribute one percent of product, one percent of equity, and one percent of employee hours back to the community. Throughout the years, SalesForce has donated millions in grants and in service hours back to the community. Benioff has also inspired other companies to follow the same model.
He Stays At An Airbnb When He Is On The Road
Although Benioff is extremely wealthy, he refuses to stay at luxurious hotels when he travels. Instead, he opts to stay at an Airbnb. Benioff tries to live a low-key life, which a fancy hotel hardly achieves. In the past, Benioff has praised Airbnb for its role in the tech industry in San Francisco. He has also teamed up with the founders of Airbnb to join the Giving Pledge that another philanthropist, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, started.
He Is Not Affliated With Any Political Party
Although Benioff is vocal when it comes to important political issues, and supported Hillary Clinton for President during the 2016 election, he does not identify with any political party. Benioff is not in close contact with any politician. He has said in the past that he doesn't liked to be called a Democrat or a Republican. Benioff also made it clear that he will give his money to any politician he likes, regardless of political affiliation.
He Is A Social Activist
Benioff is an outspoken supporter of equal pay and equal rights. In addition to donations to various social causes, he has also positioned SalesForce as an agent of positive change. When Indiana passed a controversial religious liberties bill that allowed people to deny service to someone because of his or her sexuality, he canceled all employee trips to Indiana. Benioff has also advocated against bills that would have limited the rights of LGBTQ people throughout the country.
He Has Won Numerous Awards
In 2015, TechCrunch named Benioff as the CEO of the Year. This is just one example of the numerous awards and honors that Benioff has received. In 2016, Fortune readers named Benioff as Businessperson of the Year. That same year, Benioff made Barron's list of the Best CEOs in the World. In 2014, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater, USC. He has also been named to numerous prestigious committees.
He's Big On Philanthropy
Benioff firmly believes in the power of giving back to the community. Along with his wife, Lynne, he donated roughly $250 million to UCSF Children's Hospital, which then changed its name to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Benioff said that he supported having his name on the building so that other people would also be inspired to give back to their communities. He also produces several local concerts every year that serve as fundraisers for the hospital.
