Marc Benioff, salesforce.com, inc.1

Chairman & CEO
San Francisco - CA United States

The big idea: In 25 words or less, please tell us how this Fast 50 Nominee is helping to address the planet's problems.

Marc Benioff uses his platform as a business leader to inspire entrepreneurs to challenge conventional thought in the software industry and fellow CEOs to integrate philanthropy into the fabric of their companies.

Please describe how this nominee is using business as a force of positive change. What technology, idea, or strategy is the nominee using -- and what problem, such as global warming, poverty, or pollution, does it address? (suggested length: 100 words)

In founding salesforce.com, Marc Benioff sought to build a different kind of company with a different business, technology and philanthropic model. Unlike traditional software companies, Marc took a cue from the success of consumer Web services like Amazon, eBay and Google and built a sales force automation solution utilizing the Internet that was easy to implement and use. What started as offering customers a single business application is nine years later one of the industry’s leading multi-application and platform providers for enterprises. In addition to transforming the software industry, Marc was determined to ensure that philanthropy and community service was a central part of the company’s culture. Salesforce.com carries out this mission through the “1/1/1Model” by donating 1% time, 1% equity and 1% product to support local community needs, with a particular focus on youth technology programs. The success of the Salesforce.com Foundation has inspired many companies to adopt the Model for their own philanthropic efforts – including Google.

What are the results, both financial and social? How has the nominee's business performed, and what impact has it had on the problem it addresses? (suggested length: 100 words)

Salesforce.com is one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies and is on track to be the first software-as-a-service company to achieve a $1 billion run rate in their next fiscal year (FY09). Over the past fiscal year (FY08), salesforce.com reported record revenue of approximately $748.7 million and milestone net pay customers and subscribers of 41,000 and 1.1 million respectfully. Salesforce.com’s success has garnered the attention of the titans of the software industry – Microsoft, Oracle and SAP – so much so that all are attempting to replicate the vision Marc pioneered nine years ago with salesforce.com. Additionally, Marc’s pioneering philanthropic vision has led to approximately $3 billion of corporate equity dedicated to philanthropic efforts from the salesforce.com, Google and eBay IPOs combined by following the “1/1/1 Model”. Inspired by the foresight of these three leading corporations, another 25 companies have joined salesforce.com’s Power of Us program to learn how they can integrate philanthropy within their organizations.

Comments that readers have made about this submission: