Salesforce Appoints Advisory Board to Support Growth in EMEA
LONDON, UK – May 26, 2020 – Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, today announced that it has appointed an advisory board of senior international business leaders to provide strategic guidance and support to Salesforce’s ongoing expansion strategy in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the company’s fastest-growing region last year.
The new board, which will meet quarterly, is led by Alex Dayon, Chairman of the Advisory Board, Salesforce. Members of the advisory board previously led major corporations from industries, including consumer goods, insurance, automotive, fashion and technology, and currently also serve as independent directors on corporate boards across a range of companies and industries.
“Tapping into the expertise of an advisory board of this calibre is essential as we navigate the unprecedented challenges that are reshaping our world,” said Gavin Patterson, President and CEO Salesforce International. “The board will provide vital perspective as we work with our customers across EMEA to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare their businesses for the new normal.”
The members of the advisory board were today named as:
- Stefan Heidenreich (Vice-Chair), Former CEO, Beiersdorf AG
- Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Former CEO, Virgin Money; Founder and Executive Chair of Snoop
- Ana García Fau, Chairperson, Finerge SA and Former CEO Yell Publicidad SA
- Harald Krüger, Former Chairman and CEO, BMW AG
- Peter Löscher, Former CEO, Siemens AG
- Guillaume Pepy, Former Chairman and CEO, SNCF Group
- Francesco Trapani, Former CEO, Bulgari
- Véronique Weill, General Manager, Publicis Groupe SA
- Alexander Wynaendts, Former CEO and Chairman, Aegon N.V.
The inaugural meeting of the advisory board will take place in early June 2020.
Appendix: Background Notes
Background notes on the board members are attached as an appendix to this release.
Stefan Heidenreich (Vice-Chair)
Stefan is an active investor, senior advisor and board member for several international companies, such as EQT, Perella Weinberg, and EMH Partners. Having studied business administration in Kiel, in addition to stints at Procter & Gamble and Benckiser, he served as CEO at Hero between 2004 and 2011. As CEO of Beiersdorf AG between 2012 and 2019, the company’s value more than doubled under his leadership. He served as non-executive board director at Godiva Chocolatier Inc. between 2008 and 2014, and as a non-executive director at Coca-Cola HBC AG from 2012 to 2014.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia
Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the Founder and Executive Chair of Snoop, and is former CEO of Salesforce UKI. A chartered accountant, Jayne-Anne spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. Three years later, she set up the Virgin One account, which was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2001. She spent five years at RBS before returning to Virgin as CEO of Virgin Money between 2007 and 2018. In November 2016 she was appointed as the UK Government’s Women in Finance Champion.
Ana García Fau
With extensive previous experience in international executive roles, Ana García Fau was CEO of Yell for the Spanish and Latin American businesses, before expanding her role to the US Hispanic market, between 2006 and 2014. Previously, between 1997 and 2006, at the Telefonica Group she served as Chief Corporate Development Officer and CFO of TPI-Paginas Amarillas. She holds degrees in economics and business administration, and law, as well as an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is currently Non-Executive director at several public and private companies such as Merlin Properties SA (Spain), Gestamp Automocion SA (Spain), Eutelsat SA (France) and DLA Piper LLP (UK), and Non-Executive Chairperson of Finerge SA (Portugal).
Harald Krüger
Harald Krüger was born in Freiburg (Germany) in 1965 and studied engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig and RWTH Aachen. After one year as a research assistant at the Institute of Flight System Dynamics at the German Aerospace Centre, he joined BMW AG in 1992 as a management trainee. After serving as project engineer at Plant Spartanburg (USA) for two years, he filled various executive management functions at BMW AG in Munich (Germany) and Hams Hall (UK) from 1995 to 2008. In December 2008, he was appointed Member of the Board of Management, consecutively being responsible for Human Resources, then for MINI, BMW Motorcycles, Rolls-Royce and Aftersales and, last but not least, for Production. From May 2015 until August 2019, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. In May 2018 he became member of the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom AG and in May 2020 of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
Peter Löscher
Peter Löscher is a former President and CEO of Siemens AG. He has held various executive leadership positions in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries, including as President of Global Human Health and Member of the Executive Board of Merck & Co., and CEO of GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences and member of GE’s Corporate Executive Council. Currently, he is Chairman of the Board of Sulzer AG, Switzerland, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG, Germany. He is a Board member of Telefónica S.A., Spain, Royal Philips N.V., Netherlands, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Group AG, Switzerland, and also a Non-Executive Director of Doha Venture Capital LLC, Qatar. He is Senior Advisor to Bain Capital Private Equity, LP, USA.
Guillaume Pepy
Guillaume Pepy, previously a high ranking civil servant to the French government, served as Chairman and CEO of the French national railway company, SNCF. He has also been Chairman of Eurostar and Deputy-Chairman of the mobility and logistics services operator Keolis Group and is currently a non executive director of Lagardere. He is a graduate of Sciences Po and a former alumnus of École nationale d’administration.
Francesco Trapani
Francesco Trapani is Executive Chairman & Partner of Vam Investments Group SpA and is also Executive Deputy Chairman & Partner at Tages Holding SpA. Previously, he was CEO of Bulgari, where between 1984 and 2011 he is credited with turning the company into one of the more successful luxury jewelry brands. In 2001, he managed the Bulgari joint venture with Marriott International to open named Bulgari Hotels and Resorts. In 2011, he also oversaw the sales and integration of Bulgari within Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton (LVMH). He was Chairman & CEO of LVMH (Watches and Jewelry Division) between 2011 and 2014 and served as a board member of Tiffany & Co between 2017 and 2019.
Véronique Weill
Véronique Weill is General Manager at Publicis Groupe, responsible for the company’s IT and shared services operations and mergers and acquisitions, among other divisions. Véronique spent 21 years at JP Morgan where she led operations and IT globally. She joined Axa in 2006 where, as Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Customer Officer, she contributed to making Axa the world’s number one insurance brand. Véronique is a graduate of Institut d’études politiques de Paris (IEP) and has a bachelor’s degree in literature from the Sorbonne University.
Alexander Wynaendts
Alexander Wynaendts has spent over 30 years in international finance and insurance. He began his career with ABN AMRO bank in 1984, working in the bank’s private banking and investment banking operations in both Amsterdam and London. Prior to being appointed as CEO at Aegon, Alexander held a number of different positions at the company, beginning in 1997 in Group Business Development. As CEO, he led Aegon through the economic crisis, ensuring the company maintained its strong capital position. Educated in France, he holds degrees in electrical engineering and economics.
