Board changes could signal Salesforce’s willingness to appease activist investors
A week ago activist investor Elliott Management announced it had made a multibillion-dollar investment in Salesforce. By Friday, the company announced it was bringing in three new board members , and The Wall Street Journal was reporting that Elliott planned to nominate its own slate of directors . According to people familiar with the situation, that Wall Street Journal story is accurate. Salesforce isn’t just dealing with Elliott though. Starboard Value bought a “significant stake” in the company in October, and two other firms, ValueAct and Inclusive Capital, are also active inside the firm, per Reuters . Perhaps it’s not surprising that Mason Morfit, CEO and chief investment officer of ValueAct Capital, is one of the three new members. He joins Arnold Donald, former president and CEO at Carnival Corporation and Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra. They will replace Bret Taylor, co-chair and co-CEO, who announced in November that he is stepping down at the end of the month along with