Welcome to Inside the Ohana!

Meet Jim Steele, President of Global Strategic Customers at Salesforce and our first Salesforce Boomerang! In this episode, Jim shares his journey of learning to value the Ohana moreso after leaving Salesforce, and describes why reinventing yourself is key to a successful career – even if your career path takes you back to familiar places.

Guest Bio: Jim Steele’s Boomerang story starts back in 1999 when his employer at the time, IBM, moved him out to the San Francisco Bay area. After a successful 23-year career at IBM, Jim decided to leave the company and head to Ariba in 2000. While at Ariba, Jim saw the company take a meteoric rise before the historic .com bubble burst in 2002. This would lead to Jim joining Salesforce as President of Global Sales. After eight years, Jim was named Chief Customer Officer of Salesforce. In 2014, Jim left Salesforce to rejoin the startup world with InsideSales.com and Yext, which he helped take public. In 2020, Jim returned to Salesforce as the President of Global Strategic Customers reporting to Gavin Patterson, Salesforce’s new President & Chief Revenue Officer. Jim says that not much had changed at the company since his time away — except how big Salesforce has become.

“Salesforce – that same energy and excitement that we all joined Salesforce for, and that it kept us there for so many years, is still there. The magic is still there and hasn't gone away. I'd encourage anyone that's considering it to give me a call. Let me hear your story.”

Jim Steele

Episode Timestamps:

*(1:56) - Ohana Origins: Meet Jim Steele

*(17:03) -  What Does the Ohana mean to Jim?

*(20:49) - What’s Cooking: Jim’s Current Role at Salesforce

*(26:01) - Future Forecast: What’s in Store for Salesforce?

*(27:42) - Advice for Salesforce ‘Boomerangs’*(28:30) - Lightning Round!