Slack CEO leaving Salesforce

Nearly a decade after releasing the business-friendly instant messaging platform Slack, founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield is leaving the company.

A spokesperson for Salesforce, which purchased the platform in 2021, confirmed Butterfield is departing and will be replaced by Lidiane Jones.

“Stewart is an incredible leader who created an amazing, beloved company in Slack,” the spokesperson said. “He has helped lead the successful integration of Slack into Salesforce and today Slack is woven into the Salesforce Customer 360 platform.”

Prior to developing Slack, Butterfield co-founded photo-sharing website Flickr before it was sold to Yahoo.

Monday’s announcement, which was reported earlier by CNBC, comes one week after Salesforce Co-CEO and Vice Chairman Bret Taylor announced he will leave the company early next year.

Taylor ran Salesforce as it announced plans to acquire Slack in late 2020 before closing the deal for nearly $28 billion the following July.

“Thank you Stewart for what you’ve built and for trusting me with the most important role of my life,” Jones wrote on her LinkedIn profile. 

“Simply put, there would be no Slack without Stewart,” she continued. “He’s built an incredible company that has redefined modern collaboration with a team grounded in humility and innovation. As we look forward, we are grounded by Slack’s mission to make people’s working life simpler, more pleasant and more productive.”