John DeVoe
Senior Vice President of Aerospace and Defense, Salesforce
John DeVoe joined salesforce 15 years ago to help build its then-new public sector business. He transitioned roles five years ago to focus on the aerospace and the government contracting industry, one where he could leverage 25 years of experience as a government employee and in private industry.
Salesforce has experienced incredible growth since founded in 1999, and while its public sector business was quite small when DeVoe joined the company, it now extends to government agencies and contractors around the world.
When asked about his achievements, DeVoe described what he learned from CEO Marc Benioff and Global Public Sector President Dave Rey.
“Start with a beginner’s mind, listen deeply to your customers, think big, constantly prioritize, and recognize change is simply an opportunity waiting,” he said. “Achievements will follow.”
Why Watch
DeVoe praises his teams for their enormous commitment to GovCon customers and their ability to embrace change.
“One of the most important shifts we made recently is to engage industry program managers as CEOs,” he said. “They share many of the same business challenges as their employers — customer and program success, growth, risk reduction, talent management and supply chain. We simply love helping our customers address their challenges.”