Steve Garnett is Chairman of Europe at salesforce.com and has truly had one of the most distinguished careers of any European executive in the software industry. Garnett has been a member of the executive management team of three software startups that have each turned into some of the most successful software companies in history.
Garnett started his career joining Oracle Corporation prior to its IPO in 1986. He held various technical and sales positions including Director of UK sales, Vice President European Marketing & Alliances and was the youngest member of the European management team. He was at Oracle Corporation for 12 years as the company grew to become the world’s 2nd largest software company. Garnett joined Siebel Systems in 1996 as Vice President of Europe and a member of the founders circle. From 100 employees, the company grew in eight years to become the world’s 5th largest software company with 8,000 employees and a $60b market capitalization at its peak. In 2004 Steve joined his former Oracle executive colleague Marc Benioff to head European operations and be part of the executive team at salesforce.com. He helped take salesforce.com public in 2004 and the company’s market capitalization has been as high as $8b. Garnett has been lauded as one of BusinessWeek’s Top 100 Most Innovative Companies, named No. 7 on The WIRED 40, selected as a Top Ten Disrupter by Forbes, and was recently announced as one of the Top Most Influential Britons in Technology by the Daily Telegraph.
Throughout his career, Garnett has been committed to using his resources to produce positive social change for under served children. He is a board member at TeachFirst, an organization focused on eradication of educational disadvantage in inner city schools in the UK.
Garnett has a degree in mathematics and a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester, and holds a number of professional affiliations and board positions.
