Last night, Salesforce (CRM) appointed Keith Block as its co-chief executive officer, joining Marc Benioff, who will remain the Chairman of the board. Commenting on the news, Jefferies analyst John DiFucci told investors he does not believe Benioff is going anywhere soon, but the company is well positioned if he decided to do so. CO-CEOS: Salesforce announced yesterday that the company’s board has promoted Keith Block to co-CEO. Block now reports to Salesforce’s Board of Directors and remains a member of the board. Block served as Salesforce’s Vice Chairman, President and as a Director since joining the company in June 2013, and most recently served as the company’s COO since February 2016. In their respective roles as co-CEOs, Benioff, who continues as Chairman of the Board, will lead Salesforce’s vision and innovation in areas including technology, marketing, stakeholder engagement, and culture. Block will lead the company’s growth strategy, execution, and operations.

CO-CEO BENIOFF LIKELY NOT LEAVING: In a research note to investors following the news, Jefferies’ DiFucci said he does not believe co-CEO Marc Benioff is “going anywhere soon”. However, Salesforce is well positioned if he decided to do so, DiFucci added. Overall, DiFucci views the news as a “much deserved promotion” for Block, as he is “rightfully credited with transforming” Salesforce into a company that enterprises view as a strategic partner. The analyst also noted that this action appears logical as the number of responsibilities have increased for the management team as the company looks to grow toward its future 2022 target of $23B in revenue while also integrating MuleSoft. While DiFucci acknowledged that co-CEOs can sometimes cause confusion within a company, he believes that this is unlikely in this circumstance given the clear delineation of roles, which also happen to play to each co-CEO’s strengths. He reiterated a Buy rating and $155 price target on Salesforce shares.