Sun's Patricia Sueltz Jumps To Salesforce.com

Sueltz told CRN that she signed with Salesforce.com Tuesday night and informed Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy Wednesday morning. Sueltz will start her new job Thursday as executive vice president of the company and president of Salesforce.com's Technology Marketing and Systems organization.

"Titles don't mean a whole lot, but I'd say everything except sales and finance falls in this job," Sueltz said. "That means all of the marketing, the strategy, technology development and also the systems and the presentation of the products on the hosting environment."

Sueltz said she had to join Salesforce.com immediately to be listed on the company's S1 form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is expected to issue its initial public offering this spring.

"[McNealy] knows I will be here to help with the transition, and at the same time I have to help with the transition [at Salesforce.com], too," Sueltz said. "If Scott needs me for something I'm always there. Scott knows that, and [Salesforce.com CEO] Marc [Benioff] also knows that."

Commenting on Sueltz's departure just after his keynote at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Sun's EVP of Software Jonathan Schwartz said he was "sad to see Pat go."

However, he said any partner initiatives instituted at Sun Services under Sueltz were done at the "organizational level," and he expects those plans to remain unaffected by her departure.

Sun has not yet identified a successor to Sueltz, since her departure did come as a bit of a surprise, Schwartz said. However, finding a suitable replacement should not be a problem because McNealy "has a deep bench," Schwartz said. "He always says that for every one of us there are 15 people that can do our jobs."

Previously an executive vice president with IBM, Sueltz, 51, joined Sun in 1999 as executive vice president and general manager of Sun's software systems group. In 2000 Fortune magazine placed Sueltz among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. She also sits on the boards of Delphi Automotive Systems and pharmaceutical company Amgen.

Sueltz moves to a San Francisco-based company that's remarkably reminiscent of the heady days of the dot-com era. Salesforce.com has succeeded with a business model, offering software as a service, that first appeared during the Internet boom. The company is as well known for its marketing skills as it is for its products. And since filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this past December, it is also among the most anticipated IPOs of the year. Salesforce is expected to raise about $115 million in its initial offering.

As executive vice president of Sun Services for the past two years, Sueltz has been instrumental in getting the organization to team more closely with Sun's channel. She joins a company still in the earliest stages of forming any real partner network.

"I have not lost my passion for partners and will continue to work with channels and partners in carrying those things forward [at Salesforce.com]," Sueltz said. "Jim Steele heads sales, and he and I will be a great one-two punch as we continue the channel play."

ELIZABETH MONTALBANO contributed to this story.