Departure For Salesforce.com Head

Saleforce.com the San Francisco, Calif.-based provider of customer relationship management (CRM) services, has parted ways with John Dillon, the firm’s president and CEO of two years.

According to Salesforce.com chairman, Mark Benioff, the departure happened last week and was a result of a mutual agreement between Dillon and the firm: “Every company goes through transitions and the company is moving into its next stage of growth right now. We made the decision together that John was going to transition out of his job,” explains Benioff.

Benioff says he would be taking over Dillon’s responsibilities, a position he held before Dillon’s appointment, until a replacement is found. He will again be drawing on his “high growth” experience, gained in his previous role as a senior VP for software giant Oracle Corp.

There is no news of where Dillon will be heading next as he could not be reached for comment, but Benioff says the firm is not yet announcing a search for a replacement or could comment on what type of candidate it will be looking for.

“The Board has not made any decisions in that area and we are not actively searching for a new president and CEO at this time,” says Benioff.

Salesforce.com has been making aggressive moves in the CRM market, currently dominated by Software firm Siebel Systems.

The company recently announced a strategic partnership with Data Junction Corp., a developer of data integration solutions and firms including Dow Jones Newswires and Time Warner Communications are among Saleforce.com’s new customers this year, deploying its CRM application.

“We think it’s the biggest opportunity right now in the CRM marketplace, but also an opportunity for John to make a transition. We believe it has worked out well for both himself and the company,” concludes Benioff.