Salesforce CTO Quietly Admits CEO’s ICE Jokes Were A Tinder Profile Disaster

KEY POINTS

•At a Salesforce event in Las Vegas, CEO Marc Benioff made several controversial jokes about ICE, sparking employee outrage.
•CTO Parker Harris addressed the fallout internally, personally disapproving of the jokes and warning against public leaks.
•Slack General Manager Rob Seaman publicly criticized the CEO's comments but faced repercussions for airing concerns online.

At the Salesforce employee kickoff in Las Vegas last Tuesday, CEO Marc Benioff made multiple jokes involving ICE, including one about agents supposedly spying on employee travel, because nothing says office morale like controversial border patrol punchlines. CTO and cofounder Parker Harris weighed in during a product and tech team meeting, calling it 'a very bad joke' and making it clear he was 'not okay with it personally.' Meanwhile, Slack GM Rob Seaman publicly disavowed the comments but apparently got 'in hot water' because airing grievances on a company-owned messaging app is apparently more taboo than a courtroom drama. Harris also reminded everyone that complaining to the press is a 'fireable offense'—because confidential venting in the face of uncomfortable bronco rides on the PR Rodeo might not be the best idea. Harris closed with a democracy pep talk about voting, the ultimate non-software political maneuver, and urged employees to 'keep it confidential,' because deep down, they’re all terrified of the code of conduct hammer.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

When your CEO’s ICE jokes cause an uproar, but your CTO’s official statement reads like a hostage negotiation with a side of civics lesson, you know corporate culture is still stuck in 2005 corporate PR boot camp.

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