Technology
Adam Selipsky Is the 2019 Tech Impact Champion
Tableau Software CEO launched new initiatives and steered the company through a complicated acquisition
By Rob Smith September 27, 2019
This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the October 2019 issue. See more about the winners of the 2019 Tech Impact Awards here. Click here for a free subscription.
Fast-growing Tableau Software Inc. has been on an upward trajectory since Adam Selipsky took over as chief executive officer three years ago. First, he initiated a subscription-based pricing model for the companys data analytics services, helping it stabilize revenue and rapidly grow sales. Then, earlier this year, he led the effort that resulted in the sale of Tableau to San Francisco-based Salesforce.com, a $15.7 billion deal that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said would essentially make Seattle the companys second headquarters.
The deal was noteworthy in that it closed less than two months after being announced, a highly unusual occurrence for a transaction of that scope. Tableau had a lot riding on successfully executing the agreement. In a federal filing, Tableau revealed it would have had to pay a termination fee to Salesforce of $552 million if the acquisition failed or was delayed.
The deal has the potential to get Tableau in front of millions and millions of Salesforce users, Selipsky says. And we can integrate those into Tableau products. Tableau employs 4,200 workers, about half of those in Seattle.
Prior Tech Impact Champions
Tech Impact Champions are selected for their achievements in technology and for championing the regions broader tech sector. Here are the previous inductees:
2012: John McAdams, former CEO, F5 Networks
2013: Jeremy Jaech, co-founder, Aldus and Visio; chair emeritus, Technology Alliance
2014: Steve Ballmer, former CEO, Microsoft
2015: Tom Alberg, co-founder, Madrona Venture Group
2016: Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
2017: Steve Singh, former CEO, Docker Inc.; co-founder and former CEO, Concur Technologies
2018 Co-winners: Hadi Partovi, co-founder and CEO, Code.org; and Trish Millines Dziko, co-founder and executive director, Technology Access Foundation