Pip Marlow

Pip Marlow, EVP & CEO of Salesforce Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN

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Pip Marlow, EVP & CEO of Salesforce Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN, says she fell into IT by chance but stays in it by choice.

Pip has been at the top of Salesforce in Australia and New Zealand since 2019. Being one of Australia’s leading tech executives, it’s clear the choice has served her well.

Salesforce is the global leader in CRM or customer relationship management services, and is the fastest growing enterprise software company in the world.

Founded in 1999 out of San Francisco, California, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to digitally transform their businesses with powerful technologies like cloud, mobile, social, voice, and artificial intelligence.

Pip’s role in tech was not predetermined. She didn’t really have an idea of what she wanted to do after school. She certainly wasn’t interested in computers. She was interested in media at one stage, fascinated by how the weather works, and even considered being a singer (until she realised having a good voice was important).

What pushed her to pursue a career in tech was an inspirational moment where she saw the power of technology to change and help peoples’ lives and decided she wanted to be involved.

That, together with self-belief and the confidence to take risks, helped make her the executive she is today.

Influences and motivation

There were many influences but a few stand out. Pip’s father was a key figure, although not the only one.

Aim high and dream big, believe in yourself and work in companies with a culture that respects and values you. They were the values her dad imparted.

Other top executives she knew also gave her great advice.

Steve Vamos, the current CEO of accounting software company Xero, taught her it was fine to declare your career ambitions openly and to dream big. Letting people know what you want isn’t a crime.

Pip’s former boss at Microsoft (where she spent 21 years), Tracey Fellows, now president of Global Digital Real Estate at News Corporation, challenged her by setting the bar high but then helping her reach the benchmark.

Several unique experiences also affected Pip’s career pathway. She once worked for a tech firm because it paid $500 more than another job she was offered. But one day she realised they weren’t treating her with respect as a female.

The lesson was that, while money is important, so is a good company culture. Values matter for individuals and companies.

Salesforce itself seems to share this view of the importance of workplace culture. Fortune magazine ranked the company second in its list of top 100 best companies to work for in 2021, based on a survey of employees. In addition, in 2021 Salesforce Australia was recognised for the sixth year running as one of the Best Workplaces in Australia by Great Place to Work.

Perhaps Pip’s biggest inspiration was to realise that technology can help business, teachers, doctors and students navigate their daily challenges and improve on what they are doing.

Risks and Challenges

Pip is open about recognising the challenges she has faced, like moving to the United States without any contacts, or coping with bouts of “imposter syndrome” —the doubts people can have about being up to a big job.

Now she looks back and realises the rewards that came from taking those risks. Instead of staying just two years in the US, which is what she planned originally, she ended up staying eight years. And when she returned to Australia, she came back with a Scottish husband and two children.

Underlying this attitude is the idea that without risk there is no reward. That you can’t give in to your fears and that you have to show a bit of courage to get ahead.

And not every setback means something truly negative. When she didn’t get the Chief Operating Officer job at Microsoft, it was a blow. When her boss then asked her to take over the company’s Public Sector account, she was a little dubious.

She knew little about that side of the business, but when she took the risk she got to understand government processes and it turned into one of her best experiences.

A few years later she was appointed managing director of Microsoft Australia.

Her approach to risk is apparent in other ways as well. For Pip, the role of luck in career success comes down to serendipity and preparedness. If there is an opportunity you have to be prepared to take it, and then to risk doing it. That might take courage but in the end, backing yourself is worth it.

Career Advice

Pip has several career advice tips:

● Back yourself. Aim high. Believe that you are just as worthy as anyone else to be successful.

● Be authentic. Your best work will be done in an environment whose values you share. So choose that environment.

● Help others coming through when you are in a position to do so.

● Don’t get too hung up on whether you have the right skills. They are important but what’s really key is the capability to learn something new.