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Polly Sumner
Chief Adoption Officer
Polly Sumner is the Chief Adoption Officer at Salesforce.com, a position she has held since January 2008.14 In this role, she is responsible for customer success and ensuring that each customer gets maximum value from Salesforce's products and services.15
Prior to joining Salesforce, Sumner had a 20-year career in executive management in the technology industry.1 Her experience includes:
- Senior Vice President at Oracle Corporation from 1987 to 199924
- President of Global Services at Telcordia1
- President and CEO of Alphablox, a web-based analytics company later acquired by IBM in 20041
- Consultant to Warburg Pincus, focusing on telecommunications, financial services, and technology industries1
Sumner is based in Hayfork, California.34 Her approach to customer success involves putting the customer at the center of the organization's thinking and building trust through technology.6 She emphasizes the importance of adapting to technological changes and fostering a culture of innovation and stakeholder engagement.6
At Salesforce, Sumner advocates for a holistic view of success that includes customer satisfaction, innovation, equity, and trust, rather than just traditional metrics.6 She also supports Salesforce's 1-1-1 model, which involves giving back one percent of their time, equity, and product to the community.6
