Salesforce chief people officer Brent Hyder is leaving, internal message shows

• Salesforce Chief People Officer Brent Hyder is leaving the company.
• His exit was announced in an internal Slack message viewed by Insider.
• In June, Hyder offended some employees during the company’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride month kickoff.

According to an internal message obtained by Insider, Salesforce Chief People Officer Brent Hyder is leaving the company.

“I share this with mixed feelings.” Brent Hyder has decided to leave Salesforce in order to pursue a new opportunity,” said Chief Operating Officer Brian Millham in an internal Slack message. “Brent has led our Employee Success organization for four years, during which time he oversaw the most rapid period of growth in our history, and guided us through the unprecedented experience of not just working — but thriving — through a global pandemic.”

According to the message, Nathalie Scardino, executive vice president of recruiting, onboarding, and employee learning, will serve as interim chief people officer while Salesforce searches for internal and external candidates to replace Hyder.

Insider obtained confirmation from Salesforce of Hyder’s departure.

“It has been an honor to be a part of the Salesforce family, and this was a difficult decision for me.” “I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished as a team — both within the company and in our communities,” Hyder said in an internal message.

“Salesforce has never been more relevant, trusted, or strategic, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this world-class team can achieve.” Incredible careers are built here, and you should all be proud of what you’ve accomplished as a group. You are in for some incredible opportunities. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I truly love the people I work with, and today I feel that love and gratitude even more strongly. “Thank you,” he continued in his message.

Hyder’s tenure as HR director has been a roller coaster ride. In addition to a period of rapid hiring and growth during his tenure, the company was under pressure from a group of activist investors to focus on profit and began laying off 10% of its global workforce earlier this year, eliminating roles in sales, recruiting, and marketing, as well as jobs in some of its acquired companies, including Tableau, Mulesoft, and Slack.

According to a recording and internal messages viewed by Insider, Hyder offended some employees during the company’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride month kickoff in June, and the company later removed his comments from a recording of the event and deleted a Slack thread on the topic.