Salesforce Board Adds Former European Commissioner Neelie Kroes

Former European Commissioner Neelie Kroes has been appointed to the Salesforce (CRM) board of directors effective May 1, 2016.

Currently a Special Envoy for StartupDelta, a public/private partnership to build a startup ecosystem in the Netherlands, Kroes formerly served as Commissioner for Digital Agenda, where she worked with startups in Europe through initiatives such as open API platform FI-WARE. She also worked to bring more transparency to cloud service level agreements and contracts during her stint as European Commission vice president.

“We are delighted to have Neelie Kroes join our Board of Directors,” Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce said in a statement. “She is an amazing and respected leader who has done extraordinary work at the highest levels of government, technology policy and business in Europe. Salesforce will benefit greatly from her broad experience across both the public and private sectors.”

With Kroes background, perhaps Salesforce will tap her experience to grow its Salesforce for Startups program, which launched in 2014 to “educate tech startups on the breadth of products offered by Salesforce.”

Salesforce Ventures could also be an area where Kroes’ knowledge comes in handy, too, particularly as it has committed to spending $100 million investing in European startups.

Kroes said it is an honor for her to serve on the 12-person Salesforce board of directors, which includes Benioff and newly appointed Salesforce COO Keith Block.

“Salesforce is one of the world’s most admired companies and a leader in digital transformation for business,” Kroes said in a statement.

Here is the full list of Salesforce board members with the addition of Kroes: