Neelie Kroes joins Salesforce board: Fromer EU competition chief hot on tech regualtion just joined a tech company
Neelie Kroes, the woman who spent more than a decade overseeing competition in the EU, has joined the board of US-based global tech firm Salesforce.
With nicknames such as Nickel Neelie or Steely Neelie, Kroes handled antitrust cases involving many of the world's largest telecoms and tech firms.
“She is an amazing and respected leader who has done extraordinary work at the highest levels of government, technology policy and business in Europe," said Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff. "Salesforce will benefit greatly from her broad experience across both the public and private sectors.”
Since 2010, Kroes has been European digital commissioner, but helped bring together antitrust investigations involving the likes of Google and Microsoft. In 2009 she was also responsible for ordering RBS and Lloyds to sell off assets in the wake of the financial crisis when they were bailed out by the government.