Marc Benioff, CEO of San
Francisco-based Salesforce, suggested this week that he may pull a
digital marketing conference out of Georgia if lawmakers approve a
bill that protects opponents of marriage equality.
Connections is scheduled to take place
in Atlanta in May.
“Should Salesforce move
salesforce.com/connections/ if @JoshMcKoon's anti-gay bill 757 passes
the Georgia legislator [sic]?” he asked his 205,000 followers in a
poll posted last week on Twitter.
An overwhelming number of respondents
(80%) said that Salesforce should divest from Georgia.
Benioff discussed the poll results
during a keynote Q&A at the New York Times' New York
Summit.
“Eighty percent said to move the
conference,” Benioff
said. “Twenty percent said keep it where it is, so there are
still people who are not going to support that. But 80 percent say,
'Move that damn conference!'”
Salesforce is among the 400 companies
that have joined Georgia Prospers, which is opposed to the bill's
passage. Other businesses which have joined the coalition include
Dell, Microsoft, Twitter, Unilever and Porsche.
“We just need to let those
legislators in Georgia know … [that] there will be a kind of
rolling thunder of economic sanctions if they sign that bill,”
Benioff said.
Changes made to the bill in the Senate
must first be approved by the GOP-led House before the bill can head
to the desk of Republican Governor Nathan Deal.