Steve Bridge

Vice President, Channels EMEA

Born:
Henley-on-Thames, UK (home of the rowing regatta)

Prior Experience:
SAP - SVP Ecosystem & Partner Group, EMEA
Salesforce.com - Director of Alliances, EMEA
StreamServe - VP, Global Indirect Business
Siebel - Director, EMEA Alliances

Education:
Open University - Degree in Management Studies
Ashridge Management College - MBA with distinction

What I like to do outside of work:
Having two children under 6 means my free time is largely entertaining and being entertained by them. I try to play the occasional round of golf and watch rugby as often as I can, as well as get to the gym a few times a week.

Q: Where in your background did you learn the most?
A: I learned a lot about high performing teams at Siebel and have worked since with many colleagues from my time there. At salesforce.com I learnt a huge amount about the value of the OnDemand model for customers and about the need for a subscription based organization to be completely focused on customer satisfaction and employee adoption. I also appreciated the speed of innovation that is possible in this model.

Q: If you could meet one person in history, who would you meet and why?
A: Winston Churchill. I’m reading his biography at the moment and what comes through is his unfailing drive and determination as well as his ability to motivate and lead people in extremely tough environments.

Q: What's been your biggest surprise during your time at SuccessFactors?
A: Having been here just 4 days, there’s not much I can comment on for this section. Before I joined, during the due diligence I did on the company, I was pleasantly surprised there was nothing negative I could find from people who had worked with SuccessFactors, or knew people who worked here.

Q: If you had 20 seconds to tell a new client about why they should use SuccessFactors, what would you say?
A: I would share with them the stories of real measurable business impact the use of our offerings has on companies. Getting employees motivated and aligned around key goals to increase company productivity is something that all business owners should be interested in. This is not an HR issue, it’s a business issue.

Q: Why are you proud to work at SuccessFactors?
A: Because of the value customers derive from our offerings demonstrated by the number of references and the very positive culture that has been fostered at the company.