Leandro Perez joins to cut through the AI hype and share what's actually working. With Agentforce handling 850,000 conversations and managing 85% of customer inquiries, Leandro reveals the reality behind the marketing claims and addresses the "SaaS is dead" narrative head-on.

From managing 30,000 weekly customer inquiries with AI agents to transforming his entire marketing team's workflows, Leandro offers a brutally honest look at what it takes to lead through a technological revolution. This isn't just theory: it's a practitioner's guide to implementing AI at scale, including the mistakes, the breakthroughs, and the systematic approach required to bring an entire organisation along for the journey.

Guest Introduction

Leandro Perez is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand at Salesforce, where he guides strategic direction and market positioning for the world's leading AI-powered CRM. 

With a Computer Science degree from UNSW and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, Leandro brings over 20 years of experience combining technical expertise with business acumen. 

He previously led global corporate messaging at Salesforce and partnered closely with CEO Marc Benioff. He's a Fellow of The Marketing Academy, serves on the AANA Board, and is a recipient of the Salesforce Chairman & CEO Award.

Key Topics

• AI reality at Salesforce: Agent Force handles 850,000 conversations with 85% resolution
• "SaaS is dead" narrative: Why enterprise software needs governance, permissions, reliability, not just quick AI code
• Leading transformation: Year-long journey from lone voice to company-wide quarterly Agent Force Learning Days
• Process mapping first: Document crown jewel processes to identify pain points before introducing AI
• Systematic change: Company-wide learning days, mandatory training (100% Agent Blazer status), permission to experiment
• Practical AI adoption: Landing pages, social automation, Slack summaries, 80% email engagement, plus failed experiments
• Experimentation culture: Identifying early adopters, showcasing wins, balancing air cover with performance

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Marc Benioff - Salesforce CEO & Co-Founder
• Roby Sharon-Zipser - hipages CEO & Co-Founder

Companies & Tools:

• Salesforce - AI-powered CRM platform
• Agentforce - Salesforce AI agent platform
• Trailhead - Salesforce learning platform
• Fisher & Paykel - Appliance manufacturer
• Goodyear - Tire manufacturer
• Remarkable - Digital paper tablet
• hipages - Online tradie marketplace
• ChatGPT - AI chatbot
• Gemini - Google AI assistant
• Perplexity - AI search tool
• ElevenLabs - AI text-to-speech
• AANA - Association of National Advertisers

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Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Leandro Perez

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth