Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 2023
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Veeva Systems and the Transformation to a Public Benefit Corporation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Allison M. Ciechanover
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:32
ShareBar

Abstract

Peter Gassner, the co-founder and CEO of Veeva Systems, steered the company through rapid scaling from its launch in 2007 to 2022. Year after year, the company had exceeded expectations, with its market capitalization reaching $50 billion at its peak. By 2022, the company estimated it had an 80% market share of the pharmaceutical customer relationship management software industry. Annual revenue was nearly $2 billion and its global workforce surpassed 5,000 employees. Throughout its growth, Gassner infused the company with a unique purpose and a set of values known as the “Veeva Way.” The company culture had always put its customers and employees first. In 2021, Gassner took this commitment to the next level, by transforming the organization from a c-corporation to a public benefit corporation, the first publicly-traded company in the U.S. to do so. While the company remained a for-profit entity, it was now legally required to balance the interests of multiple stakeholders such as employees, customers, society, and shareholders. Veeva’s new incorporation certificate included the specific public purpose to “help make the industries it serves more productive and create high-quality employment opportunities.” The case is set one year after the transformation. Gassner reflects on the decision to become a PBC and the process by which it unfolded. He takes stock of the company’s inaugural PBC report, an important marker of the new structure.

Keywords

Transformation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California

Citation

Gulati, Ranjay, and Allison M. Ciechanover. "Veeva Systems and the Transformation to a Public Benefit Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 423-045, January 2023.
  • Educators

About The Author

Ranjay Gulati

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    First to Fight? Culture, Tradition and the United States Marine Corps (USMC)

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Akhil Iyer and Joel Malkin
    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success

    By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey
    • January–February 2023
    • Organization Science

    External Interfaces and Internal Processes: Market Positioning and Divergent Professionalization Paths in Young Ventures

    By: Alicia DeSantola, Ranjay Gulati and Pavel Zhelyazkov
More from the Authors
  • First to Fight? Culture, Tradition and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) By: Ranjay Gulati, Akhil Iyer and Joel Malkin
  • Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey
  • External Interfaces and Internal Processes: Market Positioning and Divergent Professionalization Paths in Young Ventures By: Alicia DeSantola, Ranjay Gulati and Pavel Zhelyazkov
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College