Seattle, WA

Can Seattle startup Tableau flourish under Salesforce? New CEO thinks so

Published

2 years ago

February 12, 2024

Can Seattle startup Tableau flourish under Salesforce? New CEO thinks so

SEATTLE — On a sunny Tuesday around 1 p.m., Tableau’s Data 1 office in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood bustled with employees going out in groups for lunch or walking around the office overlooking the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Among them was Tableau CEO Ryan Aytay, who lives in the Bay Area but was visiting for the week. He wore a “DataFam,” the Tableau community’s name, lapel pin on his black jacket.

Tableau was founded in 2003 in California and moved its headquarters to Seattle the next year, where the data analytics firm established itself as a tech startup on the rise. In 2019, tech giant Salesforce acquired the company for nearly $16 billion, inking what was at the time the second-largest acquisition of a Washington company.

Tableau is a data visualization tool through which users can create interactive charts. Its parent company is a leader in products for companies to manage sales data and customer relations.

Tableau’s leadership changed over the years as former CEO Adam Selipsky left in 2021 to become chief executive of Amazon Web Services. His replacement, Tableau veteran Mark Nelson, departed in December 2022 after less than two years as president and CEO.

Appointed CEO in May, Aytay’s goal is cementing the future of Tableau within Salesforce while maintaining Tableau’s own identity.

Aytay became CEO during a difficult year for Tableau, one marked by “wakes,” office subleasing and layoffs. Tableau’s future as an independent part of the Salesforce business software empire remains a point of tension as Salesforce prioritizes profitability after years of aggressive expansion. At the Data 1 building lobby, a Salesforce sign greeted employees and visitors.

Salesforce announced more layoffs last month, affecting 700 jobs, which represents 1% of its workforce. A spokesperson declined to say if the round affected Tableau employees.

Aytay said one of his goals is to build a culture at Tableau that is both a part of Salesforce but also stands on its own.

“We need to continue to evolve. And so that’s what we’ve been really focused on, is how do we bring the spark and liven it up with the culture?” Aytay said.

A Salesforce veteran appointed to lead Tableau nine months ago, Aytay travels to Seattle at least twice a month. He’s in charge of creating a second chapter for Tableau after a year of layoffs and leadership vacancies.

Aytay joined San Francisco-based Salesforce 17 years ago and has held several different roles at the business software maker, including chief business officer from June 2020 to February 2022. He served as Tableau’s president and chief revenue officer from February 2022 to May.

“Because I’d had so many different experiences at Salesforce, I saw an opportunity with Tableau to come in and bring it closer to Salesforce but also recognize what it is and what’s important about it and what differentiates Tableau,” Aytay said in an interview with The Seattle Times.

Aytay said in an interview that Tableau’s revenue has more than doubled since the acquisition.

Tableau grew by 16% year over year in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, released in November. That was faster than Salesforce’s total revenue growth. Valued at $287 billion as of Tuesday, the tech giant reported $8.7 billion in revenue during the same quarter, up 11% from the previous year.

Tableau could grow even faster with more integration with Salesforce’s products, said Rishi Jaluria, a managing director at global investment bank RBC Capital Markets.

“The idea [is] that if someone’s using Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud from Salesforce, Tableau is really well integrated and it becomes like another button,” Jaluria said.

Salesforce also owns internal workplace communications platform Slack, having acquired it for $28 billion in 2021.

According to a Salesforce spokesperson, Tableau can blend Salesforce data to provide analytics for everyone in an organization.

Jaluria also said Salesforce and Tableau have a competitor: Microsoft and its data visualization platform, Power BI.

For Aytay, what differentiates Tableau from Microsoft’s Power BI is its leadership and community. Tableau’s die-hard fans — the “DataFam” — are a selling point for the platform.

“We have this really vibrant community,” Aytay said.

Tableau’s next chapter

Salesforce bought Tableau to enable customers to use data across their entire businesses and, as Salesforce put it when announcing the acquisition, use Tableau’s insights “to make smarter decisions” and “accelerate innovation.”

Those aspirations remain prominent among Aytay’s goals. He wants Tableau to attract customers outside of the data analytics field with a new product, Tableau Pulse. Pulling up his phone, he showed how business owners, for example, can use Pulse to get quick statistics about sales. The artificial intelligence-enabled product was announced in December.

The first phase of Tableau “was really all about changing the industry” by revolutionizing the analytics field by making it easier to use, he said. Tableau’s next step is “to really enter into businesses,” nonprofits and universities.

“We want to continue that focus on the analyst, but we need to evolve the brand,” Aytay said. “We want to bring analytics and data to everyone.”

Aytay is the right person for the Tableau CEO job, said R “Ray” Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, a tech research and advisory firm. Before Aytay’s appointment, Tableau had gone five months without a CEO.

Aytay “has been building out the AI strategy. He’s been trying to figure out how to pull it together,” Wang said. “He’s been at Salesforce before, so he knows what Marc [Benioff, Salesforce CEO] wants, he knows how to put them all together. And I think that’s half the battle.”

Among Aytay’s first tasks was rebuilding the senior leadership team, starting with his old role of chief revenue officer, now occupied by Salesforce veteran Jennifer Lagaly. Now, Aytay said Tableau is growing and hiring, especially in the artificial intelligence field.

Compared with last year, he said, “we’re now at a point where we have it more figured out.”

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Kraken fall to Mammoth 5-3 for 7th loss in 8 games

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Seattle Kraken fall to Mammoth 5-3 for 7th loss in 8 games

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored a go-ahead power-play goal in the third period and the Utah Mammoth beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Utah Mammoth 5, Seattle Kraken 3: Box score

Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists, and Kailer Yamamoto, JJ Peterka, and Lawson Crouse also scored for the Mammoth. Kevin Stenlund had three assists and Karel Vejmelka stopped 32 shots.

Mason Marchment had two goals and Ben Meyers also scored for the Kraken in their seventh loss in eight games. Phillipp Grubauer had 26 saves.

After a scoreless first period, Marchment put Seattle on the board with a backhand shot at 3:35 of the second.

Schmaltz tied it at 8:09 with an unassisted goal. He attacked off a breakaway and chipped the puck over Grubauer’s shoulder from close range.

Yamamoto then gave Utah its first lead with 6:36 left in the middle period.

Seattle had several shots at an equalizer during a two-man advantage lasting nearly two minutes, but the Kraken came up empty.

Marchment then got his second goal of the night and fourth of the season at 7:50 of the third, slapping the puck home from long distance to tie it.

Guenther gave Utah a 3-2 lead with 7:05 remaining, successfully converting a power play.

Peterka and Crouse added empty netters over the final three minutes, and Meyers scored for Seattle with 43 seconds to go for the final margin.

Up next

Kraken: Host Buffalo on Sunday.

Mammoth: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Seattle Kraken dealt another tough blow on the injury front

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Seattle, WA

Brock: How rookie DL can fit in Seattle Seahawks’ defense

Published

21 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Brock: How rookie DL can fit in Seattle Seahawks’ defense

The Seattle Seahawks focused heavily on their offense during the draft this past spring, using nine of their 11 selections to pick players on that side of the ball.

Just two of their picks were defenders: safety Nick Emmanwori and defensive lineman Rylie Mills.

Seattle Seahawks waive 2 players, have options to fill their roster spots

After returning from an injury suffered in the season opener that forced him to miss three games (and essentially four since he played on four snaps in Week 1), Emmanwori is making his case to be in consideration for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Mills, on the other hand, has yet to play a snap while recovering from an ACL tear suffered last December during his final season at Notre Dame. But the fifth-round pick appears to be nearing his NFL debut. Mills, who was designated to return to practice from injured reserve Nov. 26, was a full participant in practice for the first time last Friday. He was ruled out of Sunday’s game against Atlanta, but practiced in full on Wednesday and Thursday as Seattle prepares for a matchup with Indianapolis this Sunday.

The Seahawks have until next Wednesday to decide if they will activate Mills to the 53-man roster or place him on IR for the rest of the season. So it may be another week until he makes his debut, and it’s no guarantee that he will play this season. If he is activated to the 53-man roster, how will he fit the Seahawks’ standout defense? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his insight about the role the Notre Dame product could play during his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday.

“I do remember watching him a number of times and just, gosh, he was a good college football player,” Huard said. “He’s big now. He’s 6-5, 290 (pounds), and to be honest with you, you know where he fits a little bit more? He would fit a little bit more in a traditional, kind of old school Pittsburgh Steelers 3-4 defense. He would be that five-technique defensive end that could play that spot and be very stout.”

Mills is similar in size to star Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who measures in at 6-5 and 310 pounds. But one key difference is Williams has more length, which is a concern Huard has about Mills.

“The challenge and what I’m anxious to kind of see in how they utilize him eventually is he’s not real long (Mills had 32 5/8 inch arms at the draft combine)” Huard said. “He’s not like Leonard Williams with that length. He’s not necessarily like a (Quinton) Bohanna and a (Brandon) Pili at 330-plus pounds either. (He’s) 6-5, 290, fairly athletic, super smart, super savvy, but he’s a little different than all the rest of these D-linemen.

“He’s certainly not an edge player and he doesn’t have some of the size or the length of some of the interior (linemen).”

Every Rylie Mills sack (17.0) 👀💪
The best of @ryliemills99 ➡️ https://t.co/tBCRILE4Eh#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/kdxRT6F6c5
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) March 21, 2025

However, Huard is confident the Seahawks can figure out the best way to utilize Mills’ skills just like they have with another player on their defensive line who lacks some of the ideal measurables: 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy II.

“Like they’ve done with Murphy, who also is not prototypical in some of the size, they will play to his skill set,” Huard said. “(Mills’) greatest skill set, frankly, might just be his brain.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks coverage

• What to expect if Colts start Philip Rivers at QB vs. Seattle Seahawks
• Seattle Seahawks Injury Report: OL starter may be nearing return
• Daniel Jeremiah: Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel ‘an elite guard now’
• Date and time for Seattle Seahawks’ Week 17 game at Carolina announced
• Seahawks Notebook: Coach leaves team; two players designated to return

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Seattle, WA

Seattle weather: Drier skies Friday, some rivers remain above flood stage

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Seattle weather: Drier skies Friday, some rivers remain above flood stage

SEATTLE – High river levels continue this evening after the heaviest showers came to an end Thursday with only a few lingering showers. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for the Mount Vernon area due to flood risks if local levees fail, which remains possible through Friday afternoon.

Our FOX 13 Weather Team is closely watching for potential flash flooding concerns over the Skagit River.

A Flash Flood Watch is posted until late Friday: there is a possibility of dike/levee failure. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Landslide and localized flooding will still remain an issue into the end of the week.

High river levels continue this evening after the heaviest showers come to an end Thursday.

We have seen three rivers in Western Washington reach record level heights, making this a historic flooding event for the state. We still have the likelihood of seeing record heights for the Skagit River at Mount Vernon this evening into early Friday morning as it crests. Most of our area rivers will continue to decrease overnight and throughout Friday.

We have seen three rivers in Western Washington reach record level heights, making this a historic flooding event for Western Washington.

Rainfall totals Thursday were significantly lower compared to Wednesday, which will help to lower river levels over the next few days.

Rainfall totals Thursday were significantly lower compared to Wednesday, which will help to lower river levels over the next few days.

Temperatures this afternoon were also significantly warmer compared to average, with highs in the mid to upper 50s.

Temperatures this afternoon were also significantly warmer compared to average, with highs in the mid to upper 50s.

What’s next:

Skies will be much drier Friday as we see the atmospheric river move out of Western Washington. High pressure will slowly build back in for Friday and Saturday, aiding in the rivers receding and for the soil to dry out.

Skies will be much drier Friday as we see the atmospheric river move out of Western Washington.

Highs will remain very mild through the weekend, reaching the mid 50s. We will see dry skies and even some sunbreaks for Saturday. Our next round of showers return Sunday with scattered rain, then heavier showers and lowering snowlevels by the middle of next week.

Highs will remain very mild through the weekend, reaching the mid 50s.

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The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Claire Anderson and the National Weather Service.

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