Gareth Kelly is an internationally experienced field marketing and events executive known for transforming fragmented operations into cohesive, results-driven ecosystems. With over two decades of experience leading high-impact initiatives internationally and across EMEA, Gareth brings a rare blend of strategic vision, executive marketing, operational rigour, and human-centred leadership to every
engagement. His career spans global tech, research, and agency environments, including senior leadership roles at Salesforce, Hewlett-Packard, IDC, and Bright Heads GmbH.
Most recently, Gareth served as Salesforce Ireland’s inaugural Chief Marketing Officer, where he led a cross-functional team of 40+ and delivered a record-breaking 32% marketing-sourced pipeline, exceeding $100 million in influenced revenue. He also spearheaded Salesforce’s Ireland-to-Dreamforce customer programme and championed diversity and equity initiatives as Executive Sponsor for Equality-led
employee resource groups. Under his leadership, the brand secured the number-one European position across EMEA in 2024.
Over his ten-year tenure at Salesforce, Gareth built and scaled the company’s entire events and executive marketing engine across EMEA, serving as a trusted advisor to regional CMOs and global leaders. He conceived and launched the first coordinated EMEA engagement strategy for Dreamforce, growing regional attendance from isolated local efforts to a unified programme representing 10% of the global audience and driving over $150 million in pipeline. Gareth also elevated the company’s presence at flagship events such as NRF and Mobile World Congress, leading a 900sqm global showcase that delivered 340 meetings and $16.3 million in pipeline while aligning cross-regional investments and executive participation.
Throughout his career, Gareth has built a reputation for bringing clarity to complexity, consistently delivering measurable impact across pipeline growth, brand visibility, stakeholder alignment, and team development. At IDC, he revitalised the Central European events portfolio, achieving profitability within 12 months and exceeding revenue targets by 248% within two years. At Hewlett-Packard, he restructured the EMEA events strategy, reduced vendor spend, and led the award-winning HP Executive Summit.
Fluent in French, German, and English, Gareth is a true international leader who thrives in multilingual, multicultural environments. He combines executive-level gravitas with a grounded, empathetic approach to leadership, often credited with nurturing emerging talent and fostering inclusive, high-performing teams. Known for his ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes and lead diverse teams toward common goals, Gareth’s X-factor lies in his mastery of global event and project orchestration, driving excellence from strategy through to flawless execution. Based in Dublin, Gareth is open to global executive roles, senior advisory work, or high-impact fractional leadership opportunities where he can lead ambitious teams, shape transformative programmes, and help organisations create experiences that
deliver both commercial results and lasting cultural value.