Early Life
Peter Gassner was born on February 26, 1965, in Portland, Oregon, to Swiss immigrant parents. Growing up as the third of six children, he developed a strong work ethic at an early age. He worked as a paperboy, mowed lawns, and even ran a roofing business in high school. This early exposure to responsibility and entrepreneurship shaped his future career path.
Rise to Success
Gassner's career began after earning a degree in Computer Science from Oregon State University in 1989. He started as a relational database technology developer for IBM's Silicon Valley Lab. Gassner later held leadership roles at PeopleSoft and Salesforce.com. Recognizing an opportunity to offer software specifically for the life sciences industry built on Salesforce's platform, he co-founded Veeva Systems in 2007 with Matt Wallach, Doug Ostler, and Mitch Wallace. Under his leadership, Veeva has grown into a multi-billion-dollar public company (NYSE: VEEV) and serves over 1,000 customers worldwide.
Key Business Strategies
Gassner's approach has been customer-centric, emphasizing building software that solves specific industry problems rather than creating generic solutions. This strategy, along with a strong focus on customer success and employee satisfaction, has been key to Veeva's success. Moreover, in 2021, Veeva became the first publicly traded company to convert to a public benefit corporation.
Philanthropy
Information about Peter Gassner's exact philanthropic contributions is not readily available in the provided search results. However, his commitment to employee rights and his company's status as a public benefit corporation indicate a broader commitment to social responsibility.