Center for a New American Security

Senior Vice President for Global Government Relations and Strategic Planning, Salesforce.com

Peter Schwartz is Senior Vice President for Global Government Relations and Strategic Planning for Salesforce.com. In these roles he directs policy and politics throughout the world and manages the organization’s ongoing strategic conversation. 

Prior to joining Salesforce he was cofounder and chairman of Global Business Network, a Monitor Group company, and a partner of the Monitor Group, a family of professional services firms devoted to enhancing client competitiveness. An internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, Peter specializes in scenario planning, working with corporations, governments, and institutions to create alternative perspectives of the future and develop robust strategies for a changing and uncertain world.

Peter is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Affairs Council and, in Singapore, the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. He also sits on the boards of The Long Now Foundation, The Center for New American Security and the Center for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

From 1982 to 1986, Peter headed scenario planning for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies in London. His team conducted comprehensive analyses of the global business and political environment and worked with senior management to create successful strategies. Before joining Royal Dutch/Shell, Peter directed the Strategic Environment Center at SRI International. The Center researched the business milieu, lifestyles, and consumer values, and conducted scenario planning for corporate and government clients.

Peter is the author of Inevitable Surprises (Gotham, 2003), a provocative look at the dynamic forces at play in the world today and their implications for business and society. His first book, The Art of the Long View (Doubleday Currency, 1991; audio tape, 1995; paperback, 1996), is considered a seminal publication on scenario planning and has been translated into multiple languages. He is also the co-author of The Long Boom (Perseus, 1999), a vision for the world characterized by global openness, prosperity, and discovery; When Good Companies Do Bad Things (Wiley, 1999), an examination of, and argument for, corporate social responsibility; and China's Futures (Jossey-Bass, 2001), which describes very different scenarios for China and their international implications. He publishes and lectures widely and served as a script consultant on the films "The Minority Report," "Deep Impact," "Sneakers," and "War Games." Peter received a B.S. in aeronautical engineering and astronautics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In 2009 he received an honorary PhD and was he commencement speaker at RPI.