Anthony Fernicola ’78 ’82 President, Chief Customer Officer of Salesforce, Inc., to Speak at Manhattan University Undergraduate Commencement and Receive Honorary Degree

Frederick Bonato, Ph.D., Interim President of the 172-year-old Manhattan University, today announced that Anthony N. Fernicola, a Manhattan University alum and senior executive, will deliver the keynote address and receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the University’s Undergraduate Commencement on May 17, 2025.

Fernicola ’78, ’82, born and raised in the Bronx and the first in his family to attend college, is the former President of Global Enterprise Sales and current Chief Customer Officer of Salesforce.com, the global cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco. He is responsible for bringing the power of the firm to the world’s largest organizations. Fernicola joined Salesforce in 2013 and, as part of its Leadership Team, shared responsibility for setting the strategic direction and ensuring alignment across all departments to drive customer success.

Prior to his tenure at Salesforce, he was a Senior Vice President at Oracle, where he grew the North America Technology Organization into one of the company’s largest revenue-generating business groups. At Oracle, he was widely recognized for leading key transformational initiatives for the firm’s technology license business, engineered systems business, and the financial services business. He began his career at Unisys (then known as the Burroughs Corp.), where he spent 16 years in various leadership positions in sales and product management serving the financial services industry.

In addition to his business prowess, Fernicola perfectly embodies the true Lasallian spirit on which Manhattan University was established. He believes completely in Salesforce’s 111 Program which is designed to give back by donating 1% of employees’ time, 1% of the firm’s equity, and 1% of the firm’s product. This “spirit of giving”, said Fernicola, harkens back to the examples he learned growing up with his close-knit family in the Bronx and the teachings – both academic and societal – that he experienced at Manhattan.

According to Dr. Bonato, “Tony is the essence of what Manhattan University is about - having an appreciation of excellence in education coupled with respect for all people and a true concern for and appreciation of community.”

Fernicola received his bachelor’s degree in marketing and economics and an MBA from Manhattan University. In 2020, he was the recipient of the University’s De La Salle Medal which honors executives who exemplify the principles of excellence and corporate leadership. He and his wife, Deborah, reside in Naples, FL; they have two grown children.