# Clara Shih

> Clara Shih is an American technology entrepreneur, author, and founder and executive director of New Work Foundation. She co-founded Hearsay Systems with Steve Garrity in 2009, led it until 2020, and later led Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce AI before founding Meta’s Business AI group. Her current nonprofit develops free career tools and mentorship for young Americans navigating AI-driven changes in work. She serves on HubSpot’s board and previously served on Starbucks’ board.

- **Role:** Founder & Executive Director at New Work Foundation
- **Organizations:** New Work Foundation, Hearsay Systems (acquired by Yext), Salesforce (former executive), Meta (Business AI founder and senior advisor), HubSpot (board director), Starbucks (board director, 2011–2023), Camp Amelia Technology Literacy Group (founder), Google (former employee), Microsoft (former software developer/intern)
- **From:** Hong Kong
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Computer Science, Stanford University, M.S., Computer Science, Stanford University, M.Sc., Internet Studies; Marshall Scholar, University of Oxford, High school diploma, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
- **Known for:** Co-founded Hearsay Systems and served as founding CEO for eleven years., Created Faceforce/Faceconnector in 2007, described by Stanford and Starbucks as the first business application on Facebook., Authored The Facebook Era (2009) and The Social Business Imperative (2016).

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Founded Camp Amelia Technology Literacy Group while a Stanford undergraduate.
- **2004–2006** — Worked in strategy and business operations at Google.
- **2006** — Joined Salesforce and worked on AppExchange.
- **2007** — Created Faceforce, later named Faceconnector, connecting Facebook information with Salesforce.
- **2009** — Published The Facebook Era and co-founded Hearsay with Steve Garrity.
- **2011** — Hearsay’s customer visits exposed demand for social-media compliance tools; elected to Starbucks’ board in December.
- **2016** — Published The Social Business Imperative.
- **2020** — Handed Hearsay’s CEO role to Mike Boese and became executive chairwoman; returned to Salesforce in the 2020–2021 period.
- **2023** — Became CEO of Salesforce AI; named to TIME100 AI.
- **2024** — Yext completed its acquisition of Hearsay on August 1; Meta announced Shih as leader of its new Business AI group in November.
- **2025** — Joined HubSpot’s board, effective November 3; subsequently served as a senior advisor at Meta.
- **2026** — Launched New Work Foundation at the TIME100 Summit in April; its dearCC career-navigation platform launched October 1.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Hearsay Systems and served as founding CEO for eleven years.
- Created Faceforce/Faceconnector in 2007, described by Stanford and Starbucks as the first business application on Facebook.
- Authored The Facebook Era (2009) and The Social Business Imperative (2016).
- Named to TIME100 AI in 2023.
- Recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013.
- Elected to Starbucks’ board at age 29 in 2011; served until 2023.
- Appointed to HubSpot’s board effective November 3, 2025.
- Founded Camp Amelia as an undergraduate and New Work Foundation in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — dearCC launched October 1 with free career-navigation tools, mentorship, peer networks, and an anchor partnership with the Schultz Family Foundation.
- **2026-10** — Spoke with James Manyika and Thomas Friedman at the October 19 Marshall Forum on AI at Stanford about AI and work.
- **2026-08** — Published a LinkedIn article on August 20 arguing that the effects of automation depend on which tasks within jobs are automated.
- **2026-04** — Launched New Work Foundation at the TIME100 Summit on April 22.
- **2025-11** — Joined HubSpot’s board effective November 3, announced November 5.

## Links

- Website: https://clarashih.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarashih
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/clarashih
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarashih/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarashih

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/clara-shih
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25