Salesforce.com did not name a replacement. Cakebread left to "pursue other professional opportunities" and not because of any disagreement, the company said.

It's not the first time he has announced his retirement from Salesforce.com. After serving as its CFO for about four years he announced in 2006 that he would retire. Shortly after, Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff said Cakebread had changed his mind and decided to continue on as CFO. He moved into his current positions last year.

Benioff and Cakebread led Salesforce through a successful initial public offering in 2004. Cakebread came to Salesforce after stints at Autodesk, Silicon Graphics and Hewlett-Packard. He'll get US$425,000 in severance and bonuses, according to the filing.

Besides Cakebread's departure, two other high-ranking executives, including the head of enterprise sales, have been laid off from the company, according to a citing unnamed sources. Salesforce did not reply to a request for comment about Cakebread's successor or the other reported departures.

Salesforce.com narrowly beat expectations when it reported its earnings in November, but like other tech companies it will now have to battle an expected drop in enterprise IT spending over the next several quarters.