There was probably more to Pip Marlow's comments in the AFR in June than meets the eye about an obsessive fear and avoidance of innovation failure among senior Australian company executives, boards and the investment community. Marlow - on a base package of $2m - was part of Suncorp's grand plan to do an Amazon in financial services with its "Marketplace" strategy. But the architect and former Suncorp CEO Michael Cameron resigned in May. Marlow told the AFR a few months back that unlike Australia, Silicon Valley "expected smart, honest failure".

For all the talk about disruption, innovation and consultant-led transformation programs, big Australian companies keep choking. Over at Salesforce, Marlow, a former Microsoft Australia boss, will be in her element. But she will have to deal with rising frustration among brand owners about matching the tech-led dream Salesforce sells to real-world implementation and success on the ground. Suncorp will provide plenty of context for her on that.