Amy Weaver is ready to helm Direct Relief
Amy Weaver has never been one to back down from a challenge.
When she graduated from Harvard Law, instead of immediately going to work for a firm, she followed her heart and moved to Hong Kong, working for the country’s legislative council.
After decades of working as an attorney, both in private practice and the corporate world, she didn’t back down when approached to become Salesforce’s CFO — a transition very rarely seen at Fortune 500 companies.
Now, Weaver is stepping up to the plate once again, this time as the head of one of the largest charities in the United States, Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief.
“This really is the opportunity of a lifetime… People often say that lawyers are very risk averse, but I have never been risk averse with my own career,” Weaver told the Business Times.
“One of my favorite sayings is from a man named William Sloan Coffin and he said ‘I love the recklessness of faith. First, you leap, and then you grow wings,’ and I think a lot about that in my own career.”
Direct Relief was ranked as the fifth largest charity in the United States and one of the most effective stewards of private donations, according to Forbes’ 2024 annual list of the 100 Top U.S. Charities, which ranks organizations by private donations.
According to the report, in fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30, Direct Relief mobilized more than $2.4 billion in humanitarian aid.
Weaver officially began her new role as the CEO of Direct Relief on May 5, and so far every day has been a journey.
“I remember after my first day, I went back to my Airbnb and I just had to fall asleep at 7:30,” Weaver said with a laugh. “My head was filled with so many new acronyms and new names.”
On her second day, Weaver met with the CEO of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, one of Direct Relief’s longest-standing partners on the ground in Haiti.
“Getting to meet with him, spend time with him and hearing what they were going through and how Direct Relief helps, I am not sure there could have been a better way to start in this role. It was very meaningful,” she said.
Since then, Weaver has spent time meeting with other local partners like the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinic and the 160-ish employees in her building, who have communicated to her what changes they hope to see, but just as importantly, what changes they hope not to see.
“When someone comes in, there’s always a sense that there’s going to be a lot of change, and people want to really make sure I understand that Direct Relief has been here for 76 years and to respect the history of this place. It’s respecting what has been done and making sure that I understand the culture and the mission and that that doesn’t change. That has stood out to me,” Weaver said.
Before joining Direct Relief, Weaver had spent the last decade-plus at San Francisco software company Salesforce.
During her time at Salesforce, Weaver was one of the key reasons for the company’s growth into one of the more well-known tech companies in the world. Sales grew from $3 billion in 2013 to $35 billion in 2024.
Weaver joined the team’s general counsel in 2013 and became the company’s chief legal officer by 2020.
When the company needed a new CFO, Salesforce’s longtime CEO Marc Benioff approached Weaver for the role.
The transition from a CLO to CFO is not often seen — in fact, Weaver believes she was likely the only person to make such a move at a Fortune 500 — but she was excited at the opportunity, especially knowing how few women hold such positions of power at companies so large.
She feels the same way now about being the CEO of Direct Relief.
“One of the reasons I took that CFO role is that I really wanted to show people that they could do it. I remember that first year I felt the weight of the world on me, and I feel the same way now, but with a lot more excitement,” Weaver said.
Despite her many years working in the for-profit sector, Weaver’s decision to transition to the nonprofit world is not that surprising. In fact, giving back is a huge part of her DNA.
Growing up in a family of lawyers, Weaver said she “grew up with a real sense of justice,” and so she always wanted to work in nonprofit space.
Weaver first announced she would be leaving Salesforce in August of 2024, transitioning into an advisory role for a couple of years. In her mind, she thought she would take a few years before finding her next adventure.
By November, Direct Relief was actively recruiting her and she was intrigued enough to take a flight down.
Her fate was sealed in December when Weaver was driving to the Direct Relief headquarters at night.
“I just remember sitting in my car with all these white lights on in the building and it looked so beautiful,” she said.
“It was so remarkable to see an organization that already has such a large and solid platform and have the opportunity to kind of step in and drive that forward is unique.”
Right now Weaver is still focused on “getting everyone’s perspective” from Direct Relief’s employees to its partners.
But, given her background in the AI world for the last 10 years, Weaver believes Direct Relief has to invest in technological advances.
“I’m anxious to see how Direct Relief can bring along AI, robotics, and do it to serve humanitarian purposes and not just serve the maximization of profits in the corporate world. I don’t want that divide to get wider because of technology. It should be getting narrower, and I think we can do that,” Weaver said.
“That will be a huge focus of mine.”
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