Former Renault COO Joins California Firm

Patrick Pelata, the former Renault SA chief operating officer, has joined San Francisco, Calif.-based enterprise cloud computing firm Salesforce.com as executive vice president and chief automotive officer.

Pelata's job is to lead the company's strategy for delivering social and mobile cloud technologies to the auto industry.

Pelata stepped down as Renault's COO in April 2011 after taking responsibility for a botched corporate espionage investigation. He served a strategy advisor for the French company's alliance with Nissan Motor Co. until leaving the company in mid-August.

Pelata is Salesforce.com's second highly place automotive veteran. Shirley Young, a former senior General Motors Co. executive in China, is a member of the California company's board.