Richardson-based Kelley Austin LLC, a Salesforce consulting partner, has been acquired by St. Louis-based global consultancy Perficient.

Kelley Austin managing partners Hunter Austin and Waylon Kelley will join Perficient in key leadership roles, the company said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Perficient is well known for its world-class AI consulting capabilities, unmatched ecosystem partnerships with global technology giants like Salesforce, and an award-winning culture,” Austin said in a statement. He noted that Kelley Austin has focused since its 2020 founding on helping clients become “truly agentic AI enterprises” through the full suite of Salesforce solutions.

Now, he added, joining forces with Perficient will broaden their ability to deliver deeper Salesforce expertise and accelerate growth.

Perficient said the acquisition builds on the momentum of its recent announcement of a 360-degree partnership with Salesforce. In the partnership, Perficient and Salesforce made a joint commitment to help clients harness the full potential of AI and agentic solutions, like Agentforce, to drive transformation at scale.

Since launching in 2020, Kelley Austin has worked with clients in the telecommunications, media and technology, and consumer business services sectors on customized Salesforce implementations. In 2022, the company—founded by brothers-in-law Austin and Kelley—became one of the fastest firms to reach Salesforce’s Crest (gold) partnership tier, a milestone that typically takes five years to achieve, according to the firm.

Kelley Austin’s capabilities in Salesforce platforms, including Revenue Cloud, Data Cloud, and embedded AI solutions like Agentforce, aim to help enterprise clients enhance customer service, improve productivity, and drive revenue.

Perficient CEO Yusuf Tayob said the deal strengthens the company’s capacity to guide clients through agentic enterprise transformation.

“Our clients are telling us they need practical approaches to help them transform into agentic enterprises, and to achieve sustained business results,” Tayob said in a statement. “With Salesforce, we have developed a unique partnership to invest together so we can help our clients move faster to drive growth and deliver compelling customer experiences.”

He called Kelley Austin a strong addition, citing its deep technical expertise and “client-centric delivery methods.” Tayob added that the acquisition makes the promise of AI more real for clients. “We are excited to welcome them to Perficient and look forward to being together at Dreamforce next week.”

According to Perficient, the acquisition of Kelley Austin will:

• Add award-winning expertise in Revenue Cloud, Data Cloud, and Agentforce to its Salesforce portfolio;
• Enhance its ability to drive measurable business outcomes with Salesforce tools;
• Expand managed services capabilities that help clients optimize Salesforce implementations and drive adoption; and
• Add experienced Salesforce consultants with more than 400 certifications and deep industry experience in key sectors.

Perficient said it plans to showcase the expanded partnership at Dreamforce, the annual Salesforce conference running Oct. 14–17 in San Francisco. The event is expected to draw more than 1,500 sessions focused on AI, CRM, and platform innovation.

At Dreamforce, the Perficient and Kelley Austin teams plan to highlight their AI-powered tools—particularly how solutions like Agentforce are being deployed in real-world use cases to help clients move quickly from feasibility to viability. The company also plans to use the conference to host client and partner experiences.

Phil Samenuk, SVP of Global Alliances and Channels at Salesforce, said the combined expertise of Perficient and Kelley Austin supports a broader industry shift. “Our partners continue to innovate with Salesforce to help customers realize the full potential of AI and agentic technologies,” he said. “Successful enterprises view AI agents as key to elevating human work.”

He added that leveraging Agentforce, built on the Salesforce platform, with Perficient and Kelley Austin’s expertise, gives organizations the tools to thrive in an AI-first world. “We’re excited to highlight this momentum at Dreamforce.”

This story was updated on October 14 for clarity and to include additional detail.

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