Talent Hub Talk

Carl Brundage on life in a product company, his journey to CTA and what excites him about Einstein

In today's episode, we talk with Salesforce CTA, MVP, and Master Architect at Odaseva, Carl Brundage, based out of Pennsylvania in the USA.

We kick the episode off by understanding how his education and background first led him into the world of I.T. More specifically how Carl found his way into the Salesforce ecosystem and the roles that he's played up until this point. We talk to Carl about his role today with Odaseva and what it's like to work for an AppExchange product organisation.

 

We wanted to delve into Carl's certification journey, given the extensive list of certifications that he has achieved, and we discuss his view on the value of certifications, and why he believes they're important.

 

Being a Salesforce CTA who has been a judge on the Review Board, we cover the topic of CTA with Carl in detail, discussing the various different types of Architects, how somebody can begin to self-assess if they should set the CTA as a goal for themselves, and the Architect mindset. As Carl has trained a number of aspiring CTA's previously, he is able to provide deep insight into how you should approach setting as a goal for yourself and how best to prepare.

 

We enjoyed discussing the Einstein platform with Carl in particular, where it's positioned and what about it excites him for the future.

 

Carl gives a lot back to the Salesforce ecosystem and we're honoured that he took time out to share his story for this podcast episode, we hope you enjoy it! Make sure you're following Carl on LinkedIn and Twitter, and you can check out Odaseva here.

 

This episode was brought to you by our sponsors, FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy, and so make sure you check them out if the Salesforce CTA is a goal that you are looking at working towards.

 

Astrid Clout on what makes a Salesforce implementation successful, and observations from 16 years in the Salesforce ecosystem

Today we're joined by a respected and admired figure from the Salesforce ecosystem, Sydney based Accenture Managing Director, Astrid Clout.

 

Astrid first became a part of the Salesforce space in the early 2000's, and having worked in both the UK and ANZ markets, gives us insights into both geographic locations and how she developed in her career as she moved across the world. We discuss the projects she has been involved in over the years and how they've evolved.

 

We look at the challenges that projects faced earlier in the decade and how they compare to now, as well as the differences between how teams are made up.

 

Astrid explains the roles that she's played over the years, the aspirations she's had, and how she has achieved her goals. As a hiring manager, Astrid gives us insight into what she looks for when she's recruiting, and what makes Salesforce projects successful.

 

You can connect with Astrid on LinkedIn to continue following her journey, and check out Accenture here and follow them on LinkedIn.

 

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Chris Nugent on the Functional roles and responsibilities on a Salesforce project, and what makes consulting a great place to work

In today's episode we talk with the National Practice Partner for Business Consulting at System Partners, Chris Nugent.

 

Chris talks us through his career before Salesforce, and the roles he's played up until this point. He explains how he sees Consulting differing to working for an End User, and he takes us through the functional space in detail.

 

We hone in on both the Functional Consultant and the Solution Architect roles, looking at what each role entails, the pathways in, and then how you can progress. Chris talks us through the importance of soft skills, and what he looks for when hiring into his own team.

 

He shares his insights on the impact that COVID-19 has had on the day to day operations of these roles, and how his team have adjusted to effectively continue with elements such as requirements gathering workshops in a virtual environment.

 

This episode is filled with information, particularly valuable if you have an interest in the functional space, and you can connect with Chris for further updates by searching for him on LinkedIn here.

 

We hope you enjoy the episode!

John Railton on a passion for people leadership and what makes the New Zealand Salesforce ecosystem special

In today's episode, we talk with Salesforce Capability Lead for Xero, John Railton, based out of New Zealand.

We kick the episode off by understanding how his education and personal interests lead him into the world of I.T, and more specifically how he found his way into the Salesforce ecosystem and the roles that he's played.

 

John has worked within Salesforce Partner organisations prior to joining Xero, and he gives us insight into the key differences between working for a Partner and an end-customer, typically. He explains the day to day of his current role, and the challenges he faces, as well as what he finds the most rewarding.

 

As somebody who enjoys leading teams, John talks us through people leadership styles and the ability to achieve through others to retain talent. He explains the benefits of working effectively with stakeholders and well as your own team members, and how the idea of managing up is a skill that can make people more effective in their roles.

 

John has worked previously as a Salesforce contractor in Australia, and so he shares his experiences of the differences he identified between the New Zealand and Australian markets, and what the New Zealand Salesforce ecosystem is like at this point in time.

 

John has a really interesting background, an entrepreneurial spirit, and we hope that you enjoy the episode as much as we did recording it!

Anjali Subburaj on life after CTA in an enterprise environment within an end-user

In today's episode we speak with UK based Certified Technical Architect, Anjali Subburaj, who is Digital Commerce Chief Architect for a large end-user organisation.

Anjali has a fascinating story as she had an extensive Microsoft career prior to Salesforce, and so she explained what it was that appealed to her and her experience of the transition.

Anjali talks us through how she prepared for the CTA, and how she actively drove her career, and the choices that she has made since the achievement, which have taken her in an ambitious direction outside of the usual path.

She talks Salesforce mentoring, a life of continuous learning, and her top tips for advancement if the CTA is on your roadmap in this episode.

Make sure you're following Anjali on LinkedIn and you can also check out our sponsors, FlowRepublic as you prepare for the CTA journey.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Dan McBeth on ways to spot potential Salesforce talent, and New Zealand as a place to develop your Salesforce career

In today's episode, we're joined by New Zealand based Salesforce Practice Manager for Davanti Consulting, Dan McBeth.

Dan talks to us about his early career in the UK, explaining how he first became involved in the Salesforce space, and the world of Salesforce projects.

As the leader of a sizable team at Davanti, Dan explains his preferred model for recruiting new members, and the interviewing strategy that he takes to uncover potential talent, not only from a non-Salesforce background but often from a non-technical background.

Dan gives us an interesting overview of the New Zealand market. He shares insight around what makes it different to other areas of the world as a place to live and work, and why it's an excellent place to develop in your career.

An insightful episode this week, and we recommend that you follow Dan on LinkedIn and that you check out the Davanti website for further reading.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Aidan Flynn on a Salesforce career that has taken him across the globe, the Latin American Salesforce market, and the growth of CPQ

In today's episode, we're joined by Colombian based owner and Founder of Twilo, a Salesforce Partner with expertise in CPQ and Billing projects that have disrupted the model of Salesforce offshoring.

Aidan's extensive Salesforce career has enabled him to relocate initially from London to Sydney, before launching his own business in Latin America, and working closely with the US markets.

We talk to him about his career before Salesforce, the early days of Salesforce projects in London, and the differences not only between the regions but the evolution of the Salesforce market that he's seen over the years.

Having built a team in Colombia with Twilo, Aidan explains his preferred model for growing the business, the strategy for uncovering talent in Colombia, and the approach he takes to training and upskilling.

As specialists in CPQ and Billing, with extensive experience in Field Service Lightning, we talk to Aidan about the size and frequency of Twilo's projects in the US, and best practices for companies undertaking CPQ projects of their own to be aware of.

An insightful episode and we recommend that you follow Aidan and Twilo on LinkedIn and that you check out the Twilo website for further reading.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Susannah St-Germain on Salesforce data and a recovery strategy

Today's episode is a rebroadcast from a LinkedIn Live that we did with Boston-based Salesforce Technical Architect and MVP, Susannah St-Germain.

Salesforce are soon to retire their Data Recovery Service, and we went through in detail what this will mean for companies, who really needs to be aware, and why.

Susannah explains the people who should be involved in bedding down a strategy, what a strategy actually looks like within a business, and how to start that conversation. Recovery and back up within a business has limitations and a number of factors to consider, and so a plan of how it would be executed if ever required is key.

This is a really insightful discussion, and Susannah regularly publishes updates on LinkedIn and Twitter, so make sure you're following her for further insights. You can also check out references to Odaseva and their services.

We hope you enjoy the chat!

Brad Riley on deciding to pursue CTA and helping other people on the journey

In today's episode, we're joined by New Zealand based Certified Technical Architect, Brad Riley, to talk about his technology career before Salesforce and the story of how he initially became involved with the platform.

We talk about how his life in Consulting opened up the world of Salesforce certifications, and how he was inspired to pursue the Salesforce CTA, by one moment in particular. Brad gives insight into not only how he prepared for the Review Board, but also how he sees his responsibility as a CTA having made the achievement, and what it has meant for him in his life.

Brad talks us through the work he does with the Davanti Consulting internal Architecture capability within his role, giving him the chance to support upcoming Architects to help them on their own journeys.

This is a really insightful episode, we hope you enjoy it, and we recommend that you follow Brad on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradri/.

This episode is sponsored by FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy.

David Dawson on growing your Salesforce career from development into technical leadership

In today's episode, we're joined by Salesforce Engineering Manager, David Dawson, and this chat is a must-listen for anyone coming down the Developer track. Crucially, we talk to David about his own journey down the lesser travelled path of management and technical leadership, as an alternative to the architecture route that many Salesforce Developers pursue. David has accelerated his career in recent years by driving his Salesforce career in this direction, and we discuss with him his early days in development and the transitions he's worked through to get to the point of where he is today. We talk about his experiences working for a technology business, how his learning is amplified when working alongside high calibre Engineers, and how his principles and mindset were challenged to think differently, particularly when moving from smaller projects into enterprise-level projects. We delve into how David interviews for his own team, what he looks for, and the tips and advice that he shares for others who find themselves at a similar fork in their own career path, from Salesforce Developer, with several routes to consider. Make sure you're following David at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddawson90/ and we hope you enjoy the episode!