Talent Hub Talk

Pia McKeown on building a diverse Salesforce team and leading successful technology delivery

In today's episode we catch up with Salesforce Manager Engineer for National Australia Bank, Pia McKeown. Pia has lived in a number of different countries and so we talked about what first brought her to Australia, her career before Salesforce, and how she has come to reach a senior role within the Salesforce ecosystem and made a life Down Under. Pia has an interesting background and perspective, having worked both in consulting and client-side, and we discuss with her how she has steered and developed her career into a leadership capacity. Pia explains that transition, why she's passionate about people management, which elements she considers to be crucial for effective leadership, and how she continues to improve daily as a leader. Diversity is an area that Pia is committed to, and her work and dedication over the past two years has led her to achieve balance within her Salesforce team to where it currently sits at over 50% female to male, which is no easy feat within the technology space. We talk about how balance and diversity is a key component to growing a strong team, the reasons for this, and the challenges that her team have faced and overcome throughout the recent COVID-19 crisis. Finally, we dive into large-scale technology transformation, agile delivery methodology within different organisations, and the impact of small, medium, and large user bases within technology delivery. Made sure you're following Pia on LinkedIn for discussion around diversity and leadership at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-mckeown-b735a429/ and we hope that you enjoy the episode!

Mike Wheeler on training over 110,000 students in Salesforce, and the importance of creating your own experience

In today's episode, we're joined by the creator of the Salesforce training platform that has helped over 110,000 students become Salesforce certified, Mike Wheeler. Mike, who is based in the USA, has previously held various Salesforce roles himself, before using his talents to help others and we were fascinated to hear how he first became a part of the Salesforce ecosystem, and how the idea first sparked to move specifically into Salesforce training. He shares his insight on the market, given his tenure in the ecosystem, and where he sees the most demand currently. We discuss how people can prepare themselves for roles and be well placed for success, given the growth that Salesforce is forecasting in what Mike calls, the 'grand reopening', and harness the idea of shaping an 'experience' to get ahead. Mike explains the non-technical skills that companies typically look for, and we discuss the claim that you don't need to be technical to excel at a career within the Salesforce space. Is it really true? We enjoyed hearing success stories that Mike shares on the podcast of students using his platform, and the plans he has for the future to provide even more value to students as they discover the world of Salesforce and develop further in their careers. Make sure you're following Mike on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/mikewheelermedia/ and check out https://mikewheelermedia.com/ to find out how you can benefit from his resources. We hope that you enjoy the episode!

James Neave and the growth of Salesforce in the Public Sector space

In today's episode, we're joined by CRM Practice Manager for Transport NSW, James Neave. He shares with us an overview of the work he and his teams are doing in the Public sector space, and how Salesforce has experienced exponential growth within government in recent years.

We talk about the challenges of growing an internal team and how to develop high performing teams, as well as how James uses Partners for specific pieces of work and how he models that partnership.

It was fascinating to hear about James's background, and entry into the Salesforce space, as well as the ways in which the Public sector has been able to leverage the power of Salesforce in order to support the Community, particularly in rapidly evolving times like these.

Make sure you're following James at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jneave/. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Ben Edwards on his journey to CTA and the New Zealand Salesforce market

In today's episode we're joined by New Zealand based Salesforce CTA and Partner at Deloitte Digital, Ben Edwards. We were fascinated to hear his background and experience within a varied range of Salesforce markets, as Ben's Salesforce skills enabled him to continue to build his career when he moved to London for a two year period. He talks us through the differences and similarities to the ANZ market, and how the exposure pushed his development ever further. Having passed the CTA Review Board, Ben talked us through what the path to CTA looked like for him, how he identified his own gaps and successfully bridged them, and how others can look to do the same. Ben gives us some great insight into the New Zealand market, a snapshot of what the lifestyle is like there, and how the transferable skills you can develop in NZ could take you all over the world. You can follow Ben at https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedwards44/. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Chris Baldock on life as a CTA, and how the Consulting Partner you choose to join, could shape your future

In today's episode we catch up with Sydney based Salesforce Certified Technical Architect, Chris Baldock. Chris relocated to Australia seven years ago with his Salesforce career, and soon discovered a common passion and camaraderie for learning within the close-knit team that he had joined at Consulting Partner, Cloud Sherpas. Working alongside existing CTA's and other talented colleagues with aspirations to reach that career pinnacle, Chris was inspired. We find out how that particular role has shaped his career today, the people who helped him on his CTA journey, and why he continues to enjoy team management, mentoring and leadership at his current organisation. He shares what being a CTA is really like, and talks us through how Partners of different tier and size can be quite different from one another. We enjoyed hearing how he prepared for the Review Board, and what continues to excite him about the platform as we look further into 2020. Make sure you're following Chris on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-j-baldock/, and we hope that you enjoy the episode

Richard Clarke on key sectors where Salesforce projects are being delivered during these times

In today's episode we're joined by Richard Clarke, who leads a national Salesforce practice for PS+C Artisan, from a previous background of various Salesforce roles.

We were fascinated to hear his insight on the market, given his tenure in the ecosystem, and his take on Salesforce projects during this current time. We talked about where he sees the platform potentially growing and discussed possible future scenarios, particularly around the framework of Salesforce acquisitions.

We discussed the industries that are still delivering or even accelerating Salesforce projects, which industries could be feeling pain currently, and where there are opportunities available for anybody who finds themselves as a job seeker in the current environment.

Richard had some good tips for coming out of the other side of this period with additional skills, and we'd recommend you follow Richard on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardaclarke/ for future content.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Sai Lavu on the early Salesforce years and growing a successful Salesforce practice

In today's episode, we're joined by Sai Lavu, one of the original founders of one of the very first Salesforce practices in ANZ, System Partners.

We enjoyed hearing about the early days in the market, what inspired starting the business, and who the early adopters were from an end-customer perspective.

Sai gave us insight into what the talent market looked like a decade ago, and how they went about building their capability and team in such an environment. We spoke about the kind of people that they brought into the business and why, how they scaled, and the challenges they faced. Finally, we touched on some of their many achievements and how the ecosystem has evolved and developed in this region.

Hopefully, you enjoy the snapshot of the history of the ANZ Salesforce market, and make sure you're following Sai on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sailavu/.

Enjoy the listen!

Andrew Echevarria on building a personal brand online and securing a job at Google

In today's episode, we're joined by Andrew Echevarria, a Senior Software Engineer who has recently secured a role at one of the organisations people will tell you they'd most like to work for, no matter where you are in the world asking - Google. Andrew attributes part of why he secured his role to his personal brand activities online, and shares his own experiences and tips with us. He explains what he believes makes good quality content, and the traps people should avoid, as well as how to get started if you have reservations. Andrew moved to California for his new role, in what are somewhat unusual times, and he tells us about the onboarding experience he has experienced and having made the move outside of Consulting and into an end-user, he gives us his first impressions. We enjoyed hearing about what he's most looking forward to in this new chapter, and his plans for the future in terms of his online presence. Make sure you're following Andrew on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsfdc/ and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Leo Alves on expanding his skillset as a Salesforce Developer, and remote onboarding during lockdown

In today's episode we talk with Leo Alves, who has made the transition from the Dutch Salesforce market, across to Australia, with the timing coinciding to mean that he started in his new role during the Covid-19 lockdown. He shares his experience and tips for other companies who find themselves facing this sudden challenge, and how to make the remote onboarding process as seamless as he has found his own. Coming from a non-technical background, Leo became a Salesforce Developer but discovered a keen interest in other coding languages and expanding his development skill set. We discuss with Leo how Salesforce is perceived from the broader Developer community, and how Salesforce is positioning the platform to become increasingly appealing to non-Salesforce-specific Developers. We talk about the market in Holland, and all that he is excited about for his new life Down Under. You can follow Leo on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/leofilipealves/      and on Twitter at leofilipalves@

Pip Marlow, Salesforce CEO ANZ on joining the Salesforce Ohana and leading through change

In today's episode, we're honoured to be joined by Salesforce CEO ANZ, Pip Marlow to talk all things Salesforce and ask her a selection of questions which we've gathered from the Community. She talks us through her biggest highlight at Salesforce so far, the Salesforce Ohana, what it has meant for her, and the plans for the region in the future, including the Salesforce Tower in Sydney. She talks us through her approach to visibility within the Community, social media and networking, and how embracing these have helped her push forward with her team and remain closely connected with customers.  We talk about learning and career development when in a CEO role, and we're so thrilled to be joined by special guests from the Ohana, each with a thought-provoking question. You can follow Pip on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pipmarlow/ and Twitter at @pipms