Talent Hub Talk

Anand Narasimhan on his journey of becoming the 11th CTA globally and where he sees opportunity in the world of A.I and internal collaboration

In today's episode of Talent Hub Talk, we’re joined by Anand Narasimhan, the CTO at S-DOCS with 15 years of experience previously working for Salesforce.

He was the 11th person to become a Salesforce CTA globally and has sat as a judge on numerous CTA Review Boards, including being involved in judging the first 10 CTAs ever to pass.

Anand shares his insights into how he first came to work in the Salesforce ecosystem, and we dive into topics such as A.I. and how he sees tools like ChatGPT and EinsteinGPT being used in enterprise.

Anand explains where he sees opportunity for development and advances in the internal collaboration space in the context of apps such as Slack and which issues he’s currently seeing which are slowing down internal operations.

Finally, Anand explains what he is most excited about for his future and his CTO role at S-Docs.

You can connect with Anand on his Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Wendy Zveglic on embracing career transitions, the value of domain expertise and the art of leadership

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by Wendy Zveglic, a Senior Manager of Solution Engineering at Salesforce. Wendy talks us through how and why she transitioned from a successful career in finance to becoming a Solution Engineer at Salesforce, without prior experience in an IT role.

She explains what the first few months were like, what she felt Salesforce saw in her, and what made her different in the ways she was able to add value to her customers.

Having progressed to leading teams of Solution Engineers in her role, Wendy explains what is it about the leadership role she finds so rewarding, and how she keeps developing her style and effectiveness as a leader. She also defines what successful leadership looks like in her eyes.

Finally, Wendy shares details of the Latino Force Initiative and why she is so passionate about it, and offers advice for anyone looking to transition their career or undertake a new challenge.

You can connect with Wendy on her Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

David Sinclair on how product businesses can maximise their potential and the emergence of the CRO role

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by David Sinclair, Founder of CROxCRM, who has a wealth of experience in the Salesforce ISV space, and is currently helping product businesses holistically maximise their potential.

Through the episode, David provides insight into his early career and when he was first exposed to the ISV model, plus how he's seen other technology's ISV growth in comparison to that of Salesforce.

We discuss the key to success of those who have scaled their businesses successfully on the AppExchange, how companies can understand their market opportunity and the different ways of assessing it.

Having previously held Regional VP and Senior Director for ISV Sales roles at Salesforce, he provides insight on how Salesforce themselves use the platform, and tips on how you can get the most out of Salesforce yourselves.

We look at how different companies use Salesforce, chat about how it can be used the most effectively, and where some companies are missing out by not using it to its full potential.

We look at the CRO role, a title that he has previously held, how it's come about, and what the role and responsibilities entail.

Finally, David explains how CROxCRM is helping companies on their product journeys, establishing ISVs, listing on the AppExchange, and helping existing organisations to scale and grow.

You can connect with David on his Linkedin page. 

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Jordan Baucke’s journey from hardcore Developer to enterprise Technical Architect and aspiring CTA

In today's episode, we are delighted to be joined by Jordan Baucke, a Salesforce Technical Architect based in Denver.

Jordan explains how he first came across Salesforce in 2008, what interested him about opportunities in the ecosystem back then and why he has always found his way back to Salesforce after running his own startups or venturing into the world of Crypto.

Jordan talks through the differences between working in the startup world and the enterprise space, but also the similarities and how he has brought lessons from his start-up days into his current role as a Technical Architect on large programs. Jordan shares how his mindset on certifications has changed over the years, why the CTA is a goal of his, and how he has developed his own skill set and capabilities through studying for the review board.

Jordan talks about burnout and the importance of self-care and how he has become much more aware of this in more recent times.

Finally, Jordan provides some advice for Engineers starting out in their career.

You can connect with Jordan on his Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode.

Analysis of the ANZ Salesforce market in Q1 2023

In today's episode, Ben shares a quick update on the market and what he has seen in the last quarter, January to March 2023. He touches on the contract space, the impact he has seen on the market following pockets of redundancies made within the quarter, how consultancies are currently hiring for projects, and how Salesforce salaries are tracking

Our aim is to give some context and commentary as we navigate between the headlines, and as always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Neha Nagori on her journey from Tester to Salesforce CTA

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by Neha Nagori, a Salesforce CTA based in Dubai. Through the episode, Neha provides insight into her education and how she was assigned to a Testing role when she moved into the workforce, which made her consider moving overseas for further study and to retrain.

Neha shares how she did find her way into a Salesforce Developer role and how she grasped the opportunity and hasn't looked back. She talks about the importance of taking on uncomfortable challenges, how she personally approaches learning and shares some of the resources that have helped her. We also discuss the risk of being overwhelmed by the scale of the Salesforce ecosystem and the speed of change but highlight the importance of understanding the basics and doing them well.

Having passed the CTA Review Board recently, Neha explains how she identified the CTA as a goal and the reasons why it was important to her. Neha highlights how much Salesforce community groups helped her while preparing for the review board, and provides some advice for anyone that may be nervous about participating in these groups.

Finally, Neha talks about life as a Salesforce freelancer, the positives and challenges, as well as the different roles she has to play.

You can connect with Neha on her Linkedin page, as she is very active there.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Christopher Hickman and Tiffany Devlin-Drye on the power of mentoring in the Salesforce ecosystem

In today's episode, we are excited to be joined by Christopher Hickman and Tiffany Devlin-Drye to discuss the power of being and having a mentor in the Salesforce ecosystem. Chris and Tiffany are both working as Solution Architects and have deep expertise in CPQ.

Through the episode, we discuss how they first came in contact, what made Tiffany stand out to Chris, as someone he wanted to invest time and energy in helping on her career journey, as well as what Chris' time and guidance meant to Tiffany at the time.

We look at how Tiffany has been able to grow her career and understand her own value in the market with Chris' help and insight, and explore how Tiffany has gone on to mentor other people on their own Salesforce journeys.

Finally, we ask Chris and Tiffany for some advice for anyone that may be looking to specialise in the CPQ space, an area that they both know well.

You can follow them both on their Linkedin pages: Chris Hickman and Tiffany Devlin-Drye

 

Joey Chan on hyper automation, entrepreneurship and providing value

In today's episode, we are delighted to be joined by Joey Chan, Salesforce MVP and the Founder of Cloud Jedi.

Joey shares what first interested him in a career in IT, how he got started in the Salesforce ecosystem, and what encouraged him to start his own business only one year into his full-time working life.

We discuss the Salesforce ecosystem in the Philippines, how he differentiates his business from others, and what he looks for in new team members to ensure that Cloud Jedi are quality focussed and keep customers coming back for more.

Joey is passionate about continually upskilling and delivering value to clients on both the Salesforce and Mulesoft platforms, so we discuss why more Salesforce Developers aren't learning Mulesoft and Joey shares some insight on the new Hyper Automation Certification that is coming to market, and who it is suitable for.

If you want to connect with Joey, you can contact him on his Linkedin page. 

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Emily McCowan on what needs to align for your journey to CTA

In today's episode, we are delighted to welcome back Emily McCowan, Salesforce CTA and Public Sector Solutions Lead.

Since the last time Emily was on the show, she has successfully passed the CTA review board, so we unpick her journey from the beginning to now.

We look at the different roles Emily has held, why she has doubled down on working in the consulting space more recently, how her CTA journey took shape, and who has inspired her along the way.

Emily talks candidly about the CTA not being a race, what needs to align for anyone pursuing it, and how certain groups like Ladies Be Architects, Women In Tech, and FlowRepublic helped her.

Finally, Emily talks about what is important to her now and what she enjoys most about working on Public Sector projects.

You can connect with Emily on her Linkedin page.

Sima Samara shares her inspiring story and explains what the Salesforce ecosystem means to her

In today's episode, we are excited to be joined by Sima Samara, Senior Salesforce Developer and the recipient of the Golden Hoodie at Dreamforce 2022.

Sima shares her brave and inspiring story, from studying for 6 years to be a Pharmacist to arriving in the Netherlands as a Refugee and working as a Cleaner, before finding Blue Road Academy, where her Salesforce journey started.

Sima talks us through what the Salesforce ecosystem means to her, what it was like being awarded the Golden Hoodie during the keynote with Marc Benioff, at Dreamforce 2022, and why she is so passionate about helping others into a career in Salesforce.

You can connect with Sima on her Linkedin page.

We hope you enjoy the episode!