This year marks the 20th anniversary of Salesforce in Ireland, and to celebrate we’re giving back to the local community with two new grants totalling $700K for Educate Together and Technological University Dublin.

At Salesforce we put people at the centre of everything we do, so I thought I’d catch up with some employees from the Dublin office to recount their experiences from the last two decades! 

Colm Mc Namee, Associate, Employee Volunteerism

I am Intellectually Gifted, Autistic, Dyslexic, and have ADHD; and when a chance encounter in 2019 led me to applying for the position of Intern with Salesforce under the WAM (Willing Able Mentoring) program that is run by AHEAD, I decided to ride the wave and I’ve never looked back.

After years of either being unemployed or under-employed, the Internship was my first real chance of developing a career that makes full use of my abilities without being pigeon-holed.

At Salesforce I found a home, where being myself was not merely tolerated, it was celebrated. The proof of this has been confirmed to me time and time again. I was not only converted to a full-time employee at the start of the year, but I was also promoted and even travelled to San Francisco for my first ‘Offsite’ for our global team.

All of this pales in comparison to the validation I felt at our Regional Kick-off just before lockdown; not only was I nominated for an award for my work with Abilityforce (Equality Superstar!), but when I won through popular vote, this was when I knew I had found my Ohana.

Norah Cullen, Senior Manager, Solution Engineering

Salesforce changed my life. I graduated into a recession and hustled for a few years until someone from the solution engineering team at Salesforce saw my video creation experience on Linkedin and asked if I’d be interested in an internship.

I was up to my eyes in unpaid internships at that stage but Salesforce actually pays their interns so I gave everything up for a three month jaunt in July 2013. Seven Years have gone by and I have been given the opportunity to prove myself again and again. Thanks to inspirational leaders and colleagues, I’ve gone from intern to Senior Solution Engineering Manager, with some amazing experiences on the way. 

More importantly, I learned what’s important to me. Coaching others to be the best they can be, and helping small customers do great things with our powerful products, these are my primary professional motivators. They are the #GoodIntentions that my colleague Clare Kelly talks about with such devotion. Salesforce taught me to take control of my time, to treasure my passion, and to believe in myself, so I can action those good intentions.

I hope to be here for a long time to come so that we can continue to grow this wonderful ecosystem.

John Martin, Account Executive, Sales

To set the scene, I'm an adopted Colombian that grew up in North County Dublin in the early 1990s. Joining Salesforce in 2015, my aim was to improve my personal, professional and financial wellbeing.

Almost five years have passed and I can honestly say that all my expectations have been exceeded. Not only have I been fortunate enough to become a homeowner - I've had the opportunity to experience Elton John live in Prague, interview Bear Grylls in Dublin and build houses for the people of the Maria Teresa Community in Cúcuta. 

I'm incredibly thankful for all of the relationships I've built to date, as well as the network I've amassed both internally and externally. I've no shame in admitting that the lack of exposure to said relationships over the past seven months has left me feeling both isolated and helpless. As a man who derives his energy from others, I didn't appreciate the true impact of working alone. However, with the help and support of family and friends, I've acknowledged the importance of filling my cup and drawing a firm line between my 9-5 and everyday life.

As I look to the future, my hopes and aspirations are to continue to leverage Salesforce to accelerate my career in the three areas I've mentioned, whilst also remembering to take the time to enjoy the life I'm working to support.

Stéphanie Vitols, Director, Sales Development

“Don’t look around, look forward!”. This motto resonates with me and has fueled my motivation over the past 14 years at Salesforce.

It is the mindset of not letting life’s distractions eclipse my long-term vision and living up to my values. I have a vision of a better state of humanity by putting people at the centre of development.

The reason I joined Salesforce are the reasons that made me both stay and thrive; I wanted to build a longstanding meaningful career, support businesses with cutting edge technology, and most importantly I wanted to commit myself to a company who’s putting people at the centre of what they do, and this company checks every box. Salesforce is a company built on a foundation of strong values and as a black woman, I quickly came to the realisation that it was down to everyone to develop the culture that really reflects those core values. Everyone; the majority as well as the ‘minority’. 

It’s been quite a journey of stretch growth and Salesforce has taught me a lot about agility, adaptability and resilience. While I have learnt to reinvent myself and not rest on my laurels, my personal values have remained constant and my sense of purpose has grown.

Be the agent of change you want to see in others. I look forward to embracing the time where diversity and Inclusion will no longer be about what we do but who we have become.

Wayne Cummins, Senior Analyst, Corporate Marketing

I joined Salesforce as part of a mentoring program with Trinity College in 2014. Off the back of this program I was given an opportunity to intern within the marketing & sales organisation. Since then, I spent 3 years in Dublin in the web marketing team and moved to London to work in the campaigns marketing team.

It has been an incredible journey so far and the confidence and opportunities that I have been given over the years has been fantastic and I thank Salesforce for that.

Salesforce changed my life by giving me the opportunity to learn from amazing talent and to develop true friendships along the way and I really appreciate the people I get to work with every single day.

In the future, I am looking forward to getting back to the office, I have moved back to Dublin and have worked most of this year remotely so I am missing the physical environment. I am also looking forward to continuing to grow at Salesforce and further develop my career.

Lina Bojaca, Lead Designer, EMEA Creative Team

I'm originally from Colombia, but I've been living abroad for the past 11 years. I was always determined to find a company that cares as much about the environment and equality as I do, and when I got a job as a contractor at Salesforce, I was delighted to see that finally, the company shared my values.

As Latina, I always want to stay true to where I come from, so this was very important to me. At Salesforce, I'm truly able to bring my authentic self to work, and embrace my culture and heritage without racial discrimination.

Salesforce empowered me to spearhead the Latinoforce Equality Group in Dublin, and when I led the group, I was not only able to build strong relationships with other Latinx employees, but I was also able to channel the platform Salesforce gave me as one to drive positive change.

I'm so proud to have been able to raise funds for multiple charities in Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia over the years, as well as sharing aspects of the Latinx community with my colleagues. 

Mark Stanley, VP, Global Digital Enablement

I am very fortunate to have been part of the Salesforce Dublin journey from the start. Working here has defined my career, and it has served as the backdrop to most of what has happened in my adult life.

It’s been the ultimate laboratory for life’s experiments – successes and failures alike - and it has created the environment for me to learn and grow, shown me the value of long lasting professional relationships, and the impact a business can have on the greater good through volunteerism. It’s a big part of who I am and the values I try to follow every day.

I am truly grateful for the time and opportunity Salesforce has offered me. Yet having looked back to appreciate all we’ve done and achieved together, we can also look forward with excitement about continued and accelerated innovation, a relentless focus on customer value, and an increasing level of impact we can have on our communities as the resources and influence of the company continues to scale and grow.

The future definitely looks even brighter than the past!

It’s been twenty years since Salesforce set up their EMEA headquarters here in Dublin, and with a new Salesforce Tower on the way and over 12,000 new jobs across the company coming in the next years, it’s onwards and upwards from here!

For more information on careers at Salesforce, check out our Ireland career portal.