Avalon is available for hire
Hire AvalonAvalon Swain
Verified Expert in Engineering
Salesforce Developer
Location
Charlotte, NC, United States
Toptal Member Since
May 23, 2017
Avalon is recognized for his successful business, digital, and AI transformations, leveraging his 10 years of experience successfully implementing Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Tableau. He is a certified MIT Artificial Intelligence Strategist, PMI Project Management Professional (PMP), Disciplined Agile Value Stream Consultant (DAVSC), Disciplined Agile Coach (DAC), Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM), and 3x Salesforce certified consultant, administrator, and app builder.
EnterpriseSystem IntegrationCustomer Relationship Management (CRM)IntegrationSalesforce.com Sales Cloud CertificationSalesforce AppExchangeSalesforce ReportsSalesforce Reporting & DashboardsCertified Salesforce AdministratorData EngineeringData AnalyticsSalesforce ConsultantNo-code DevelopmentArtificial Intelligence (AI)Salesforce Lightning
Portfolio
Class Composer Inc
Salesforce, Chargebee, Salesforce Dataloader, Dataloader.io, Intuit QuickBooks...
Kooth PLC (via Toptal)
Program Management, Web Project Management, Product Management...
DirectMed Parts & Service (via Toptal)
Tableau, Salesforce, HubSpot, Dashboards, Rootstock Cloud ERP...
Experience
Availability
Full-time
Preferred Environment
Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud, Tableau, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), No-code Development, Glide, Webflow, Retool
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on is a global Salesforce implementation in 17 countries, enabling standardized sales processes and revenue forecasting.
Work Experience
Digital Transformation Consultant | Revenue Growth Coach | Salesforce Developer
2023 - 2024
Class Composer Inc
- Partnered with the CEO, identified current state customer relationship management and revenue growth recognition strategies, processes, and technology environments, and assessed current state growth impediments, challenges, and pain points.
- Designed future state customer relationship management and revenue growth recognition strategies, processes, and technology environments. Also identified current and future state gaps and built a backlog of process and automation improvements.
- Consulted, administered, developed, and implemented Salesforce custom object, field, Visualforce page, Lightning page, and Salesforce Flow components to support Salesforce Sales Cloud implementation.
- Consulted Chargebee subscription billing, revenue recognition, analytics, Salesforce integration, and QuickBooks migration.
Technologies: Salesforce, Chargebee, Salesforce Dataloader, Dataloader.io, Intuit QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, Shopline, Artificial Intelligence (AI), ChatGPT, Machine Learning, Automation, Retool, JavaScript, Softr, Airtable, Project Discovery
Senior Program Director | Transformation Coach | Monday.com Administrator
2023 - 2023
Kooth PLC (via Toptal)
- Planned and delivered the deployment of a digital mental health mobile app for young people. The app offers a range of curated content, self-help tools, peer-to-peer support, on-demand behavior health coaching, and navigation to off-platform help.
- Collaborated with strategy, product, engineering, clinical, and service delivery teams to ensure cross-functional delivery of a transformational combined technology and service program soft launch.
- Assessed and implemented business agility transformation by leveraging PMI's Disciplined Agile and Guided Continuous Improvement processes.
- Integrated monday.com boards, views, automation, and dashboards to support weekly program management Team of Teams RAID Sync ceremonies.
Technologies: Program Management, Web Project Management, Product Management, PMI Disciplined Agile, Monday.com, Data Science, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), ChatGPT, Machine Learning, Automation, Project Discovery
Business Transformation Coach | Business Intelligence Consultant | Tableau Developer
2022 - 2023
DirectMed Parts & Service (via Toptal)
- Aligned with company leadership, assessed digital capabilities, recommended a data-driven culture, and developed balanced scorecard dashboards to highlight customer, operational, and financial OKRs.
- Recommended and led several marketing, sales, purchasing, engineering, inventory, distribution, and financial reporting value stream process improvements.
- Assessed and planned the business transformation roadmap, including streamlined HubSpot, Salesforce, Rootstock Manufacturing, and Rootstock Financial technology stack and talent realignment.
Technologies: Tableau, Salesforce, HubSpot, Dashboards, Rootstock Cloud ERP, QuickBooks Online, Business Transformation, Business Intelligence (BI), Balance Scorecards, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), SOQL, Airtable, Automation, Integration, Systems Analysis, Google Apps, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, Risk Management, Notion, Bubble, Softr, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Salesforce Reports, Salesforce Reporting & Dashboards, Salesforce API, Salesforce REST API, CRM Implementation (Salesforce), APIs, Billing, Automated Data Flows, API Integration, Certified Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Platform Developer, Salesforce Cloud Flow, Salesforce SOAP API, Lightning Components, Data Science, Data Lakes, Make, B2B Sales Pipeline, Stripe, WordPress, Shopline, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, HubSpot CRM, Project Discovery
Senior Salesforce Consultant | Administrator | Team Leader
2021 - 2022
ContractPodAi (via Toptal)
- Joined the team as a senior Salesforce administrator to support client migrations. Realigned to provide Salesforce integration development and team product management, Agile coaching, and scrum master responsibilities quickly after joining the team.
- Led the introduction of Salesforce development team sprint ceremonies, including backlog grooming, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint demos, and retrospective continuous improvement sessions. Oversaw Jira and Confluence administration.
- Aligned with the internal executive stakeholders to gather strategy and finance business requirements and provide agile delivery of Salesforce customizations and solutions.
- Collaborated with external customer stakeholders to gather ContractPodAI and Salesforce integration requirements and provide agile delivery of customizations to support contract lifecycle management solutions and integrations.
Technologies: Product Management, Product Owner, Agile Coaching, Scrum Coaching, Scrum Master, Jira, Agile Delivery, Agile, Enterprise, Certified Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Dataloader, Salesforce System Administration, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Salesforce.com Sales Cloud Certification, Program Management, Agile Software Development, Analytics, Scrum, Kanban, Web Project Management, Agile Product Delivery, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, SQL, Business Requirements, User Stories, Backlog Management, Salesforce AppExchange, Architecture, Microsoft Excel, Salesforce SOQL/SOSL, Salesforce Consultant, Cloud Services, Data Migration, Salesforce, No-code Development, SOQL, Automation, Jira Administration, Integration, Systems Analysis, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Salesforce Reports, Salesforce Reporting & Dashboards, Salesforce API, Salesforce REST API, Excel 365, CRM Implementation (Salesforce), APIs, Chargebee, Billing, Automated Data Flows, API Integration, Salesforce Platform Developer, Salesforce Cloud Flow, Salesforce SOAP API, Conga Composer, Lightning Components, Make, B2B Sales Pipeline, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, JavaScript, Project Discovery
Agile Portfolio Manager | Agile Coach | Scrum Master
2019 - 2021
Signs365.com (via Toptal)
- Owned portfolio, program, and project management responsibilities of aligning with business executives and assessing emerging business transformation opportunities in the manufacturing domain for their customer and employee digital channels.
- Performed product owner and product management duties by collaborating with various business stakeholders to reach consensus on transformation, project epic justification, user story development, and feature prioritization.
- Led a team of eight developers and provided Agile coaching and scrum master leadership of Agile sprint ceremony facilitation, including grooming, planning, stand-up, demo, and retrospective activities. Also led Jira and Confluence administration.
- Owned project management responsibilities of scope, time, and budget reporting.
- Led information security audit (ISO 27001), gap analysis, and remediation efforts to increase DevOps and DevSecOps efficacy and reduce future cybersecurity risks.
- Provided Agile coaching across several functional and operational teams by implementing Scrum and Kanban best practices to successfully deliver digital transformation products and features.
Technologies: Agile Coaching, Agile Product Management, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Technical Project Management, Project Management Professional (PMP), Kanban, Jira, Scrum Coaching, Lean Product Development, Technical Program Management, Scrum Master, Web Project Management, Business Transformation, Digital Transformation, Agile Product Delivery, Agile, Enterprise, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Program Management, JavaScript, Agile Software Development, Analytics, CIO, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, Business Requirements, User Stories, Backlog Management, Architecture, Microsoft Excel, eCommerce, Cloud Services, Inventory Management, Data Analytics, Jira Administration, Integration, Systems Analysis, Google Apps, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Third-party Management, CRM Implementation (Salesforce), Stripe, Project Discovery
Senior Product Manager | Project Manager | Scrum Master
2018 - 2019
NKR Insurance Services (via Toptal)
- Managed the planning, analysis, design, and development of a financial services startup's web application.
- Partnered with the client to document company and product vision, goals, milestones, and roadmap.
- Established, along with the client, the agile project development environment, product personas, epics, and user story backlog.
- Implemented project sprint ceremonies, including backlog grooming sessions, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint demos and reviews, and sprint retrospective meetings.
- Provided program management status reporting for the client's board review and approval.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jira, Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Program Management, Agile Software Development, Analytics, CIO, Scrum, Lean Product Development, Web Project Management, Agile Product Delivery, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, Business Requirements, User Stories, Backlog Management, Architecture, Microsoft Excel, Cloud Services, No-code Development, Jira Administration, Integration, Systems Analysis, Google Apps, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, Stakeholder Engagement, Billing, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Project Discovery
Salesforce Program Architect
2012 - 2018
Intentional Signs
- Managed five consultants and the technology investment and delivery operations of a marketing and sales technology consultancy for several manufacturing, distribution, and transportation industry clients.
- Aligned and partnered with client stakeholders to lead several agile, waterfall, and hybrid projects to deliver personalized marketing automation, customer relationship management, and business intelligence digital solutions.
- Improved the sales conversion rates by integrating optimized customer relationship management via Salesforce Sales Cloud and Salesforce Service Cloud. Successfully led six Sales Cloud, two Service Cloud, and two Marketing Cloud client implementations.
- Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to plan their CPQ integration and with SMEs to discover product and service pricing and configuration business requirements. Also led IT teams to install, configure, and test the CPQ and Marketing Cloud apps.
- Managed customer relationships and provided business requirements management, process improvement, and technology business case justification.
- Conducted program management for CRM, EPM, and financial reporting project teams and delivered executive scorecard business intelligence and predictive analytics solutions.
- Supported several key clients, including Coca-Cola Bottling, Hertz Corporation, TIAA, Discovery Education, VF Corp, and Pacific Pond.
Technologies: Salesforce Lightning, Salesforce Service Cloud, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Tableau, Salesforce System Administration, Salesforce Einstein, Salesforce.com Sales Cloud Certification, Digital Transformation, Program Management, Agile Software Development, Analytics, CIO, Scrum, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, SQL, Business Requirements, User Stories, Backlog Management, Tableau Desktop Pro, Certified Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce AppExchange, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Architecture, HubSpot, HubSpot CRM, Intuit QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Excel, Accounting, Finance, Salesforce SOQL/SOSL, Salesforce Consultant, Cloud Services, Dashboards, Data Engineering, QuickBooks Advance Reporting, Google Data Studio, Inventory Management, Data Analytics, Excel Macros, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Data Migration, Salesforce, No-code Development, SOQL, Automation, Jira, Jira Administration, Integration, Systems Analysis, Zapier, QuickBooks API, Google Calendar API, Google Apps, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, Risk Management, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Third-party Management, Salesforce Reports, Salesforce Reporting & Dashboards, Salesforce API, Salesforce REST API, CRM Implementation (Salesforce), APIs, Billing, Automated Data Flows, API Integration, Excel Add-ins, Salesforce Platform Developer, Salesforce SOAP API, Conga Composer, Data Science, Data Lakes, B2B Sales Pipeline, Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
CRM Program Manager
2003 - 2012
TCA
- Established the technical vision and direction of a B2C residential services franchise.
- Led a team of 25+ service engineers to meet customer service levels.
- Managed all the technical hardware solution implementation projects, including servers, storage, network, data/voice, VoIP, Wi-Fi, and mobility.
- Handled all the software solution implementation and defect resolution projects, including infrastructures, customer relationship management, service case management, project management, and financial reporting application systems.
- Headed enterprise productivity and business intelligence deployment using Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server.
- Oversaw office productivity and the project management system implementation using Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visio, and Microsoft Project.
- Managed customer relationships, financials, and collaboration productivity using Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft SharePoint.
Technologies: Salesforce Service Cloud, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Business Transformation, Program Management, Analytics, CIO, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, Business Requirements, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Accounting, Finance, QuickBooks Advance Reporting, Excel Macros, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Data Migration, Zoho, Salesforce, Project Planning, Project Reporting
Customer Relationship Management Technology Manager
2001 - 2003
IBM
- Managed $15 million in global services customer relationship management consulting practice revenue and 20 functional and technical consultants in support of Oracle/PeopleSoft CRM system implementations.
- Provided career development support for consultants and project managers and increased team productivity billable hours, driving revenue increase across the consulting practice.
- Developed CRM operations maturity, knowledge capital, best practices and SDLC, and waterfall and agile project and risk management plans customized for the energy and financial services industries.
- Partnered with strategy consultants to architect, build, and implement PPM and PMO knowledge capital and best practices for financial services and investment banking clients.
- Supported several key clients, including JP Morgan, Sprint, CBS, NewPower, and Philadelphia Housing Authority.
- Managed customer service, contact center, and call center deployments using PeopleSoft CRM.
- Integrated PeopleSoft CRM with SAP ERP and Oracle financial systems.
- Delivered a CRM consulting practice marketing campaign and project plans using Microsoft Project and Microsoft Office.
Technologies: Technical Project Management, Program Management, Enterprise, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Digital Transformation, Analytics, Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, Business Requirements, Data Analytics, Data Migration, Systems Analysis, Project Planning, Project Reporting, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Third-party Management
Financial Services Technology Manager
1996 - 2001
Accenture
- Aligned with the strategy and process consulting practice management to plan and deliver enterprise architecture, customer relationship management, eCommerce, and enterprise performance management consulting engagements for Fortune 100 clients.
- Planned and managed several large, complex application and infrastructure projects simultaneously and led the global implementation project teams of 12 to 18 technical consulting and client architects.
- Spearheaded partnership with executive-level stakeholders to ensure all the project charter, scope, quality, risk, cost, resource, and time constraints were managed, and the communication plans were accurately and efficiently executed.
- Supported the application development best practices and knowledge capital delivery at investment banking, capital markets, lending, and insurance clients.
- Supported several key clients, including USAA, Aetna, Empire, Atlantic Bank, Bank of America, and the Carolinas Healthcare System.
- Contributed to enterprise architecture, BI, IT operations maturity model, and IT service delivery assessment using KX.
- Delivered project plans, ROI, and TCO reporting using Microsoft Office and Microsoft Project.
Technologies: Microsoft 365, Microsoft Project, Technical Project Management, Technical Program Management, Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation, Business Transformation Program Management, Digital Transformation, Program Management, Analytics, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Business Requirements, Dashboards, Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Data Migration, Systems Analysis, Project Planning, Project Reporting, Risk Management, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Third-party Management
Experience
Global Customer Master Data Implementation
Managed the design and delivery of customer acquisition and onboarding strategies, processes, and technologies. Aligned with business partners to implement customer data governance policies and processes. Implemented technology to effectively acquire, cleanse, consolidate, and safeguard the accuracy of customer information in a global enterprise consumer goods environment.
Executive Scorecard Implementation
Led the delivery of a balanced scorecard dashboard for the TIAA senior leadership team. Managed the planning, analysis, design, build, and deployment phases in an agile hybrid project environment for the delivery of customer sales and financial metrics via Tableau, Salesforce, and AWS cloud-based solutions.
Global Salesforce Implementation
I successfully migrated several global business units to Salesforce from disparate automated marketing, customer relationships, and customer service systems. I also led the planning and delivery of Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud solutions for several global business units. The initial deliverables included business case justification, project charter, and epic/user story backlog. I was also in charge of backlog grooming, sprint planning, daily standups, sprint review, and sprint retrospective sessions.
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Salesforce API, Google Apps, Salesforce REST API, Salesforce SOAP API, Stripe, QuickBooks API, Google Calendar API
Tools
Salesforce Sales Cloud, Tableau, Jira, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, Salesforce Einstein, Tableau Desktop Pro, Notion, Zapier, Conga Composer, Make, ChatGPT, Retool, Salesforce Dataloader, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Bubble
Paradigms
Agile Software Development, Agile Project Management, Agile, Agile Product Management, Scrum, Kanban, Automation, Data Science, Business Intelligence (BI), Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)
Platforms
Salesforce, HubSpot, WordPress, Shopline, Webflow, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce SOQL/SOSL
Other
Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Salesforce System Administration, Certified Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Lightning, Salesforce.com Sales Cloud Certification, Digital Transformation, Program Management, Product Management, Agile Coaching, Technical Project Management, Product Owner, Scrum Coaching, Scrum Master, Agile Delivery, Enterprise, Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder, Lean Product Development, Technical Program Management, Web Project Management, Business Transformation, Agile Product Delivery, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Consulting, Management Consulting, Business Transformation Program Management, Business Requirements, User Stories, Backlog Management, Salesforce AppExchange, Architecture, HubSpot CRM, Intuit QuickBooks, Finance, Salesforce Consultant, Dashboards, Data Engineering, Data Analytics, No-code Development, Jira Administration, Integration, Systems Analysis, Agile Leadership, Project Planning, Project Reporting, System Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, Salesforce Reports, Salesforce Reporting & Dashboards, CRM Implementation (Salesforce), Chargebee, Billing, Salesforce Cloud Flow, B2B Sales Pipeline, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Decision Support Systems, Project Discovery, Microsoft 365, Salesforce Service Cloud, Analytics, CIO, QuickBooks Online, Cloud Services, QuickBooks Advance Reporting, Inventory Management, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Data Migration, Airtable, Softr, Risk Management, Third-party Management, Monday.com, APIs, Automated Data Flows, API Integration, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Informatica, Agile CRM, eCommerce, Google Data Studio, Excel Macros, Zoho, Rootstock Cloud ERP, Balance Scorecards, PMI Disciplined Agile, Excel 365, Excel Add-ins, Salesforce Platform Developer, Robotics
Languages
JavaScript, SQL, SOQL
Frameworks
Glide, Lightning Components
Industry Expertise
Accounting
Storage
Data Lakes, Dataloader.io
Education
1981 - 1985
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in Management Information Systems
East Carolina University - Greenville, NC, USA
Certifications
MARCH 2024 - PRESENT
Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy
MIT Sloan School of Management
JANUARY 2024 - PRESENT
Glide Certification Level 1
Glide
SEPTEMBER 2022 - PRESENT
Disciplined Agile Value Stream Consultant (DAVSC)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
MAY 2022 - PRESENT
Disciplined Agile Coach (DAC)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
APRIL 2022 - PRESENT
Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
NOVEMBER 2019 - PRESENT
PMI-ACP
Project Management Institute
JUNE 2018 - PRESENT
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
JANUARY 2018 - PRESENT
Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant Certification
Salesforce
JUNE 2017 - PRESENT
Salesforce App Builder Certification
Salesforce
JUNE 2017 - PRESENT
Salesforce Administrator Certification
Salesforce
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