Boomerang en el punto de mira - John Banian

John first joined Salesforce in 2014, as part of the social.com team — a product that has evolved into Advertising Studio within Marketing Cloud. “It was so different back then. As a relatively new acquisition [Salesforce acquired Buddy Media shortly before John started from where the social.com product was born], I used to joke we just rented space in what today is Salesforce Tower London.”

Part of his role in the early days of his Salesforce career was to integrate his team into the existing structure. As John met new people and navigated the organization, he came across our Customer Success Group (CSG) team, which became the new home for his team. “Media agencies used our tools to promote their ads on social media platforms. Back then, Salesforce was the first ever Instagram API partner for advertising,” shares John, recalling the partnership’s exciting launch party at the Getty Images Gallery in central London.

After two and a half years, John decided it was time to take on a new role. Just around that time, a partner of Salesforce reached out for a coffee chat, a meeting that would eventually result in an interesting job offer.

“It was too good of an opportunity to turn down, especially because — beyond the role description — they were expecting me to bring the Salesforce culture to them, which was excellent news to me.”

As exciting as it turned out to be, John missed Salesforce. “In essence, it was our culture, the belonging, our focus on wellbeing, on taking care of each other, on giving back to the world. While I was having these thoughts, I would visit the Salesforce Tower for business meetings and people would greet me saying, ‘Hey you’re back!’ and I would just smile back and say, ‘not really, only for a meeting.’" 

After a short while, John was back at the Salesforce Tower ... but this time it was for his first day back at the company. "People made the same joke again, are you back? It was great to be able to say, ‘yeah, I’ve got a new role here, I’m back!’ ... that belonging, that family feeling, that’s what I missed”.

John is now a Sr. Business Architect responsible for key accounts within the CSG organization. It’s been over two years since he “boomeranged” and one of the things that stands out the most to him is how much he has learned and grown. “My current role has helped me expand my knowledge on our solutions; among other things, I am Email Studio certified, something I would have never thought about!”

John remembers his second first day with a smile. “I left but I was never really away. I felt lucky to be in that room... it was like coming back home. When I attended my onboarding events, I was very inspired by the messages and the people that came to talk to us. I told Andy Smither➚, the Onboarding leader for EMEA, that I loved what they were doing and that I wanted to help.” That led John to became one of our Culture Guides - a group of employees that foster our culture by supporting internal activities. Fast forward a few months and John is now a frequent ‘Day One’ speaker, welcoming new hires from all over the region on their first day at Salesforce, explaining how we live our culture, and sharing his Boomerang story. “I absolutely enjoy getting to share my story with new hires. I am passionate about Salesforce and I look forward to sharing that passion with our new hires.”

John’s return has also inspired him to give back. “When I left Salesforce, that volunteering time fell off, but now that I am back, it’s on!” A part of the Armenian community in London and a Scout since he was 4 years old, John uses his Volunteering Time Off (VTO)➚ to help set up and run activities for the Armenian Scout summer camps. 

John said it best, “Once you are family you are always family, so don’t be afraid to reach out and try to come back. You will always be welcome.” The Salesforce family extends to our partners, customers, and members of the communities that we call home. We collaborate, take care of one another, have fun together, and work to leave the world a better place. 

Interested in joining Salesforce or becoming a Boomerang? Check out our open roles and join our Talent Community.