Every year, members of the Technology & Products organization at Salesforce have the opportunity to nominate their peers for a T&P All-Star Award. This award recognizes individuals who exemplify one or more of our company’s core values. We’d like to introduce you to some of these stand-out folks, starting today with Alexander Lovell.
Preferred name + preferred pronouns
Alexander Lovell. He / His
Current Role
Director of Product Management, Search
How long have you worked at Salesforce, and how did you land here?
I came to Salesforce from my own startup, where we built high-security team communication tools for small businesses. That experience taught me the power of passionate customers in making tech fun and successful. Joining Salesforce two years ago as the product manager for the Trailblazer Community was a natural transition. After a year, I switched to working on Search to pursue my interest in machine learning.
Tell us a bit about your role.
Working in product management allows me to do my two favorite things: helping customers and building cool tech. It’s motivating to make everyone’s work day more enjoyable. I love working closely with customers, then channeling their inspiration in collaboration with my amazing colleagues in engineering, research, design, and more.
Is there a project you’ve worked on at Salesforce that you’ve particularly enjoyed? Tell us what made it so interesting.
My favorite projects are ones where we take complex technology and make it feel simple and intuitive. We have a pilot running with a constellation of features to personalize your search experience. It’s a pleasure taking the computer intelligence Salesforce has been building for years, packaging features to complement one another, and surfacing all that search personalization in a way users understand instantly. Early results suggest users are thrilled with the changes, which is really the point.
What does Salesforce’s value of “trust” mean to you as a technical employee?
Trust means treating customers like family. Our customers trust us to make them successful without ever compromising on security, quality, and transparency. That’s a corporate way of saying we treat people with love and honesty. To me, that’s family.
(Check out this tool that we open sourced awhile back to help other companies maximize trust through automated pentesting.)
What does Salesforce’s value of “innovation” mean to you as a technical employee?
One of my favorite authors said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Most of us could use more magic in our lives and especially our work lives. Innovation means bringing magic to delight Salesforce users. That’s my north star for Salesforce Search.
What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Salesforce?
I got to attend my first community event, Midwest Dreamin’, two months after I started and was blown away. All week, people came up to me with warm welcomes. Despite lots of challenging questions, there was a spirit of togetherness I’d never experienced at a big company.
What is something that makes you proud to work at Salesforce?
When Salesforce paid millions of dollars to correct the gender pay gap, that was a ‘wow’ moment for me. I’m proud of everything this company does to serve the communities to whom we owe so much. That was a perfect crystallization: lots of companies talking but only one taking action.
Share one fact about yourself that others might find surprising.
Besides the fact my wife is the smart one in the family? (Okay, maybe that’s not so surprising.) It might surprise folks that I love the outdoors considering I only talk about tech when I’m in the city! I’m a Wilderness First Responder, climbed Mt. Shasta this summer, and once went on a 30-day expedition sea kayaking in Alaska.
Thanks for sharing your story, Alexander! Itching to try your hand as a Product Manager for Salesforce? See our job openings here.
