We recently sat down with Thunder DevOps Practice Lead, Adam Secada, to learn a little more about our DevOps dynamo. Here’s what he had to say!

Q. Adam, tell us a little bit about your role at Thunder.

Coding is hard. Like, really hard. Just building a solution and getting it into a place where an end user can consume it is a hattrick unto itself. The problem compounds when you have a bunch of developers working in the same Salesforce environment – classic “too many cooks in the kitchen” scenario.

That’s where I come in. My team and I have the knowledge to supercharge development teams and put guardrails into place so you can get stuff into Production faster and under budget, even in a “Shared Salesforce Environment” situation. 

That’s your high end sales pitch for what “DevOps” is.

Q. What made you want to join the Thunder crew?

Agency and Freedom. 

I’ve always been a hyper focused, specialized individual that likes to do their “one thing” during the day, but I want to “color outside the lines” occasionally. Thunder is a place where I can flex those muscles – we’re in this amazing place in our company journey right now where even though you have a defined “role”, there are interest groups and passion projects springing up every day so you can get exposure to anything under the sun.

We’ve got BAs doing coding, we’ve got developers working on their speaking skills, it’s pandemonium out here!

Q. You’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem for a long time – with a slew of roles, certifications and awards under your belt. Can you give us the quick 411 on your background?

Been coding since the age of 6, knew I wanted to be in the Technology space quite literally since then. Classically trained as a Consultant with some of the greats – Accenture, Deloitte with an emphasis on Technology Consulting. Climbed through the ranks– Consultant, Consultant Lead, Technical Architect, Program Manager to Program Director, where I spend my time evangelizing DevOps and Technology Disruption to my colleagues.

Q. You’re such a technical wiz, in fact, that you did a stint as an Adjunct Professor at Butler University! What did you teach there, and what was that like?

Salesforce Consulting!

Yep, during the COVID shutdown Butler decided to get a little creative with their course offerings. Salesforce Certifications are sorely lacking all over the place, so they decided to offer that up and pitched me the idea of getting some college students their Salesforce Admin certifications.

So we spent about 8 weeks during the summer, I would give the kiddos a topic to study up on, we would do some lightning rounds of quiz questions, with the final exam being an old Salesforce Admin exam they were expected to pass.

They all did, with flying colors, if I may add.

Q. Outside of work, what strikes a big impact in your life?

Meditation.

I don’t want to get all new age-ey and “woo woo”-ey when I say this, but being a decision maker at a tech startup is hard, stressful work. Taking 15-30 minutes everyday, unplugging from your phone and being alone in the stillness of nature is a life changing thing.

I always come back from my meditation sessions super relaxed so I can be certain I’m always making good decisions from an unemotional place.

Q. Last one! As our DevOps Lead at Thunder, what are you most excited about in the near future for the rapidly growing company?

Artificial Intelligence.

The AI Revolution is happening right now, and I couldn’t be more excited for it or to be a part of it.