From LEGO and a Golden Hoodie to inspiring stories: this was Salesforce Live BeLux

On June 16, we were finally able to welcome our customers, partners, prospects, and other guests at the first Belux edition of Salesforce Live in three years. The huge turnout proved how much everybody was craving for a moment to reconnect and network. Below are some of my personal impressions and takeaways from an inspiring day.

Wearing a fancy costume on a hot summer day can be quite a challenge, especially since I was co-hosting the opening keynote with Country Leader Lien Ceulemans. But it was only a small sacrifice to see the abundance of familiar and less familiar faces in the audience. We started Salesforce Live with a question: for whom is this the first live Salesforce event? We estimated that this would be the case for 20% of the people, so we were positively surprised to see that half the room had raised their hands. For us, it was a unique opportunity to introduce them to the culture and values of Salesforce.

1-1-1 model

The keynote was a 90-minute rollercoaster where both customers and partners took the stage to tell their unique stories. It demonstrated that the 1-1-1 model (1% of the company’s equity, 1% of its products, and 1% of the employees’ time given back to the community) is more than just a slogan. Take River Cleanup, for example, an initiative that started in 2017 and now inspires more than 100,000 people in dozens of countries to help remove waste from rivers. Through VTO (Volunteering Time Off), our own employees can support this and other projects of their choice.

Workforce enablement was another interesting topic during the keynote. In this context, we announced that we are going to collaborate more closely with Refugee Force to reskill people and help them find jobs in the Salesforce ecosystem. IDC predicts that our technology will create 19,000 new jobs in Belgium by 2026. Even customers are now asking if we can help them find the right profiles, so there is a real need to prepare new target groups for a Salesforce-related job.

Sustainable chocolate

Sustainability was a key topic during Salesforce Live. Care4Growing is another example of an innovative project in this domain. The initiative was launched a few years ago by the three largest vegetable and fruit auctions in Belgium. It helps farmers connect and share data on a Salesforce-driven platform that allows them to improve the quality and sustainability of their products and access research and advice on, for example, diseases that can damage their crops.

Most companies are now thinking about ways to make their products and services more sustainable. During Salesforce Live, we also heard the story of Neuhaus and Barry Callebaut. The first wants to produce more sustainable ‘pralines’, the second helps to make that happen by ensuring that the cacao beans for their chocolate come from sustainable farms. Thanks to Salesforce technology, they were able to connect all stakeholders, from Neuhaus and Barry Callebaut to the ‘farm coach’ in Nigeria.

Our first Golden Hoodie

Salesforce Live is a great opportunity to see the wide variety of references we have in the Belux market. Even our employees are still surprised when they discover some of the company names that have been part of our Salesforce ecosystem for years. After the keynote, attendees could participate in breakout sessions covering industry-specific success stories with local customers. In addition to our vast ecosystem of partners welcoming customers and prospects at their booths at the Expo floor, forty Salesforce Solution Engineers showed them the latest innovations and addressed any question they might have.

An unexpected highlight was the celebration of our very first local Golden Hoodie. This is a special recognition and a way of saying thanks to the most inspiring Trailblazers. The week before Salesforce Live, Thomas Theunen received the exclusive award during Connections in Chicago. Thomas is Head of Commerce at Forward and was celebrated for his efforts in helping the community become successful with Commerce Cloud. People could easily identify him during Salesforce Live, as he also braved the heat wearing his Golden Hoodie. Only about 40 people worldwide have received this honor. Keep on rocking Thomas!

LEGO Connected City

Finally, one of my personal favorites of the event was the LEGO Connected City. This is a project in which my own team was involved, together with many other colleagues from Belgium and the Netherlands. The interactive LEGO city told the story of Homer Simpson who has an accident that destroys his car. He receives support from the government to buy an electric vehicle. During the story, he visits a dealer to choose a model, buys accessories and gets car insurance. The interactive city connected different industries and used an IoT sensor to create cases that guide visitors through the Salesforce ecosystem.

To conclude, Salesforce Live: Belgium was a great success. Next year, we may even have to move to a much larger venue to welcome all the guests. For those who can’t wait, San Francisco will host a new edition of Dreamforce this year, from 20 to 22 September. Register here and stay up to date.

For now, I want to wish you a wonderful summer holiday! By the way, did you also visit Salesforce Live: Belgium? Then feel free to share your experiences with me.