A Note from Gemma Blezard, our Founder
As a Salesforce architect with a consulting background, I am a compulsive problem-solver. It’s one of the things we all love about this job. However, this doozy isn’t the kind of problem that’s enjoyable to solve.
If you follow my blog, you may be aware of my serious health challenges. When they told me my breast cancer was back and couldn’t be cured, in April 2021, my world fell apart in one afternoon. Following the initial shock and devastation, I mentally clutched at everything I needed to do to limit the impact of my approaching death: the List. Create a succession plan, write a new will, secure my daughter’s financial future – you name it, it went through my head.
Reassuring customers and the Architech Club team was essential; no one knows what to do when the boss has cancer. It’s humbling that we have Salesforce architects who’ve been working in our team for almost 3 years.
I’m so excited to finally share our plans for the future of The Architech Club, starting with this announcement.
Exciting Changes Afoot at The Architech Club
We are delighted to announce that Amnon Kruvi will now be leading The Architech Club, effective immediately. Our founder Gemma Blezard will be stepping back fully to spend time with her family and friends; she will also continue to support the Salesforce community online and in person as her health permits.
Since we started in 2019, we’ve done pretty well for a start-up of amazingly capable Salesforce architects. We built a good team that’s created a strong portfolio of loyal customers. They see our premium services, love what we’re doing and are keen to see us continue and scale. Amnon is uniquely positioned to continue both our vision and pick up that mandate. We trust him well to blaze the trail set by Gemma.
About Amnon
Amnon Kruvi is a Salesforce architect – an all-rounder. Not content with that, he dedicates much of his time to helping others to grow in the Salesforce community. He was awarded Salesforce MVP status in 2019 and each year thereafter for his work in Salesforce’s online forums and his co-leadership of the London Developer Community Group.
Amnon started his career as a consultant and spent many years in this industry both on and off the Salesforce platform. He has built a few startups, and we’re confident that his extensive knowledge, high-quality experience and the relationships he has cultivated, will help to scale The Architech Club. With specialist skillsets and products around resource management, staffing, and field service, there are exciting opportunities to grow as architects as we integrate these features with the core elements of Salesforce.
A Note from Amnon
I remember sitting in the room with Gemma when the words “Architect Club” first came up. What was always so special about this name was never the word Architect (or Architech)- but the word “Club”. TAC is a social construct, where people pull together to reach a common goal, as opposed to taking orders because that’s how they get paid.
Every person in the club is someone I would have lunch with outside of work, and this social cohesion has always been an important factor in the company’s hiring criteria. If you ask me, that has always been the true hidden value proposition behind the company.
What’s Not Changing
- Our name, brand and team
- We’re still aligned with our value proposition, guided by our values of trust, humanity, transparency and ownership
- Our services – though they will expand!
- We remain committed to hiring and growing delivery leaders
It’s not every day a colleague steps in to help another in distress of this scale, and it also happens to be a good fit. Lives and careers have been transformed through the power of the Salesforce community; this is just the latest example of how it has built resilience and continuity for Gemma and for The Architech Club in the face of such difficulties.
Thank you to all of our customers, contractors, staff, partners and friends in the ecosystem, and to Salesforce for their phenomenal kindness, support and advice. We can’t wait to work with you on the next exciting phase.
Special Mention – Regent Assay
Regent Assay is a team of specialist corporate finance, private equity and M&A advisers, headquartered in Birmingham, UK. Following a candid introductory telephone call one rainy afternoon in December 2021, Regent Assay offered to help Gemma with her succession plan for The Architech Club.
Over the course of 2022, Gemma’s team at Regent Assay – Chris Taylor, Oliver Lowe and Hana Glanville provided a great deal of advice and reassurance, were friendly and responsive and helped us make sense of a situation we were new to.
They then helped us to structure a deal that would meet everybody’s goals and managed the expectations of each party we dealt with professionally, with courtesy and friendliness throughout. Thank you so much.
It is our pleasure to recommend their services to anybody looking for specialist advice.
