Welcome back to Inside the Salesforce Ecosystem. The series where we dive into the stories and journeys that shape the Salesforce world. This episode, we’re joined by Moez Chaabouni, the founder and CEO of Summit—a Salesforce-exclusive implementation partner and consultant.
With decades of experience across financial services, higher education, and the public sector, Moez has become a trusted advisor to organizations looking to drive transformational automation with the Salesforce platform.
Let’s get into the conversation.
Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role as Founder & CEO at Summit?
Moez: Prior to joining the Salesforce ecosystem, I worked with several IT companies on the client side and I’ve seen the transformation of ecosystems over the many years. Salesforce stood out for many reasons, and when I left the public sector — where I was Deputy CIO for the City of Columbus— I knew I wanted to build a boutique consultancy focused entirely on Salesforce.
As founder and CEO of Summit, my job is to enable a high-performing team to do what they love. We don’t try to do everything. We stay vertical and focused, aiming to be known as true experts in this space.
Q: How did your journey in the Salesforce ecosystem begin, and what led you to start Summit?
Moez: This is an interesting question, and I was fortunate.
After leaving the City of Columbus, I joined Informatica in early 2016. During an internal kickoff, I saw Salesforce’s roadmap and how much they were investing in data, low-code/no-code, and their partnership with Informatica.
That insight, combined with my background on the consuming side of IT, showed me that Salesforce wasn’t just a player, they were shaping the future. I realized then that if anyone was going to start a consultancy, Salesforce was the one to build it around.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you as a leader running a Salesforce consulting firm?
Moez: So my day is fairly structured. We start with a team-wide standup, going over what was done yesterday and what’s planned for today. Even though we’re now fully remote, this daily huddle has remained a core part of our culture.
After that, I spend time unblocking teams and diving into tactical work. Afternoons are more creative. I focus on strategic planning and engaging with partners, clients, and our leadership team. That’s where I shape the roadmap for the next few months or even years.
But let’s focus on what we sell. What we sell is what I call trading time and skill for dollars. That’s what we do. Our product is our people, our product is our brainpower, and our product is our time.
Before the pandemic, we used to have a physical office and started each day with a team stand-up. That routine hasn’t changed, but now we’re fully remote. Everyone works from home or their chosen workspace, yet we’ve kept the culture of our daily huddle to stay connected and aligned.
Q: You’re also a co-founder of Buckeye Dreamin’. What inspired you to launch this community event, and how has it grown over the years?
Buckeye Dreaming is really a great event. We love it. We love it for many reasons. Obviously Ohio is the Buckeye State. Columbus is the headquarters of the Ohio State Buckeyes. So there’s reason for the name.
Buckeye Dreamin’ came out of a need. When Midwest Dreamin’ moved permanently to Minneapolis, it left a gap for folks in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, and surrounding states.
We reached out to Salesforce and proposed starting a regional event focused on central Ohio — and Buckeye Dreamin’ was born. It’s now in its third year and continues to grow. We’ve welcomed attendees from across the U.S. and people from all over the world. It’s become a true celebration of the Salesforce community and something we’re incredibly proud of.
We look forward to it every year, and it’s something that we’re very proud of.
Q: What makes Summit unique in the Salesforce partner ecosystem?
We do a few things differently. First of all, and probably the most important one is that we’re not a general consultancy. We’re Salesforce-exclusive and stay focused on core industries like higher ed, the public sector, manufacturing, and financial services. We bring real domain expertise to the table. I think our biggest differentiator is our depth and the fact that we hire the best of the best. Every consultant is expected to be customer-facing. Our consultants are both business-savvy and technically deep, and out of 30 team members, five are architects. That gives you an idea of how seriously we take expertise.
Q: How has partnering with PDF Butler helped you deliver better solutions to your clients?
I think we have a great partnership, and we’ll continue that. Your product evolution has been spot on. You’re riding along with the wave, and you’re present where we think you should be. Document generation and document management are necessary components. Salesforce made the decision to leave that to the ISV ecosystem early on, and I hope they continue doing that. ISVs can react faster to specific client needs, and you guys have been fantastic in providing that. We’ve seen your competition grow too big and not able to respond fast enough. I hope you stay nimble, and I have the confidence you will. It’s a fantastic opportunity for all of us, and it’s been wonderful working with you guys.
Q: What do you do outside of work? Do you have any hobbies or passions you enjoy in your free time?
I do enjoy quite a few hobbies. I’m an avid sailor, so I like to get on the water as often as I can, local lakes here in Ohio, as well as blue waters like the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Anywhere they allow me to charter a boat and get out, I’m all about it. I love seeing the world on boats. I like to travel a lot—at least two, three, or four trips a year for recreation purposes. I like fast cars and fast motorcycles. I’m not far off the Fast and Furious crowd yet, but I do enjoy speed, and I’m a gearhead at heart.
Big thanks to Moez for sharing his story, insights, and energy with us! 🎙️
