Thomas Scola's Resume

Comprehensive Skills

Proven success in managing presales to delivery, ensuring seamless project execution and client satisfaction.
Proficient in team and program management, with a passion for continuous learning and innovation.
Expertise in Drupal, Acquia & Pantheon, Technical Architecture, DevOps, and CI/CD workflows and processes.
Skilled in consulting on large decoupled composable architectures.

Certifications

Acquia

Site Factory Pro
Site Builder Drupal 8

GitLab

CI/CD Specialist
Partner Sales Core
Associate
Project Management Specialist
DevOps Professional
Continuous Integration Sales Specialist
Security Specialist (ECSS)

Red Cross

Red Cross First Aid & CPR Certified

Education

Maine College of Art & Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Graphic Design & Information Architecture
1995-1999

Experience

Customer Success Manager, Gitlab

Starting May 2024

Partnering with our customers in the US West by taking what was established in the pre-sales command plan, and turning the customers desired positive business outcomes into actionable objectives
Know the GitLab platform, common best practices, and use cases in order to guide the customer
Understand the customer journey and be able to guide them on future adoption
Act as the GitLab liaison for GitLab questions, issues, or escalations. Collaborate with GitLab Support, Product Management (i.e., roadmaps), or other teams as needed
Own a book of assigned customers, with a focus on increasing adoption, ensuring retention and growth, and overall customer satisfaction
Remain knowledgeable and up-to-date on GitLab releases

Sr. Technical Solutions Manager, Acquia

Apr 2022 - March 2024 (2 years)

Led pre-sales scoping for major Drupal migrations and implementations in the SLED/government sector, offering DevOps insights and crafting digital enterprise solutions.
Collaborated with sales, delivery, legal, and finance teams for smooth project handovers.
Developed key engagement strategies and service recommendations with sales and delivery teams.
Wrote influential content for dev.acquia.com, boosting Acquia's marketing and product innovation.

Sr. Technical Account Manager / Leadership Team, Acquia

Mar 2019 - Apr 2022 (3 years 2 months)

Directed a POD of 3 TAMs, overseeing quarterly OKRs, weekly 1:1s, escalations, and reviews.
Served as the principal technical lead for Johnson & Johnson's digital initiatives during the COVID vaccine campaigns.
Oversaw technical delivery for high-profile events such as the Olympics and World Cup for elite clients.
Transformed the TAM Mentorship program into the Expert Services Training and Enablement Program, upgrading skills for over 250 Acquia staff.

Sr. Technical Account Manager, Acquia

Oct 2018 - Mar 2019 (6 months)

Spearheaded the onboarding and launch for Acquia's top customers, advised on EOL software and Drupal capabilities, and led Acquia product enablement.
Improved customer relationships through strategic and technical guidance.
Co-created a global TAM Mentor program, aiding 50 colleagues.

Technical Account Manager, Acquia

Nov 2017 - Oct 2018 (1 year)

Provided expertise in Drupal-based technology, including development, optimization, and utilization of Acquia products, alongside hardware recommendations and audits. Enhanced security and operational efficiencies by optimizing web hosting infrastructure.
Directed complex initiatives, fostering collaboration between customer development teams and Acquia engineers to create customized solutions.

Director of Technology, Energy Circle LLC.

Oct 2013 - Oct 2017 (4 years 1 month)

Oversaw a Development Department of 13, including developers and content creators, handling OKRs, weekly meetings, escalations, and reviews.
Created a custom Drupal distribution for the home performance sector, boosting marketing and SEO, and aiding in company growth from 3 to over 30 employees.
Directed the digital department, managing custom Drupal distributions and monthly website launches via a bespoke CiviCRM application, significantly enhancing online marketing efforts.

Director Of Technology, Rinck Advertising, Inc.

Sep 2008 - Oct 2013 (5 years 2 months)

Led a Development Department of 8, including developers and designers, focusing on OKRs, weekly 1:1s, escalations, and reviews.
Played a key role in the leadership team, overseeing web and tech projects, contributing to growth from 6 to over 25 employees.
Managed a team of 10 developers and project managers, handling all company technology needs, from IT support to web development.

What people are saying

To put it in straight business terms, Thomas delivers one of the highest ROIs a company could wish for, both directly and indirectly, generating value well beyond 3-5x employee cost. His plethora of certifications, qualifications, and extensive experience in Web Tech (obviously, with a major emphasis in Drupal) do not come CLOSE to representing his talents.

In this industry and sector, it is a cultural norm to regularly have to trade deep technical expertise at the compromise of necessary soft skills; you don't have to compromise with Thomas. Because he isn't *just* remarkably intelligent, passionately curious, and creative in his problem solving, he is someone with a presence that makes work, whether it be cross-functional or customer facing, authentically enjoyable. This truly rare presence establishes both wide-ranging and long standing value for ANY team and organization.

Years after Thomas and I worked together on a cohort of Acquia's most significant, demanding, and technically challenging customers, and we had both moved into other departments, he is still someone to-date that I speak about when onboarding new employees and establishing a baseline for what collaborative work should look. How envious I am already of the lucky company that gets to benefit from his added value!

Dre Garner, Program Manager Helping Cloud Businesses Scale Operations

Acquia

Thomas is every organization's best case scenario when it comes to Drupal talent. His expertise in Drupal dates back to v4.7 and he's been playing a leadership role within the Drupal community for almost two decades. He's worn almost every technical hat within Acquia (the company created by Drupal founder Dries Buytaert) in large part because of his depth of knowledge for all things Drupal and his unique versatility of leveraging that skill set however the most urgent need requires. To say he bleeds Drupal drops would undersell his commitment and to, and knowledge of, all things Drupal.

Beyond the mastery of the CMS, Thomas brings a tremendous approach towards collaboration and leadership, sprinkled with the humanity and kindness that makes working with him easy. He's a creative problem solver with an appetite to innovate, yet plays within the boundaries of the proven best practices and tried and true methodology. He is the ideal teammate, a tremendous leader, and spectacular person, and any team would be lucky to have him.

Zach DiFranza, Account Executive for Digital Transformation | Federal Government Solutions

Acquia

Thomas is my "go to" resource for solution path ideas. We've both been working with Drupal and the surrounding technologies and platforms for many years, and he has constantly shown me new ways to approach project requirements and challenges, with an eye to "doing it right." When I'm stuck on something, or when I feel as if there must be a better solution than what I've come up with, I turn to Tom.

His reputation among the companies I've worked with is that he is an exceptional member of the team: He has strong interpersonal skills, and can work just as easily with big-picture business teams as he can with developers. He quickly earns the trust of those he works with, and demonstrates over and over again that it's not misplaced.

Tom listens to the customer, hears what they have to say, and responds in a manner that gives the customer the confidence that he not only understands their business goals and technical objectives, but can guide them to best-practice solutions.

Todd Woofenden, Principal Technical Account Manager

Acquia

Thomas's meticulous attention to detail and commitment to providing exceptional technical expertise to each customer has made him an invaluable asset. His expertise in Drupal, CI/CD, GitLab, and problem-solving is not only impressive, but also inspiring. He sets a high standard for development, employee performance, and consultancy, motivating me and others to strive for excellence. Thomas would undoubtedly be a valuable addition to any company fortunate enough to have him.

Allie Jones, Senior Technical Solutions Manager

Acquia

Tom is one of the most generous and thoughtful folks I have worked with in my career. His Drupal and developer experience creating incredible applications was invaluable during the solutioning process when speaking to prospective and active customers. His willingness to jump in on any type of project (whether educating a customer on some functionality or full blown demonstrations of product stories) single-handedly solidified our products and services as leaders in the market.

Tom brings an infectious spirit to every conversation, and he was never afraid to jump on a call with little notice to help ensure that customers were achieving their goals with our solutions. All around, it was a complete pleasure to work with him from day 1, and I hope to continue to collaborate into the future.

N. Sam Pettinati, Senior Solutions Engineer

Acquia

Comprehensive Skills

Certifications

Acquia

GitLab

Red Cross

Education

Maine College of Art & Design

Experience

Customer Success Manager, Gitlab

Starting May 2024

Sr. Technical Solutions Manager, Acquia

Apr 2022 - March 2024 (2 years)

Sr. Technical Account Manager / Leadership Team, Acquia

Mar 2019 - Apr 2022 (3 years 2 months)

Sr. Technical Account Manager, Acquia

Oct 2018 - Mar 2019 (6 months)

Technical Account Manager, Acquia

Nov 2017 - Oct 2018 (1 year)

Director of Technology, Energy Circle LLC.

Oct 2013 - Oct 2017 (4 years 1 month)

Director Of Technology, Rinck Advertising, Inc.

Sep 2008 - Oct 2013 (5 years 2 months)

Dre Garner, Program Manager Helping Cloud Businesses Scale Operations

Zach DiFranza, Account Executive for Digital Transformation | Federal Government Solutions

Todd Woofenden, Principal Technical Account Manager

Allie Jones, Senior Technical Solutions Manager

N. Sam Pettinati, Senior Solutions Engineer

Code Studio Integrating Lighthouse Testing Suite