1st Quarter 2024 Introductions

Heather Wendt

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Feedback on our poll was in favor of creating a space for people to introduce themselves!

To prevent this thread from becoming overwhelming, we will create a new one each quarter.

If you are new to GGR or have been here since the beginning, this space is for you!

Share a bit about who you are professionally and/or personally so that others can see beyond the name!

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Comments

PiperWilson

Welcome to @Tia, @JoeDoesTechTouch, and @RonaldFLiu!

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11978#Comment_11978

Welcome, Joe! My specialty is scaling using digital tools for CSM teams. I am looking forward to hearing more about your experience.

JoeDoesTechTouch

I'm Joe! I'm the Founder of Joe Does Tech Touch and the VP of Customer Success and Group Subscriptions at Business Insider. I've worked in CS, post-sales, and tech touch for 10 years. In addition to launching Tech Touch programs, I've also led the procurement, evaluation, and implementation of tech platforms, like ChurnZero and Iterable to name a few. I am happy to share my wealth of knowledge in technology and Tech Touch and Digital CS strategies. Don't hesitate to reach out, especially if you're in the West Palm Beach or South Florida area. I would love to meet in person!

RonaldFLiu

Hi everybody!

My name is Ronald, I'm based out of Southern California. I've always found myself in the Customer Success/Account Management kind of fields and was previously active with GGR before I landed my last job. However, I'm back and I'm hoping to be more active. I'm not dedicated to any particular field, I've hovered in medical, government, and most recently podcasting, but no matter what the niche, there's always a need for someone to help guide the users, which is where I feel like I excel.

Looking forward to engaging!

Tia

Hello GGR Community!

New member here but long time listener to GGR podcast, my name is Tia coming to you from Melbourne Australia.

My history is pretty diverse, hospitality, retail and event early in my career and throughout University, I was given an opportunity to enter the tech space in a Customer Service role for Uber. This role developed into Account Coordinator/Implementation and Account Management to my next and current role in Enterprise Customer Success for a hospitality tech company called HungryHungry. Throughout my roles the main focus has always been on the people, which translates to my personal life as well.

Currently, and where I see my strengths, majority of my time is situated around Project Management and strategic relationship management. I'm looking forward to learning from this community, developing my skills to further my career as well as develop and support my CS team.

Can't wait to connect with you all!

PiperWilson

Hi @Julie Fox - It's wonderful to have you here!

Julie Fox

Hi! My name is Julie Fox! I have experience building, growing, and scaling CS teams and am currently looking for my next CS/CX leadership role!

You can connect with me on linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-fox-1b05395a/

I've been a part of GGR for a little while now and have joined for podcast and blog (super fun & easy - highly recommend!). The GGR Leadership Office Hours are my absolute favorite - I've met tons of incredible leaders and learned lots!

Please don't hesitate to reach out!

PiperWilson

Hello, all new folks, and to our longer-standing members!

I'm so glad you're here!

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11916#Comment_11916

Hello Alicia! I love Toronto and went to the CNE almost every year growing up. Some of the best CSMs I have worked with had an background in education.

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11951#Comment_11951

Welcome, Himanshu!

himanshu

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11952#Comment_11952

Thanks Richard, sure happy to get on a call, anytime!

richardconvery

Great to meet you Himanshu! It'd be great to have an intro call at some point. I'd like to intro you to my new company and see what I can do to help you!

Richard

himanshu

Hello GGR,

Delighted to be a member of this fantastic community!

Hi, my name is Himanshu Tiwari, rooted in the diverse heritage of India. I'm Currently exploring the exciting areas of customer success and product management consultancy. My path is all about enabling emerging start-ups to reach new heights by fueling their teams with passion and direction.

Rewinding a bit, At Trackier, as VP Customer Success, I was fortunate to captain a vibrant team dedicated to excellence in support, steering customer success, and ensuring smooth onboarding experiences. Always a product person at heart, I contributed to mapping and building 3 SAAS products for the company.

Before this, I co-founded Perb, a CRM designed specifically for fitness studios. Although the pandemic forced us to close our doors, the event provided me with great lessons in resilience.

Looking forward to many more inspiring conversations and shared experiences! cheers!

alicja.surzyn

Hello everyone! I'm Alicja, joining you from Toronto, Canada.

Thank you for welcoming me into this space 😎 With a decade of diverse experience in education and project coordination under my belt, I am eagerly seeking to transition into a Customer Success role. I love working with people and technology! In particular, I really love helping people achieve their goals.

Having completed a web development bootcamp and earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, I'm actively pursuing opportunities to pivot into Customer Success. I am motivated to join the EdTech industry, a field I am drawn to due to my firsthand experience with EdTech software. I get excited about the potential of exceptional EdTech products and am eager to be a part of driving that positive change.

Thank you for the opportunity to share a bit about myself, and I'm looking forward to engaging and learning from all of you! I'm also obsessed with dogs and gardening if we get tired of talking shop.

Chimeria Gonzalez

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11912#Comment_11912

Great! Ill message you shortly!

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11905#Comment_11905

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. I hope you love SF. The Mission is my favorite neighborhood, love the Castro and Japantown too.

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11910#Comment_11910

I look forward to hearing more from and about you and especially your experience with digital programs.

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11908#Comment_11908

Sure! Let's find a time/date to speak.

kmcmullen

Hello, GGR!

I love this community and have found so much value since joining a few years back (but had it tied to my previous company's email... so had to start over with my personal last year).

My name is Kristine McMullen, I live & work just outside of Minneapolis, MN; but mainly work remote, venturing into our office a few times a month and into the Twin Cities for Wild & Vikings games! SKOL! 💜

I'm currently at Center (integrated corporate card + expense & travel software) where I lead our Deployment team. Previously, I was at SAP Concur where I lead our MM Onboarding Client Success Managers for a few years, and prior to leaving was the Director of our Digital Onboarding Client Success space! Man, did I learn a lot there.

I relish the opportunity to create something as helpful and valuable as GGR has been to me for my directs & for our clients to use in a community space. Looking forward to continuing to learn from all of you!

Chimeria Gonzalez

@Brian O'Keeffe

I would love to pick your brain for all things digital CS when you have the availability.

Chimeria Gonzalez

Hey, GGR community!!!

I am Chimeria and I'm based out of Tomball, Texas. I am currently transitioning into a Customer Success Manager role from a Technical Support Engineer for a Behavioral AI-based email security platform SaaS startup company. My background consists of Cybersecurity/IT, Customer Support and Customer Success, Sales, and more.

I am very interested in learning more about CS and getting more involved in GGR. I am especially looking to find out more about the digital and tech touch aspects.

I am always open to opportunities to learn, connect, and chat with others!! https://www.linkedin.com/in/chimeria/

PiperWilson

Futbol (soccer) is life.

🏈

@moussa - Just kidding!

moussa

Hi everyone,

Stoked to have found this community! I'm a French transplant living in San Francisco. Some people say I don't have a French accent. I live with my partner and our 2 adorable cats. Futbol (soccer) is life.

I am engineer by training, my foundations come from my first experience as a consultant for PwC, and I've been at Planisware since 2013 going through Professional Services, Sales Engineering and now Customer Success Leadership.

I'm the Head of Customer Success at Planisware, the leader in the Enterprise project & portfolio management software "niche". I have 8 CSMs on my team and I work very closely with other functions, especially Sales and Professional Services. We run a high-touch CS program and I feel we've only scratched the surface so far.

3 top priorities on my roadmap right now: building an integrated process and tech stack end-to-end to support our CS motions, expanding and automating our telemetry / business intelligence, upskilling my team on product knowledge and tangible value realization conversations.

I'm thrilled to be part of this group of experts. Can't wait to connect and learn from all of you, and hopefully I can also help out by sharing my experience.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/moussagherbi/

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11900#Comment_11900

Hello Karl! Many great CSMs have come from the teaching profession.

Brian O'Keeffe

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11893#Comment_11893

Welcome!

Karl W

Hello GGR community!

I'm Karl, a former teacher currently transitioning into customer success management. With 17 years of national and international teaching under my belt—spanning subjects from tech to fine arts—I've recently delved into the wild world of CSM. I've made some great strides towards my professional goals such as gaining a CSM certification, attending online seminars, expanding my Linkendin network, and hiring a career transition coach. I'm also armed with a Master's in Educational Technology and I'm working my way through a Salesforce certification.

Having said all that, I have been looking for my first real position for almost 6 months now. I've applied for well over 100 CSM jobs and have reached out to twice that many CSM professionals, hiring managers, VP of Sales, and CEOs with my pitch. I've had no luck so I'm currently readjusting my goal towards a tech support position (for which I have an upcoming interview). My theory is that I can get a foothold in a good company and either work my way up or gain valuable experience in order to switch into a fulltime CSM role. If anyone has any other suggestions on how I can move forward I'd be happy to connect and I'm very excited to join this GGR community. Hopefully I can meet like-minded folks, swap stories, and maybe even find the next big adventure in this exciting tech landscape.

Cheers!

Karl

Brandon Hemmelman

Hey everyone! Been on GGR for a little over year, but figured I would re-introduce myself.

My name is Brandon and I am based out of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Currently a Manager, Customer Success at a B2B Business Analytics platform. Prior to that I worked at a Health Technology company, where I led a CS team as well. All told, been in CS for about 5ish years.

I am trying to be more involved on GRR, to contribute lessons learned and learn from others along the way.

I'd welcome opportunities to chat, whether its someone looking to make the jump into CS leadership, or current leaders that are looking for an outside perspective.

Find me here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-hemmelman/

Heather Wendt

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11882#Comment_11882

Welcome @JLondon! Glad you find your way to us...heard some great things about Madison although I haven't yet visited it...some day! Looking forward to getting to know you more through the community!

Heather Wendt

https://gaingrowretain.com/discussion/comment/11893#Comment_11893

Welcome Kyler! So glad to have with us...looking forward to seeing more of you!

Kyler Samoska

Hi everyone!

My name is Kyler (Ditmars) Samoska, don't laugh at the double last name situation, eventually I'll officially change it!

I am a Senior CSM at a startup Saas company. I have the honor of wearing many hats, if you have ever worked for a startup, you know the feeling! I am working on building out our CS side of the business currently.

With that, I'm always looking to learn and build new relationships. I'm really hoping to meet new people and learn from your experiences, good and bad.

I have a history in distribution and software implementation, but I'm currently ingrained in secure document transfer.

Please feel free to connect with me here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyler-samoska-ab9042134/