Richard Desmarais

I recently won the 2023 Change Leader Award for Innovation and became an advisor to TheySaid's Customer Perceived Value solution. I was interviewed by Neha Singh for research on the role CS plays towards SaaS organization growth without sacrificing profitability and was mentioned by Scott Mautz in Issue #107 of his LeadOn! newsletter. My curiosity for learning more about customer success is being quenched with ongoing meet & greets with CS/CX thought leaders. I've started a website and blog regularly, achieved a certification, have taken numerous LinkedIn Learning courses, and I am doing some community service for my city. I am equally enthusiastic about helping others who were laid off at Talkdesk and beyond. As a servant leader, I have 9 years' experience in Customer Success and 10+ years of experience working with startups and reporting directly to the Founder & CEO. I thrive under a broad mandate and have a track record of successful initiatives ranging from building and developing customer success teams, service blueprinting, project & product management, compliance, continuous improvement, change management, and service operations. Eternally curious and a lifelong learner, I love to assess and optimize programs that will help a team perform at the highest level and businesses achieve their goals at scale. Overriding vision is staying attuned to the macro environment and positioning the strategic direction of the Customer Success department. As a manager, I bring people and my passion for the customer experience together to create a sense of purpose and inspire them to develop their potential. I coach employees on helping customers realize the value of their investment to facilitate revenue expansion, renewal opportunities and customer advocacy.