Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Daniela Shikova , Manager Customer Success at TrialHub, a platform helping pharma and CRO teams plan smarter clinical trials. Daniela shares how she built a Customer Success function from scratch in one of the most regulated industries in the world, and what makes CS in clinical research fundamentally diffe...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Andrea Zen , Customer Success leader at Fairly Made. Andrea breaks down how CS operates at the intersection of sustainability, complex product data, and evolving regulations in fashion traceability. He shares how his background in fashion shaped a deeply customer-centric mindset, how his team manages divers...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Cameron Hogg , Customer Success Manager at OneTrace, a construction technology platform that helps subcontractors track work, maintain compliance, and gain visibility across projects. Cameron shares what surprised him most when moving from licensing tech into construction SaaS, how CS teams drive adoption a...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Gillian Stringer , Senior Client Partner at Enrich. They discuss how Customer Success evolves from platform enablement to true business partnership, why protecting the relationship can sometimes backfire, and how CS teams can align with Sales to drive retention and growth. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ Why change m...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Catalin Petre , Customer Success Manager at Several Nines, the company helping teams deploy, manage, and operate open-source databases in production. Catalin shares why he left a seven-year corporate career to join a scale-up, how CS operates when accounts are shared across Account Executives and technical...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Arek Czarnecki , Head of Customer Success at Gridaly, an all-in-one event management platform that helps organizers run virtual, hybrid, and in-person events end to end. Arek shares how he transitioned from Sales into Customer Success and rebuilt the entire CS function from scratch inside a fast-growing sta...

In this episode of Mastering CS Candid Leader Insights, Irina Cismas sits down with Ellen Quirke , Head of Customer Success at IRIS Audio, the AI audio company helping teams remove background noise and capture clearer conversations at scale. Ellen shares how her years as a high-performance athlete shaped the way she leads, prioritizes, and builds systems, then breaks down what it looks like to cre...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Simon Montgomery , COO at ID-PAL, the identity verification platform helping businesses confirm who their customers really are in seconds. Simon shares how his journey from traditional banking into fintech and regtech shaped the way ID-PAL built its customer operations, how identity verification became a cu...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Ryan Miller , Head of Customer Success at Cogniss. Ryan shares how an unconventional path through business strategy, entrepreneurship, and no-code development shaped the way he built Cogniss’s customer success function from the ground up. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How Ryan’s background in strategy, operations,...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Jonny Davies , Head of Customer Success at Vixio. Jonny unpacks how he is reshaping CS at Vixio — from redefining roles and rebuilding health scores to implementing automation and balancing commercial growth with genuine customer partnership. He also shares what true CS maturity looks like, how to scale tea...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Sara Vera-Cruz Quintas , Customer Care & Success Manager at CargoFive. Sara shares insights from her multifaceted career spanning customer service, procurement, and sales — exploring negotiation, data-driven adoption, and how to unite Customer Care and CS for impact. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How sales &amp...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Glenn Debattista , COO at BetStarters. Glenn shares how his sportsbook trading background shaped his leadership style, how he scales B2B organizations, hires for attitude over ego, and builds trust-based teams that fuel growth. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How a trading & risk-management mindset translates to...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Jeroen Kuiper , Director of Customer Success at OpenUp, to discuss his journey in CS, leadership lessons, and how to maintain a customer-first mindset while scaling teams and processes. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How past experiences impacted customer success ☑️ How to scale and grow the business ☑️ How to keep...

In this episode, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Grant Dutton , VP of Customer Success at Submittable. They discuss building exceptional CS teams, driving customer retention through proactive strategies, and integrating teams after acquisitions — offering valuable lessons for anyone passionate about customer success. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How to transition from reactive...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Porter Williams , VP of Customer Success at BrightHire, to discuss how past experiences influenced his CS philosophy and how he scales customer-centric organizations effectively. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How past experiences impacted customer success ☑️ How to scale and grow the business ☑️ How to keep a custo...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Aaron Spence , Head of Customer Success at NoFraud, to discuss how his past experiences shaped his approach to customer success, scaling, and maintaining a customer-centric culture while growing the business. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How past experiences impacted customer success ☑️ How to scale and grow the b...

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Bettina Berger , Head of Customer Success at TalentAdore, to discuss her journey in CS and how she keeps her teams aligned, even in a hybrid work environment. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How to find the right blend for hybrid work ☑️ The importance of a customer success team ☑️ How to prioritize the important tas...

In our new episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, discussed with Christopher Warren-Gash , VP of Customer Success at Sympa. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How past experiences impact customer success ☑️ How to create customer success strategies depending on the industry ☑️ The critical steps you need to take to build your CS career ☑️ How t...

In our new episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, discussed with Craig Taylor, Head of Customer Success at SimplePoll. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How past experiences impact customer success ☑️ How to implement a digital-first CS strategy ☑️ The importance of technology in CS ☑️ The right screening process for a CSP ---- With Custify, y...

In our new episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify discussed with Philip Simon , Head of Customer Success at Rule. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How to balance work life and personal life ☑️ The importance of a customer success team ☑️ How to prioritize customer success in a startup ☑️ How can CS help in the acquisition process ---- With Cus...

In our latest episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Irina Cismas , invites Karina De Alba , Head of Customer Success at Weglot. Karina talks about her amazing journey from being a dancer instructor in San Francisco to being the Head of CS at a company in Paris. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How to switch from one career to another and master various skills ☑️ How to structure the CS...

In our new episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Mark Stagi , VP of Customer Success at Avoma, shares how his experiences as a marathon runner and father shape his leadership style, emphasizing the importance of personal goals, maintaining a learning mindset, and balancing work with stress-relief activities. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How to balance work life and personal life ☑️...

In our new episode of the Mastering CS, Candid Leader Insights podcast, Irina Cismas , Head of Marketing at Custify, discussed with Sandra Campo , Head of Customer Success at Froged. What you’ll learn: How to find the right blend for hybrid work The importance of a customer success team How to prioritize the important tasks How to sell the value of customer success internally ---- With Custify, yo...

Renata Kashiwaya Pinheiro , the VP of Customer Success at Zaptic, shares her inspiring career journey, from pursuing a degree in biology to becoming a customer success leader in the tech world, offering valuable insights into how she navigated these transitions and evolved her approach to building and leading successful CS teams. What you’ll learn: How to transition into customer success from diff...

Josephine Kibibi , Manager of Customer Success at Workpay Africa, shares more about her journey in CS, the challenges she overcame, and the strategies she implemented. What you’ll learn: The importance of regular client interactions Key metrics for customer success How to keep your team focused How to deal with the biggest challenges in CS How to prove the value of the CS department internally ---...