Top 10 Client Focused People

Throughout our many years working with dozens of technology companies, we have come across many amazing, client focused people.  For the 8^th topic in our Top 10 series, we would like to highlight the 10 individuals who, we believe, show outstanding talent and effectiveness in servicing their respective clients. PAX2UPTDTHUE

In alphabetical order:

1 – Rob Bell, VP Support & I.T (www.Kinaxis.com)

Rob is one of a kind.  He has managed many different groups at Kinaxis and the client is always front and center in everything he does.  For Rob, the client (rightfully so) is the center of the universe and he ensures that his entire team understands the importance of being their “trusted advisor”.  He has a solid, client-focused reputation within Kinaxis and throughout their entire client base.

2 – Marc Brule, VP Client Services,  (www.halogensoftware.com)

Marc has been the VP Client Services at Halogen Software for many years now, yet he continuously does his best to innovate and ensure his department provides the best client experience in their industry, which Halogen has been recognized for, many times over.  He has surrounded himself with an excellent, client-focused team and I have no doubt they will continue to wow their current and future client base.

3 - Greg Hess, Developer & Pre-Sales Engineer (formally of Wrapped Apps, currently with www.Axentra.com)

I have been telling Greg, a developer, that he is in the wrong position for many years now.  Without question, the best pre-sales engineer (one of the many hats he wears), I have ever had the pleasure to work with.  He is incredibly client-focused, pours his heart and pride into his work, and is absolutely loved by the prospects and clients he works with.   His passion may be development, but his client-facing skills are fantastic.  The good news is that it’s awesome when a developer is truly and sincerely client-focused.

4 – Joanne Kern, Training Manager (www.dna13.com)

Joanne is absolutely one of the most impressive and effective trainers I have ever had the pleasure to work with.  Joanne’s ability to understand her client’s specific workflow and processes and ensure they have a high level of adoption and usage is second to none.  She puts every ounce of energy and heart into making sure that her clients have the best possible training experience and are extremely well equipped to take full advantage of what was sold to them.   Many of dna13’s clients would credit Joanne with being one of the prime reasons they have been able to adopt and use the dna13 solution.

5 – Jennifer Morin, Director Client Services, (currently Product Manager with www.halogensoftware.com)

I had the pleasure to coach Jennifer for more than a year when she headed up the support & services team for AutoSkill.  She made this list because she had to deal with many twists, turns and challenges that would have thrown off many people, but through it all, she maintained an incredible positive outlook and an environment that made it possible for her team to provide excellent customer service.  An additional bonus is that she made me laugh countless times throughout my time working with her, (in fact, I bet  she will be zinging out several jokes steeped in sarcasm as she reads this).  Now in a product management role at Halogen software, she is no doubt bringing her excellent client-centric focus to make Halogen’s products even better.

6 – Jeff O’Connor, Client Success Manager (www.dna13.com)

As a Client Success Manager, (formally the Manager of Support), Jeff has worked tirelessly, and often without the appropriate recognition, to provide outstanding client support, service and account management.   He has found himself in situations where providing excellent client service was nearly impossible to do yet consistently manages to rally the people and/or resources to pull it off.  His high level of client dedication is something that any company would kill to have as part of their team.   I have great confidence in his abilities to handle nearly any client situation and to do everything in his ability to secure renewals and retain clients.  He has completely embraced the ServiceVantage approach to client engagement and demonstrates by execution.

7 – Robert Ouellette, Engineering Manager, (www.Sciemetric.com)

Rob is an incredibly client-focused professional from Sciemetric Instruments.   Rob has been in many client-facing and engineer roles throughout his 15 year career at Sciemetric.  His superb subject matter expertise, problem solving talents and loyalty, to both Sciemetric and to his clients, truly makes him one of a kind.  The enormous respect Rob has earned from his clients and peers is second to none and the positive impact he has had is palatable.

8 – Ron Pawulski, Business Development Manager, (www.sciemetric.com)

When I worked with Sciemetric Instruments, Ron was in a Services/Support role.   In an environment that was often extremely stressful, with clients who were very demanding (rightly so) and often required him to work crazy hours and spend many days/weeks away from home, Ron’s impeccable professionalism and client-focused attitude never faded, – or at least he didn’t let it show.   He has taken many a client out of the“fire” and made them successful.  He is a professional who can always be trusted to do the right thing for the client as well as for Sciemetric.

9 – Jennifer Peckett, Client Success Manager, (www.Syncapse.com)

Relative to the others on this list, Jennifer has the least number of years of experience, but yet her professional maturity is outstanding.  Often under a lot of pressure with tight timelines and dealing with large, Fortune 100 clients, she takes incredible pride in her work and in the success of her clients.   When Jennifer is assigned to “On-board” a new client, the entire Syncapse team feels tremendous confidence in Jen’s ability to achieve a successful outcome.  I can only image where her career will take her 10 years from now. Note: the entire Syncapse Platform Success team is extremely strong – honorable mentions for Dre Noronha, Zainab Ali, and Darcy Voutt.  Syncapse has struck gold with this team – and their clients benefit from it every day.

10 – John Sicard, Chief Operating Officer, (www.Kinaxis.com)

Kinaxis is a world-class, client-focused, technology company with an incredible team.  Being one the original members of this team, John has worked in many, many capacities throughout the years and is one of the driving forces behind Kinaxis’ industry leading reputation.  He has tremendous subject matter expertise and ensures that the various teams that report to him zero in on what is best for their clients.  Development, Marketing, Support, Services, Training, etc., all think “client” in everything they do and produce.   Kinaxis’ reputation is well deserved – and John’s client-centricity and ability to surround himself with excellent client-focused people is at the heart of it.

This could easily have been a Top 20 list – as we have worked with many incredible people over the years.  What we have discovered is that all of these great, client-centric professionals have as their common thread, the following characteristics:

1) They take pride in their work (even if others don’t).

2) They show great empathy for their clients’ needs, concerns and issues.

3) They sincerely believe in the importance of their role, (again, even if others don’t).

4) They have very thick skin.

5) Their client’s success is a big part of their own perceived success.

Thanks to each of them, for making our work so enjoyable.

Tagged client Services, customer lifecyle, customer support, revenue protection, software-as-a-service, Support