Spotlight: Petro Perselis @ HackTheBox

How did you get into customer success?

I started my career in investment banking, specifically advising customers on potential M&A deals. I enjoyed the analytical parts of the job as well as the client interactions. In 2014, when I was given an opportunity through my grad school alumni network to join a growing SaaS scaleup in a new software category (customer and employee experience), I took it. I joined Medallia as the 20th employee in Europe and one of the early hires in the Professional Services team. Since then I’ve been a Professional Services / Client Solutions / Customer Success professional as well as a leader in scaleups and startups, and I have been through 2 IPOs and acquisitions. In Customer Success you need a similar variety of customer facing skills, analytical thinking, problem solving abilities as you need in banking. As a leader, you also need empathy, team management skills as well as strategic thinking to set the vision and manage the P&L of your department. No day is the same and this is what keeps it fun!

Are there any customer success trends in 2025 you are keeping an eye on?

Definitely. The past 2-5 years we’ve seen Customer Success shift from reactive support to strategic enablement. In 2025, Customer Success is about being indispensable, not just a partner, but a force multiplier for growth and resilience. A few trends I’m keeping an eye on are:

- 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: It’s not about frequency of engagement, but measurable impact. It’s about aligning customer journeys with business outcomes.

- 𝗖𝗦 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿: CS is now central to expansion, adoption, and long-term value. The CCO is the best friend of the CFO, which is exciting but also adds an additional layer of accountability.

- 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗔𝗜-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

What's the most rewarding part of your role in customer success?

One of the best parts is being seen as a 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 to our customers. I love getting to learn from them, their passion, their missions, and how they’re applying what we offer in such creative ways. It keeps me inspired.

I also really enjoy working with 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗦𝗠𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀, whether it’s improving onboarding, building smarter playbooks, or finding small ways to wow our customers. The creativity in this role is underrated.

Another thing I appreciate is that 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. There’s always a new initiative, a new process to improve, or a strategy to test. It keeps the work fresh and dynamic.

And let’s be real, 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 feels amazing. It means what we’re doing is working and our work drives revenue - that’s the best kind of motivation.

How do you foster a strong culture within your success teams?

I’ve tried a few things over the years.

The most important is knowledge sharing - I ask CSMs to share stories / concerns / product feature ideas often in our Slack channels or during team meetings, and get input from other team members. No question is unimportant or embarrassing, and no idea is better than the next one.

I give public kudos for great work and outcomes even if it’s for a “small” achievement.

I try to bring my teams together for in-person business breakouts / workshops, as well as social time, e.g. either during the Revenue Kick Off or a department-specific offsite (e.g. QBR). Bowling, laser tag, lunch, escape rooms, go-carting are all great team and culture building activities. Developing personal relationships is the most important aspect of a strong team culture.

Finally, I encourage full transparency and I lead by example on this front. I host frequent 1on1s with my extended teams, I am always available on Slack, and I share big initiatives even when they’re not fully baked, explaining the “why” behind the initiative or the thought process.