January 31, 2025

Episode 22: From Key Account Manager to Chief Customer Officer

44 minutes

Account management is more than a role. It’s the backbone of customer success and a springboard to leadership. David Karp, chief customer officer at DISQO, joins Alex Raymond to share how his 20-year career journey, rooted in building relationships and understanding customer needs, led him to the C-suite.

David provides a behind-the-scenes look at the multifaceted responsibilities of a CCO, from aligning sales, product, and operations to fostering collaboration across teams. He points out the importance of key metrics like net revenue retention to assess value delivery and drive business growth, while emphasizing a hands-on approach to understanding customer interactions and feedback.

This episode also touches on the often-overlooked contributions of account managers—David calls them the “unsung heroes” of business—and he advocates for showcasing their impact to elevate their role within organizations.

Quotes

“The biggest difference of that CCO role versus the others is how much time I spend working on the business instead of in the business.” (09:05 | David Karp)

“If you roll your sleeves up in today’s world, that gives you the option to roll them down. Things are changing so fast. We need to be close enough to what’s happening in the business to support teams, help customers, and make rapid decisions.” (13:03 | David Karp)

“The customer doesn’t care what department you’re in. They just want to know: ‘Are you going to help me?’” (34:24 | David Karp)

“We started with trying to make sure we understand the moments that matter for customers. And then, how do we create metrics around those moments that matter?” (24:40 | David Karp)

“We don’t just need other people to shout out and take those unsung heroes and make them heroes. You know how I want them to be heroes? Because everybody else realizes I should be more like them… that to me is the coolest part about it. That’s the influence that account managers can have when we set them up for success and they start to do what they do and share it with others.” (43:07 | David Karp)

Links

Connect with David Karp:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidalankarp/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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By Alex Raymond

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