Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM

Project Manager

I help Heads of CS become VPs and get a seat at the Executive Table | Customer-Led Growth Advisor | 2X Top 25 CS Influencer | Top 50 CS Influencer | Top 50 Women Leaders in CS | Top 100 CS Strategist | Investor

Why do some CS leaders command executive respect, while others, despite strong results, keep fighting to be heard?

I've been in Tech for 20+ years and been through two exits as VP Client Services. Here's what I've learned:

✨ EVERYTHING has changed.

The speed. The AI transformation. The business models. The way we need to lead.

I see CS leaders working until midnight, delivering great results... and still getting told "we need to cut CS headcount."

Sound familiar?

The old playbooks stopped working.

AI is reshaping how we work, how we go to market, how we serve customers. Your 2023 playbook is irrelevant.

Today, you need SYSTEMS.

Here's what I know from coaching hundreds of CS leaders:

Those who break through have mastered The Modern CS Growth System, 4 pillars of executive impact:

💡 Modern Management & Change Leadership - Lead in the AI era  
💡 AI Fluency, Automation & Autonomy - Transform operations, pricing, GTM
💡 Business & Customer Economics - Speak profitability, not just retention  
💡 Repeatable Customer Revenue & Team Systems - Build scalable frameworks, not heroic firefighting  

This is a systematic approach to demonstrating executive-level impact in the language your fellow executives understand.

👉👉 This is what CS Business Leaders master. Not pieces. The whole system.

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WHO I WORK WITH

CS leaders who've built a department but aren't getting traction:

✔  You deliver strong results, but executives still see CS as a cost center
✔  You're excluded from strategic decisions where your insights would be valuable
✔  You’re told "do more with less" instead of getting resources
✔  You know modern CS should look different, but you're stuck in outdated frameworks

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HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

⚡️ CS BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR - Master the 4 pillars and build the Modern CS Growth System specific to your goals/challenges through executive peer community + project-based frameworks + personalized coaching.  

🔗 https://go.stepupxchange.com/csbl-accelerator

📬 NEWSLETTER:  I publish a weekly newsletter on modern CS strategies

📧 DM me and I'll share which resources fit you

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RESULTS

✅ Become an award-winning executive
✅ Reposition your team as a strategic revenue driver
✅ Transition from firefighting to repeatable, scalable systems
✅ Innovate with AI to drive profitable customer revenue growth

The modern CS leaders who succeed aren't keeping up with change: They're leading it. 

-----
📬 Newsletter: janyoungcx.com/#newsletter  
📧 DM me: discuss your challenges  
🎯 Follow for daily insights

Founding Member

RevRoom is a trusted space where curious revenue leaders are collaborating on the future of B2B Go to Market alignment and GTM-Led-Growth.

We were all asked the same question independently. We all gave the same answer.

When ChurnZero asked a group of CS leaders for our 2026 predictions, we didn't compare notes beforehand. 

We had limited space and were told to be specific.

Yet, a clear pattern emerged across the board.
🔸  AI was the theme throughout.
🔸  We didn't talk about playbooks. We talked about Systems. 
🔸  We didn't just talk about CS + AI. We talked about Revenue & Profitability.

A huge thank you to ChurnZero for asking me to contribute alongside such incredible leaders. 

Here is the reality I see coming for our industry:

“Customer success is the frontline of survival for both traditional SaaS and AI-first startups, shifting the mission from simple adoption to high-precision Value Engineering.

To win, leaders are replacing generalists with specialized GTM squads, using Forward-Deployed CSMs and Consumption Leads for high-touch growth, while AI CS Ops and Program Managers architect the data-driven systems that power scaled, touch-free renewals and expansions.

As AI agents automate the routine, the human CSM role will become elevated, requiring the deep EQ and business acumen necessary to turn experimental AI budgets into the predictable, profitable revenue our boards now demand.”

📌  The consensus is clear: 
AI is forcing us to restructure our teams, our roles, and our unit economics to survive in a new market model.


🚨  But there is one trend I think is still flying under the radar:  Agentic Suggestion.

👉  Right now, we prompt AI. By the end of 2026, AI will prompt us.

We are moving toward systems that understand our goals and suggest work, anticipating needs before we even articulate them. 

This will require massive Change Leadership, not just for our teams, but for ourselves.


📌  I’m digging into these trends and How to Take Action in my newsletter this Saturday, AND I have some live events on these themes in the next two weeks.

Get the Insights: 
👉 Read the ChurnZero 2026 Forecast: https://lnkd.in/gEj3Bvu2 
👉 Get my Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gBrhN3As

📆  If you are ready to build the system that supports this future, join my StepUpXchange NexGen CS Leadership Masterclass and learn about the Modern CS Growth System on Jan 20th:  https://lnkd.in/gsETU8a2

📆  If you’re really serious, join the StepUpXchange VIP Inner Circle. You’ll get an exclusive invite to Fireside Focus on Jan 15 that is usually reserved for members of the CS Business Leadership Accelerator. 

📢 This will be an intimate conversation with Ralphie (Ralphette) White, VP CS of Deepgram.  Ralphie is one of the leaders who has been at the forefront of the AI + CS [r]evolution. If you don't want to miss out...
https://lnkd.in/gpxwVFWB

From Customer Success Director to Chief Customer Officer

My career path—from Customer Success Director to CCO—has been intentional and results-driven. I specialize in transforming Customer Success into a predictable revenue engine focused on retention, expansion, and value realization.

🚀 How I Lead

☄️ Laser-focused on revenue growth, retention, and expansion
🚀 Relentlessly committed to customer value realization
💵 Executive engagement that speaks the language of the CFO, CRO, and CEO—while honoring the customer experience

I earn my seat at the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) table by aligning Customer Success, Sales, Product, and Marketing around outcomes that matter.

🚀 What I Do Best

✔ Build and scale global Customer Success organizations (100+ team members)
✔ Own and influence $450M+ ARR portfolios
✔ Drive 110%+ Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and 90–95% Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
✔ Reduce churn through proactive risk management and value realization frameworks
✔ Operationalize end-to-end customer journeys (onboarding → adoption → renewal → expansion)
✔ Partner with CEOs and CROs to align CS strategy with revenue, renewals, and growth

🧠 What It’s Like to Work With — and For — Me

✔ A thought-leader who brings clarity, structure, and calm to complex environments
✔ A leader with high Employee-IQ who invests deeply in people and teams
✔ Direct, transparent, and data-driven, while human and empathetic
✔ Known for building strong CS leaders, high-trust teams, and succession-ready organizations
✔ I set a high bar and provide the coaching, tools, and air cover needed to clear it

🔑 Core Expertise & Keywords

Chief Customer Officer (CCO) | SVP Customer Success | SVP Client Success | VP Customer Success | Customer-Led Growth | Revenue Retention & Expansion | Enterprise SaaS | AI Platforms | Global CS Leadership | NRR / GRR / CLV / ARR | Voice of the Customer (VoC) | GTM Alignment | Value Realization

📣 Let’s Connect

If you’re a CEO, CRO, Founder, or Board leader looking to:
✔ Increase Net Revenue Retention
✔ Reduce churn and renewal risk
✔ Scale a world-class, revenue-driven Customer Success organization

📩 Let’s connect or start a conversation.

De'Edra Williams, MBA, Certified CSM Professional (CCSMP)

Customer Success Universe! It's #FabulousFriday!

Today's Fabulousness - Flowla's - 2025 Sales Almanac!

It's 2026! CS leaders, how are you using revenue metrics to:
⭐Rebuild the post-sales engine- check out Kristi Faltorusso, Jeff Breunsbach, Angeline Gavino's insights 
⭐Make CS a company-side motion - check out Dannah Vaughan and Ejieme Eromosele's insights
⭐Make CS a strategic function - check out Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM, Stijn Smet 🐳's insights
Use economic pressures to define value - check out Cinthia Silva, Alexandra Sagaydak's insights
⭐revenue and retention metrics that matter - check out Mine, Anika Zubair, Rachel Provan 🧠 and Elizabeth Blass 🌻's insights
⭐Handle advisory selling & GTM - check out Maja Voje's insights
⭐Manage deal quality & pipeline - check out Keith Weightman's insights
⭐Use AI as a lever - check out Jacco van der Kooij's insights
⭐Make team selling the standard - check out Ashley Coghill 🛼insights

CS leaders, how will you use these insights?

Women in Customer Success™️
Women of Customer Success
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Customer Success Collective
EverAfter AI
ChurnZero

Read more --> https://lnkd.in/dQC7J-7U

De'Edra Williams, MBA

Leading Customer Success orgs that grow revenue. Revenue-Focused | Customer-Obsessed | GRR & NRR Retention & Expansion | Chief Customer Officer at Customer Success Revenue Frontier | Top 25 CS Influencers for 2025.

Hello Customer Success Universe! 🌌 It's Fabulous Friday! 

And today’s Fabulousness is Customer Success Collective's Customer Success Summit – New York Style! 🗽

I am Marvelously excited to announce that I will be speaking at Customer Success Summit New York on March 10 & 11!

My session is titled “Boldly Going Beyond Retention: Reimagining the Revenue Frontier”.🚀

This will be a must-attend event for CS leaders looking to connect, learn, and gain revenue focused insights. 

I’m honored to share the stage with Slack, Mastercard, Okta, PTC alongside an all-star lineup of speakers.

If you're a CS leader seeking stratospheric revenue success you will not want to miss this session.

Snag your ticket now and save $300 with early-bird pricing until THIS FRIDAY. Yep, Today!! ⏰

👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/g5b5w2-6 

See you in New York! 🍎

Thank you for the opportunity, Liza Shtilbans

Checkout my fellow speakers:
Sam Morovati
Sandro Lubas
Senthil Kumar
Aishwarya Jain
Hunter Spector
Caroline Lee
Emily Brennan
Madelyn DePrey
Willa Howe
Chris Colaitis
Kelley Johnson
Justin Hester
Joshua Pritchett
MunMun Malik
Cinthia Silva
Denise Moura Santos, PMP 
Kyle Nielson
Christopher Kocher
Customer Success Collective
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Liza Shtilbans
EverAfter AI
ChurnZero
ElevateYour Career
Women in Customer Success™️
Women of Customer Success

#CSSummit #CustomerSuccess #NewYork

Hello Customer Success Universe! 🌌

Today is Moments that Matter Monday.

Today's Moment, SuccessHACKER's Customer Success Predictions for 2026!

Customer Success in 2026 will look different from previous years. To understand what's coming, we gathered insights from some of the industry's most respected voices: founders, executives, and thought leaders who are shaping the future of Customer Success. 

Some predictions will validate what you're already seeing. Others might make you uncomfortable.

But whether you agree or not, these are the trends shaping hiring decisions, budget conversations, and career trajectories this year. The CS pros who see these trends coming will be poised to take advantage.

Give the full article a read so you're not caught off guard. Then drop your boldest CS prediction for 2026 in the comments.

Thank you to SuccessHACKER for the opportunity to share.

Link in comments ⬇️

Checkout my fellow CS thought leaders who along with myself shared their predictions:

Amber Monroe, MHA, PMP
Angeline Gavino
Chad Balistrieri 
David Karp
Ed Powers
Guy Galon
Himanshu G.
Josh Schachter
Julie Fox
Krishna Kant
Kristi Faltorusso
Maranda Dziekonski
Rod Cherkas
Stijn Smet 🐳
Victoria Shapira
Virginia D. Bloom

Customer Success Universe. It’s #TakeawayTuesday. Let's make it a #Marvelous6 day.

Today’s Takeaway, Warigo Nganga, MBA LinkedIn live session “How Customer Success Teams Can Build Revenue AI Agents (Live Build)”

First thing out of the gate: Warigo said “You do not have to be a coder or technical to build AI Agents” - She had me there.

This was a hands-on working session!

Takeaways:
💡AI tools like Replit and Lovable can help you build AI agents that drive revenue.
💡ChatGPT should be your best friend – use it to iterate your ideas before you use tools to build those ideas.
💡CS professionals should be leveraging these tools to communicate our value to the C-suite and the Board.
💡Anyone can use these tools for Customer Success.

Brava Warigo and thank you.👏🏽

Session:  How Customer Success Teams Can Build Revenue AI Agents (Live Build) 👇🏽
https://lnkd.in/gDZFpJtM

ElevateYour Career
Women of Customer Success
Women in Customer Success™️
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Success in Black

Hello Customer Success Universe -  Welcome to 2026: Marvelous6! 

Marvelous6 is a 2026 framework for Customer Success leaders who don’t just protect revenue—  they become a revenue superpower.

This is the next evolution of Customer Success.

Not as a post-sales function—but as a go-to-market force.

In the Marvelous6 Revenue Growth Universe, CS leaders:
🧠 Iron Man — Intelligent Leadership
🖤 Black Panther — Data Sovereignty
🕷 Black Widow — Human Experience
⚡ Thor — Community Realms
🛡 Captain America — User-Led Revenue Expansion
💥 Hulk — Financial Power

Customer Success doesn’t sit downstream anymore.

It partners at the center—with Sales, Product, Marketing, Finance, and the C-suite—to protect logos, unlock expansion, and drive durable enterprise value.

Marvel Entertainment
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Customer Success Collective
Robert Downey Jr.
Chris Hemworth
Scarlett Johansson
Mark Ruffalo
EverAfter AI

Hello Customer Success Universe! 🌌 It is Marvelous Monday!

Today’s Marvelousness is Customer Success Collective's Customer Success Summit – Texas (Austin) Style! 🤠

I am Marvelously excited to announce that I will be speaking at Customer Success Summit Austin on February 24th & 25th! 🥳

My session is titled “Customer Success Is a Lie”. – Provocative, I Know!!!🤥

This will be a must-attend event for CS leaders looking to connect, learn, and bust some myths about commonly held sacred CS metrics. 

If you're a CS leader seeking stratospheric revenue success you will not want to miss this session.

Snag your ticket today ⏰📅
👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/gHC65_XR

See you in Austin! It's going to be Marvelous🦸🏽‍♀️

Customer Success Collective Liza Shtilbans
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Women in Customer Success™️
Women of Customer Success
ElevateYour Career

I’m honored to share the stage with an all-star lineup of speakers.
Elizabeth R.
Dave Nobles
Kyle Watts
Missie Dunham
Ganesh Raghu
Sydney Suttor
Matt Harmon
Swati Dora
Dolores Maldonado
Heather Brock
Calli Hartman
Hannah Peake
Sheena Patel
Keishla Ceaser-Jones
Alex Turkovic

#CSSummit #CustomerSuccess #Austin #Texas

Customer Success Universe! ICYMI – 🌍 

Today’s LinkedIn Live - Customer Success is Lie: Why We Should Keep Believing IT! 

📽️ Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gz9QB4GY

Huge thank you to Tamika Brunetti for doing a #Marvelous job at moderating.

Mark your calendar for February 4th at 11 AM CST. The next topic will be NPS: Emotional Noise, with guest speaker Dannah Vaughan.

Drop me your comments and/or questions below. We want to hear from you 👇🏽 

And, we apologize for the technical challenges. You gotta love technology 🥰 

Brandon Brumfield
Lara Baeckers
Randall Rosen
Keisha Gaddis
Jasmine Reynolds, CCSM, CSM, CSPO
Jasmine Lockett
Zainab Iqtidar
Bianca Casanova Anderson
Julie Fox
Rebecca Zent
Dave Jackson
Anthony DeShazor
Stijn Smet 🐳
Dr. Curt Rasmussen
Grace Odenigbo
Grace Odicio
Olha Kinash
Alex Turkovic
Kierra Box
Steve Reasner
LOLITA Johnson , M.Ed.

✨ Let’s uncover YOUR #DigitalSwagger™ ✨Helping DIGITAL INTROVERTS establish their DIGITAL PRESENCE and discover their DIGITAL VOICE all while uncovering their DIGITAL SWAGGER 🚀 Top 5 Global Sales Nav User Expert

Technical difficulties can be humbling and quite a challenge. This experience has reinforced valuable lessons about adaptability and resilience. Despite thorough rehearsals, unexpected issues can arise, reminding us that flexibility is key. Embracing these moments can lead to growth and improvement, both personally and professionally. 

Thank you De'Edra Williams, MBA for allowing me to be part of your Customer Success Is A Lie journey!

Hello Customer Success Universe Subscribers -

Get early access to my 3 AI Prompts that Every CS Leaders Needs to Run Weekly to:

1️⃣Predict Churn Before the Customer Complains
2️⃣Identify Hidden Expansion Opportunities
3️⃣Focus Leadership Attention Where Revenue Is Truly at Risk

This is part of my Marvelous6 CS SuperPowers series.

Checkout the video for full access to the prompts.

Women in Customer Success™️
Women of Customer Success
EverAfter AI
Customer Success Revenue Frontier
Customer Success Collective
ElevateYour Career

View newsletter: Customer Success Universe

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for the full prompts: 👇🏽 3AI Prompts Every CS Leader Needs to Run Weekly 1️⃣Prompt 1: Predict Churn Before the Custo

Open article: 3 Prompts Every CS Leaders Should Run Weekly by De'Edra Williams, MBA • 1 min read

3 Prompts Every CS Leaders Should Run Weekly

Hello Customer Success Universe! Welcome to the Marvelous6.🌌

Marvelous6 #1: Iron Man - Intelligent Leadership🦸🏽‍♀️
-How AI Turns the CS Leadership Operating Model Into a Superpower.

This is a 6 Part Series: For the Full Series, Subscribe to YouTube channel 👇🏽

AI-empowered decision-making turns CS from reactive to predictive. Lead smart.

 🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️ Scale faster. See risk before it explodes.

Customer Success leaders don’t fail because they lack effort. They fail because the operating model they’re leading was built for a world that no longer exists.

In 2026, leadership isn’t about working harder, adding dashboards, or automating tasks.

It’s about intelligent leadership—and that’s where AI changes everything.

🦸🏽‍♀️ The Iron Man Lesson: Leadership, Upgraded

EverAfter AI
ChurnZero
Women in Customer Success™️
Women of Customer Success
ElevateYour Career
Customer Success Collective

Hello Customer Success Universe! Welcome to the Marvelous6.🌌 Marvelous6 #1: Iron Man - Intelligent Leadership🦸🏽‍♀️ This is a 6 Part Series: For the

Open article: How AI Turns the CS Leadership Operating Model Into a Superpower by De'Edra Williams, MBA • 3 min read

How AI Turns the CS Leadership Operating Model Into a Superpower

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