Katie Sawyer joins the ADvendio global customer success team as a Customer Success Specialist where she will be focused on supporting our clients based in the North American market.
As a graduate from The George Washington University with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and International Affairs, Katie has gained experience working in commercial roles that required cross-cultural management and communications skills. In her most recent position as an account manager for a multinational educational services firm, she developed her interest in working with international teams and supporting customers across all stages of their journey to provide them with the best possible experience.
Recently we caught up with Katie to learn more about her professional background and her expectations for her new role with ADvendio.
Tell us about your background
I am originally from the United States, where I studied Anthropology and International Affairs at The George Washington University in DC. During my undergraduate degree, I had the privilege of studying abroad for a year in Santiago, where I fell in love with the people and culture of Chile. Upon graduation, I moved back to Santiago and began looking for jobs in commercial roles that focused on cross-cultural management and communication. After working in a healthcare consulting firm opening operations in the Southern Cone, I found my footing as an Account Manager in the Education Management industry. In this role I discovered a passion for working with international teams and helping build relationships with clients throughout the United States and Latin America.
Do you speak any additional languages?
I speak Spanish and English. I would also love to learn German!
Why are you interested in customer success?
While the pandemic has certainly been challenging and devastating for the world in many ways, it has also been transformative. Professionally speaking, it has reiterated to me the importance of humanizing the workplace and our clients. Along these lines, I believe customer success embodies the intersection of customer support and sales while ensuring the people that use our product feel empowered. This excites me, as I thrive most when ensuring that my customers are supported at all moments of the customer journey. I see a clear need for this support at ADvendio, especially with our new customers and growing portfolio within North America. I am looking forward to helping strengthen ADvendio’s relationship with our customers and ensure they are satisfied with the product experience.
How do you think your previous experience has prepared you for your role with ADvendio?
I come from a sales background, but I don’t necessarily consider myself a salesperson. Above all, I am a people person. That being said, I think having years of account management experience is crucial to understanding how to navigate this new challenge in customer success, as I am well versed in how to balance a large portfolio of customers. My previous roles have taught me how to prioritize, and to work well across teams internally to help solve issues and improve the customer experience. I also have close to 8 years of experience working with international teams, which I consider an enormous privilege and an aspect of my professional career that I hope to continue building upon. Being able to communicate effectively across cultures and time zones will suit me well as I navigate building relationships with customers thousands of kilometers away.
What expectations do you have for this new role in ADvendio?
I am eager to learn and gain knowledge in the media and SaaS industries, which are both new worlds to me. I hope that my fresh perspective brings new ideas that help contribute to the success and growth of the Customer Success team, which I see expanding with that of ADvendio’s customer base. I expect to learn a great deal from Myriam about how to navigate complex relationships, and on the other hand, I would love to learn more about the technical side of both Salesforce and ADvendio. Lastly, I look forward to getting fully up and running to alleviate some of the pain points for our customers as well as the ADvendio team.
It was great to chat with Katie about her professional journey to date and to learn more about her experiences working with international teams. Katie is now eager to develop her knowledge in the media and SaaS industries and to build strong relationships with ADvendio’s customers. We are looking forward to seeing Katie grow into her role in the coming months.
Originally published at https://www.advendio.com on March 15, 2022.
