Executive Level

CCO School

With the rise of SaaS, access to capital, and ease of creating software came a proliferation of choice, low switching costs, and new pricing models that gave buyers the upper hand. 

The traditional GTM funnel used to end with “acquisition”, but with buyers in control, companies now need to invest more in post-sales value creation, retention, and growth in order to succeed.  

In this course, we will explore big topics such as the role of CS, building the success org, and scaling, as well as diving deep into some of the most important roles of a CCO and the departments that roll under a CCO.  

Classes will combine lectures with discussion topics and incorporate case studies and exercises.  The classes will be taught by leading CS operators at successful technology companies. 

Course details

Enrollment type: Live
Virtual classes: November 5th - December 17th
Class time: Tuesdays from 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm ET
Open to: Executive Members

Emmanuelle Skala - CCO School Designer

Emmanuelle Skala, Instructor

Emmanuelle Skala most recently helped take Toast on an epic run from $30M in ARR to over $1.2B (from Q3’23 earnings) and an IPO in 2021 (NYSE: TOST).  At Toast, she led all post-sales functions and had a team of over 1500 customer-facing professionals.  During that time, NPS soared and service costs/customer reduced even while launching dozens of new products and integrating 3 acquisitions.  Prior to Toast, Emmanuelle held sales leadership roles at DigitalOcean, Influitive, Sophos, Vertica and Endeca.  

Connect with Emmanuelle

Course curriculum

This school is designed for leaders in the CS organization who want to improve their skills and increase their impact.  It’s also a great course for sales leaders who want to go beyond acquisition and impact the full customer journey.

Please note that curriculum topics and/or session order may be subject to change.

Session 1:
State of Customer Success and the Connection With Your Company’s Strategy

Led by John Gleeson, Founder & General Partner at Success Venture Partners

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Articulate the role CS plans in an enterprise
  • Quantify the value CS creates for an organization
  • Understand how CS interacts and aligns with other departments
  • Nail down the 5 key baseline concepts you need before determining your CS strategy or organization
  • Apply these 5 baseline concepts to your organization

Session 2:
Building the CS Mission and Function

Led by Emmanuelle Skala, Former SVP of Customer Success at Toast

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Understand all the roles in a CS organization and the extended CS team
  • Structure compensation for each role
  • Identify key hiring traits and criteria
  • Evaluate organizational structures from various companies based on company strategies so you can build the right org for your company

Session 3:
Deep Dive: Onboarding 

Led by Allison Tiscornia, CCO at ChurnZero

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Understand the important differences between Implementation and Onboarding
  • Discuss the importance of post-sale journeys and onboarding methodologies in successful adoption
  • Measure what matters and build a post-onboarding success plan

Session 4:
Deep Dive: CSMs/Account Management

Led by Mike Lemire, VP of Customer Success at Overjet

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Articulate the importance of a strong CSM team within your organization
  • Leverage methodology to segment your CSM teams
  • Know the important metrics CSM teams use to manage their business, both at the leadership and IC levels
  • Better understand the tools teams are using to build scalable CSM programs
  • Use new tips and tricks on how to become a better leader of CSM teams 

Session 5:
Deep Dive: Customer Support

Led by Sean Ilenrey, VP of Customer Success at Dutchie

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Understand Support’s Role in providing
  • Develop a Support Organization that balances Customer Experience, Employee Experience, and Profitability

Session 6:
CS as a Driver of Revenue

Led by Sydney Strader, SVP of Customer Success at Catalyst

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Understand the importance and impact of CS’ role in driving revenue growth
  • Articulate the meaning and champion the practice of Customer-Led Growth (CLG)
  • Understand the revenue streams available to drive $ growth
  • Pursue implementing the required systems, processes and people required for CS to be a driver of company revenue (retention & growth)
  • Have confidence in how to lead organizational alignment & change to operate as a CLG organization

On-Demand - Session 7:
Strategies to Scale CS - The Tried & True and the New

Led by Seth Wylie, Program Director of CS Innovation at Gainsight

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Reduce chaos for CSMs
  • Provide customers a rich ecosystem of advice
  • Connect customers in ways that inspire them to act as CSMs for each other
  • Use AI to make your CSMs not just faster, but more inventive and resilient

Session 8:
What the Board Is Looking for in a CCO and Why CCO Is the Best Path to CEO

Led by Emmanuelle Skala, Former SVP of Customer Success at Toast, and Allison Pickins, Former COO at Gainsight

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

  • Articulate what a board of director wants to see from a CCO
  • Document a roadmap for how you will drive customer experience across the whole company as the CCO
  • Understand how the CCO can play one of the most strategic roles in the company
  • Determine if you are on a path to being a CEO

Expected Results

By the end of this school, you will have the knowledge and skills to be able to:

  • Evolve CS from fighting fires to adding enterprise value that is recognized at the Board level
  • Measure the impact and value CS creates in an organization leveraging known GTM models that make sense to your exec team and board
  • Align your whole organization around the customer journey and position CS as the champion for the customer
  • Create a path towards monetizing CS - CS isn’t just a cost center. It can be a revenue center
  • Understand how modern processes and technology like AI can help scale CS, especially in times of economic uncertainty
A group of Pavilion members taking a selfie at a conference.

Course FAQ

This program is included in the cost of a Pavilion Membership. Not a member? Join now.

At this time, this program is open to Pavilion Members only. Join Pavilion to enroll for free.

This school starts on November 5th, and lasts 8 weeks.

Live, virtual sessions occur weekly on Tuesdays from 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm ET.

Enrollment has closed.

Yes, there will be cohorts for this school. Cohorts meet once per week at a selected day/time during the duration of the program. Due to Pavilion University's peer element, students engage more, strengthening their ability to recall and apply learning.

Yes, 80% class attendance and 80% cohort attendance is required. We recommend that participants attend the live sessions for the optimal learning experience.

Though, watching session recordings counts toward attendance for those with scheduling conflicts or in time zones where live attendance is a challenge.

Yes, there is a final exam at the end of this school. A passing score of 80% must be attained to receive your certificate.

After successfully meeting attendance requirements and passing the final exam, you will receive a certificate that you can add to your Licenses and Certification Section on LinkedIn.

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