Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights

Hosted by Custify | Customer Success

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Welcome to Mastering CS – Candid Leader Insights, where I, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, take you on a journey into the depths of Customer Success. Each episode, I sit down with some of the most influential minds in the CS world, from seasoned managers and renowned influencers to dynamic team leaders, to uncover the challenges and opportunities that shape our profession. Our conversations are rich with insights, drawing on personal experiences and innovative ideas to offer practical solutions. Join me as we make every interaction count in the dynamic world of Customer Success!

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June 16, 2026Episode 6926 min

Ep 69 | Nir Kalish

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Nir Kalish, VP of Customer Success at BlinkOps, an AI platform that helps security teams automate their operations at scale. Coming from a company where AI is the product itself, Nir offers a unique perspective on the future of Customer Success. He shares why white-glove CS cannot be replaced by AI agents, how BlinkOps uses its own platform to build internal CS tools, and how he approaches the build-versus-buy decision in a world where anyone can create software with AI.What You’ll Learn:☑️ How BlinkOps structures its Customer Success and Support teams☑️ Why an AI company still invests heavily in human Customer Success☑️ What AI can—and cannot—do in a white-glove CS environment☑️ How BlinkOps uses its own platform to build internal CS tools and agents☑️ Why over-relying on AI can be as risky as ignoring it☑️ How Nir approaches the build-versus-buy decision for CS technology☑️ What CSM-to-customer ratios look like with and without AI assistance☑️ Why some roles may be disrupted by AI while Customer Success remains essential----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

June 11, 2026Episode 6823 min

Ep 68 | Alexandra Ardelean

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Alexandra Ardelean, Senior Customer Success Manager at BigTime, a professional service automation platform for project-based businesses. Alexandra brings a uniquely diverse background to Customer Success, combining a design degree, Lean Black Belt certification, and years of operational experience—including time spent as a customer of the very platform she now supports. She shares what post-acquisition CS integration looks like in practice, why localizing playbooks requires human expertise beyond AI prompts, and why patience remains one of the most important skills she continues to develop.What You’ll Learn:☑️ What CS looks like during a post-acquisition integration—and what the role involves day to day☑️ Why localizing CS playbooks requires cultural knowledge, not just AI prompts☑️ How cultural differences between the US, Eastern Europe, and Poland affect CS interactions☑️ Why being a former customer gives Alexandra a unique advantage as a CSM☑️ How call transcripts and AI help surface insights for product discussions☑️ What “form follows function” means in Customer Success☑️ How Alexandra applies Lean principles when building CS processes from scratch☑️ Why patience is a critical professional skill—and one she’s still developing----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

June 9, 2026Episode 6719 min

Ep 67 | Silviana Prodan

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Silvana Prodan, Team Lead Customer Success at Bloomflow, a platform that helps large organizations deploy and manage their innovation programs. Silvana brings a unique background to Customer Success, combining a PhD in communication, a career in conference interpreting, and experience working across German-, French-, and English-speaking clients. She shares how these experiences shape her approach to enterprise relationships, navigating champion and sponsor dynamics, and balancing AI tools with critical thinking.What You’ll Learn:☑️ What Customer Success looks like inside an innovation platform serving global enterprises☑️ How Silvana’s background in languages, interpreting, and research influences her client approach☑️ How to manage champion and sponsor relationships without losing trust☑️ What strong adoption looks like beyond login metrics—and how to track data quality☑️ How Silvana uses AI and automation to create more time for critical thinking☑️ What was hardest about transitioning from project management into CS☑️ What advice Silvana would give to someone considering a career in Customer Success----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

June 4, 2026Episode 6623 min

Ep 66 | Anne LiCata

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Anne LiCata, VP of Customer Success at Huma.AI, an AI-powered analytics platform for pharma and life science teams. Anne shares what it takes to drive adoption of AI in highly regulated organizations, why traditional SaaS metrics often fail to capture AI value, and why she believes AI may transform customer service but will never replace Customer Success.What You’ll Learn:☑️ What Customer Success looks like inside an AI-powered pharma analytics startup☑️ Why change management is the biggest challenge when introducing AI to life science teams☑️ How Anne builds trust with customers moving away from long-established manual processes☑️ Why traditional SaaS metrics fall short when measuring AI product value☑️ How Anne uses AI in her day-to-day work—and where she draws the line☑️ What skills matter most when hiring for CS in an AI and life science environment☑️ Why Anne believes AI will replace customer service but not Customer Success☑️ What getting back to basics means—and why it still works----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

June 2, 2026Episode 6526 min

Ep 65 | Vlad Zholnerchuk

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Vlad Zholnerchuk, CS Team Lead at Health Samurai, a platform that helps healthcare organizations build and scale interoperable clinical data systems. Vlad shares what Customer Success looks like when your customers are engineers building clinical systems on a highly technical platform, why he restructured his team to embed engineers directly into CS, and how Health Samurai built an AI agent that can reproduce customer issues in minutes instead of hours.What You’ll Learn:☑️ What Customer Success looks like in a highly technical healthcare platform company☑️ Why Vlad integrated engineers directly into the CS team☑️ How Health Samurai measures customer health beyond product usage☑️ What the Sales → CS handoff looks like when CS is involved from pre-sales onward☑️ How an AI agent reproduces customer issues in minutes instead of hours☑️ Which roles Vlad would prioritize when building a three-person CS team☑️ What was most challenging about moving from e-commerce and SEO into healthcare CS----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

June 2, 2026Episode 6421 min

Ep 64 | Kiko Rodríguez Moreno

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Kiko Rodríguez Moreno, Customer Success Manager at Wazuh, an open source security platform helping organizations detect threats, monitor their infrastructure, and stay compliant. Kiko shares how he transitioned from a linguistics background into cybersecurity, what Customer Success really looks like in a highly technical industry, and why communicating with technical customers is often more challenging than people expect. He also offers practical advice for anyone stepping into a technical role without a technical background.What You’ll Learn:☑️ What Customer Success looks like inside a cybersecurity company☑️ How to measure success when enterprise projects take years to complete☑️ Why technical customers communicate differently—and what CSMs often get wrong☑️ How Kiko learned a highly technical product without a technical background☑️ Where AI is making CS easier—and where it adds complexity☑️ What tools and automations save the most time in day-to-day CS work☑️ What non-technical professionals should know before entering a technical CS role----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

May 26, 2026Episode 4323 min

Ep 63 | Dylan Berno

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Dylan Berno, Head of Customer Success at Coast, a fintech company helping businesses control and track fleet spending. Dylan shares how Coast built a signal-driven CS function powered by AI and automation, what the CS team focuses on when systems handle the operational layer, and why data accessibility remains the biggest blocker for most CS teams trying to scale.What You’ll Learn:☑️ Why Dylan moved from growth and go-to-market into Customer Success☑️ How Coast structures its CS team by segment and lifecycle stage☑️ What a signal-driven, telemetry-based CS motion looks like in practice☑️ How Coast uses Salesforce, Braze, Redshift, Grain, and Claude to power CS☑️ Why data accessibility is the biggest blocker to scaling most CS teams☑️ What CS teams focus on when automation handles the operational work☑️ What skills matter most in an AI-driven CS organization☑️ Why understanding customer outcomes during the sales process changes everything----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

May 21, 2026Episode 6222 min

Ep 62 | Sarah Chipps

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Sarah Chipps, Manager of Customer Success at FMX. They discuss how Customer Success teams scale through specialization, operational efficiency, stronger systems, and leadership development. Sarah also shares lessons from growing through multiple CS roles within the same company and what it really takes to transition into management.What You’ll Learn:☑️ How communication changes across different CS roles☑️ Why specialization becomes necessary as CS teams scale☑️ The signals that show a CS organization needs structural change☑️ How FMX scaled its CS team without creating burnout☑️ Why FMX implemented a new customer success platform☑️ How automation improved operational efficiency during handoffs☑️ What helped Sarah transition from individual contributor to leadership☑️ The first steps to building a Customer Success organization from scratch----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

May 19, 2026Episode 6123 min

Ep 61 | Mark Rocklin

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Mark Rocklin, Director of Success Management EMEA at CloudShare, a platform that helps software companies run virtual labs for product demos, training, and technical enablement. Mark shares how Customer Success and operations work together at CloudShare, why responding to every NPS score made a bigger impact than any system they implemented, what breaks first as a CS team scales, and how he would approach building a CS organization from scratch with just three people.What You’ll Learn:☑️ How Customer Success and account management differ—and where they overlap☑️ What a Director of Success Management actually does day to day☑️ Why CS and revenue operations sit under the same function at CloudShare☑️ How CS connects sales, legal, finance, and product teams☑️ What operational process made the biggest impact as the team scaled☑️ Why negative NPS scores are Mark’s favorite to receive☑️ What breaks first when a hands-on CS approach meets rapid growth☑️ What Mark prioritizes when building a CS organization from scratch----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

May 14, 2026Episode 6018 min

Ep 60 | Beatriz Toledo

In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Beatriz Toledo, Customer Success Manager at iRaiser, a digital fundraising platform for charities and nonprofits. Beatriz shares what customer success looks like in the nonprofit fundraising space, why rebuilding trust with an existing account is often harder than building it from scratch, and what the earliest warning signs of churn actually look like. This episode is especially valuable for anyone working in Customer Success, onboarding, or retention.What You’ll Learn:☑️ How a linguistics and research background strengthens a CS practice☑️ What customer success looks like in the nonprofit and digital fundraising space☑️ Why onboarding a migrating client differs from onboarding a brand-new customer☑️ What a successful Sales → CS handoff needs to include☑️ The earliest signals that an account is starting to drift☑️ What metrics matter most in a nonprofit SaaS environment☑️ How AI supports the day-to-day CS role without replacing the human side☑️ What usually breaks first in the customer experience----With Custify, you can:☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way☑️ get a 360 view of their progressWant to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠