Laura Hughes
Laura Hughes is a Fractional CCO and a Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital. She has spent more than 20 years proving that Customer Success is not a support function, it is a growth strategy. Throughout her career, Laura has established a reputation of transforming Customer Success into a strategic revenue engine, helping companies successfully scale, by building customer success organizations from the ground up, while growing multi-million-dollar portfolios. As the founder of RevEngine CX and a fractional Chief Customer Officer to B2B SaaS companies, she has built a career around a single conviction: that the customer relationship does not end at the contract signature, it is where the real work begins.
Originally from Scotland, Laura’s professional journey did not begin in customer success but in sales. By focusing on customer value, she consistently exceeded her numbers. Early in her career, she frequently worked directly with C-Suite executives, negotiating contracts and managing complex client relationships. Those experiences shaped a belief that would define her entire career, that long-term customer outcomes, not short-term transactions, is what drives sustainable business growth. That belief led her to pivot into customer success, where she found an opportunity to combine relationship-building, operational leadership, and revenue strategy.
What followed was a career defined by her ability to build things from scratch, scale Customer Success organizations that deliver measurable business results and leading global teams spanning North America, EMEA, and APAC. Under her leadership, companies have consistently grown their revenue, achieving renewal rates above 90%. More importantly, she has consistently repositioned customer success as a shared organizational responsibility rather than a siloed department, embedding accountability and revenue ownership across entire businesses.
Through RevEngine CX and as a Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital, Laura partners with B2B software companies during scale-up phases and beyond. She builds on the operational frameworks and CS infrastructure needed to scale without sacrificing the customer experience that got them there, leading with a foundation of capital efficiency, unit economics, and a clear-eyed view of what drives long-term enterprise value.
An early and practical adopter of AI in customer success, Laura implements solutions that improve operational efficiency, sharpen risk detection, and help companies identify at-risk revenue before it becomes churn. She approaches AI not as a trend but as a tool, one that, when applied correctly, makes CS teams faster, smarter, and more predictive.
Beyond the business results, Laura is deeply committed to mentorship and to bringing more women into leadership roles. Her message is simple: women belong at the table, they should claim that seat without apology, and they should expect to face obstacles that will ultimately make them stronger. She speaks from experience. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-performing teams and fostering environments where people feel empowered to contribute, grow, and succeed. She believes strong leadership is rooted in honesty, integrity, accountability, and leading by example. Her leadership philosophy emphasizes empowering individuals, encouraging growth through experience, and recognizing that no leader has all the answers.
Laura’s dedication to growth and education is reflected in her academic and professional achievements. Her academic credentials include a BA (Hons) in Business Studies, Marketing and Finance from Glasgow Caledonian University and an MBA from National University. She has completed executive programs in CCO leadership, AI in go-to-market strategy, and P&L fluency at Pavilion, alongside multiple AI certifications. She is the kind of leader who invests in her own development with the same intensity she brings to her clients.
• P&L Fluency
• CCO School
• Outward Performance for Leaders
• Building Your Retention Playbook
• Become an AI Builder in a Day
• Revenue Architecture
• AI for Strategic Decision Making
• Section ProfAI: AI Proficiency
• Integrating AI into Team Workflows
• AI for Problem Solving
• National University - MBA
• Glasgow Caledonian University - BA(Hons)
• Women in Customer Success
• Pavilion
• ConnectD
• Cedar Park High School
• Women's Philanthropy Austin
What do you attribute your success to?
Laura attributes much of her success to her passion for solving problems and her dedication to prioritizing customer outcomes. Early in her career, she understood the importance of ensuring the ongoing success of their customers and has followed this philosophy throughout every stage of her career. By focusing on customer needs and building trusted relationships, she consistently exceeded goals and established herself as a respected leader in the customer success space. She also credits her upbringing and the guidance of influential mentors for shaping her professional philosophy. Over time, she has observed the impact exceptional leaders can have on the people around them. Those experiences that helped define the type of leader she strives to be today.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
There wasn't a specific piece of advice but seeing the difference a great leader can make to a team's dynamic. Through the years I've had the opportunity to learn from some amazing people and what I've realized is that being a leader is not about the position you hold but how you act. I've used those lessons as inspiration for what I want for myself.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My message is simple: women belong at the table, they should claim that seat without apology, and they should expect to face obstacles that will ultimately make them stronger. My advice to young women entering this industry is to keep pushing forward and persevere even when challenges or obstacles arise. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t belong, your voice and contributions matter. Sometimes it's going to be difficult and you should not be afraid of the challenge because ultimately, it makes you better. You have control of your future, you can be whatever you want to be.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is keeping pace with rapidly evolving AI technologies, which require continuous learning and adaptation. At the same time, these advancements present tremendous opportunities to drive efficiency and enhance customer engagement. When I think about customer success and retention, I keep coming back to the fact that retention is not just the responsibility of one team, it is a company problem, but most companies are not set up that way. Ensuring there is accountability across the organization is vital for a company to be successful.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work and personal life, I value honesty, integrity, and staying true to what I believe in. It's important to empower people and meet them where they are so they can reach their maximum potential. People often worry about making mistakes. One of the first things I tell people joining my team is that everybody makes mistakes, own them and learn from them. My teams have seen me take responsibility when I do something wrong, because let's be honest, if I'm not doing it, why should they? It's about cultivating high-performing teams and mentoring people. I also value persistence and making sure women have a seat at the table. Even when people make that difficult, you've got to just keep trying, you can't just give up. Outside of work, I love to read. My parents were avid readers who impressed on us the importance of reading, not just for fun but also to learn new skills. I'm a huge F1 fan and have been since I was a kid. I used to be in Crossfit and even ran a marathon although now I do more walking than running now. I'm involved in causes that are meaningful to me, like raising money for my daughter's high school theater department and working with Women's Philanthropy at Shalom Austin. Life is a journey that needs to be lived and we need to ensure that our kids have the tools they need to be able to do that for themselves.
Locations
RevEngine CX
Austin, TX 78613