Laura Hughes
Laura Hughes is a seasoned customer success executive with over 18 years of experience driving revenue growth and customer retention in the SaaS and technology sectors. She began her career in sales in the UK, joining Xerox after coming to the US, where she spent 11 years working across multiple industries, including graphic arts, state and local government, education and healthcare companies. Laura’s early exposure to complex client relationships naturally led her to transition into customer success, where she has excelled in transforming the function into a strategic revenue engine. She has led global teams across North America, EMEA, and APAC, managing annual recurring revenues ranging from $50M to $350M, consistently achieving renewal rates above 90%.
In her professional journey, Laura has become a recognized expert in revenue architecture, forecasting, and customer success strategy. She has implemented AI-driven solutions to increase operational efficiency, multi-threaded client engagement, and improved risk management processes, turning at-risk revenue into predictable growth. At UserTesting, she achieved a 3% year-over-year increase in customer retention within six months and boosted efficiency by 20% through strategic use of AI tools. In her current role as Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital, Laura partners with B2B software companies during scale-up phases, sharing her operational insights and supporting founders in building long-term, capital-efficient growth. Beyond her operational achievements, Laura is a passionate mentor and advocate for emerging leaders in technology. She is committed to cultivating high-performing teams, leading with integrity, and fostering environments where customer success is seen as a shared responsibility across organizations. Laura holds a BA (Hons) in Marketing and Finance from Glasgow Caledonian University, an MBA from National University, and has completed specialized executive training, including the CCO School and P&L Fluency at Pavilion. Her career reflects a balance of strategic vision, practical execution, and a dedication to helping businesses and people thrive.
• 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
• Cedar Park High School
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being persistent and understanding that women need to have a space in the room too. Even when people make that difficult, you've got to just keep trying. You can't just give up. I just love dealing with customers and helping people. I love solving problems, and that's what inspired me to get into this field. It started out as, okay, so let me solve some people's problems and help them be able to do better work. I've always made sure to be honest, keep my integrity, and do whatever it is that I think is right, and I've lived by that. My philosophy is about leading people the way I would want to be led, cultivating high-performing teams, and mentoring people so that they can go and do whatever they want to do.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to make sure that you're honest, and keep your integrity, and do whatever it is that you think is right. I've lived by that throughout my career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is to keep pushing forward, claim your space in every room, 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.
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. Another key focus is transforming Customer Success into a measurable revenue engine while proactively identifying and mitigating revenue at risk.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work and personal life, I value honesty, integrity, and doing what I think is right. I believe in leading people the way I would want to be led. I've always said that everybody makes mistakes, own them, it's okay, nobody's perfect. I own up to my team when I do something wrong because 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 space in the room too. Even when people make that difficult, you've got to just keep trying, you can't just give up. Outside of work, I read a lot and love to read. I also exercise and love F1, I'm a total F1 fan since I was a kid. My parents were huge readers and they impressed on us the importance of reading, not just for fun but also to learn new skills and to better skills. I'm involved in causes that are meaningful to me, like raising money for the Cedar Park High School theater department and being part of women's philanthropy at Shalom Austin. I believe it's important to teach kids the right things about how they should look at things and be open to new information before they make decisions.