Monica Velasco Ibarra

I've been in the customer success field since 2014, and what I love most about this work is building genuine, lasting relationships with my customers. I started in billing back in 2012, dealing with a lot of anger and frustration, but then I was lucky enough to land a true CSM role at a very small company called InReach, where I really got to grow and nurture my portfolio of customers and get to know them as people. It's such a creative role because you can identify how you want to manage your portfolio, understand their business needs, and every day is different. I worked with all kinds of customers - universities, healthcare organizations, even pool service companies that needed continuing education certifications. From there, I moved to Oracle, going from a tiny company to a large one that still had a startup feel. I thrive in chaos, so every quarter brought something new - a new team, a new focus. I was there less than 3 years but served as a team lead, mentoring incoming college graduates and learning how to manage risk and communicate with executives at various customer organizations. I did a brief stint as a project manager at NetSuite, but I hated it because you don't get to see what the customer is doing - you finish your project and move on. I realized I want my career to be about maintaining these customers, nurturing them, being part of their growth. So I joined Lumaps, a French-based company focused on employee experience software - intranets and digital workplaces that serve as employees' window into their job. I was there for over 6 years, and I loved it. Now I'm at StaffBase, which I just started in February, still as a Principal Customer Success Manager in the same industry. We're focused on employee hubs, digital workplaces, and helping companies navigate the world of AI, supporting frontline workers, digitizing paper processes, and maintaining adoption and engagement during layoffs and mergers. I still have customers from Oracle and Lumaps who reach out to say hi, ask about my kids, or share their home remodeling projects. For me, maintaining those relationships and being part of their journey is the most rewarding part of what I do.