Chris Westwood
Manager, Customer Success @IBM
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WORK HISTORY
Manager, Customer Success @IBM
Directed the 5-year strategy and operational execution of a high-performing Customer Success function, managing complex, hybrid SaaS, on-premise, and Watson AI software deployment portfolios valued in the tens of millions.Pioneered the strategic adoption of Generative AI to optimise internal operations, championing the use of advanced AI tooling to summarise complex technical documentation, automate reporting, and significantly enhance team productivity.Demonstrated exceptional segment adaptability by successfully scaling operations to manage both high-volume portfolios of hundreds of clients and highly concentrated, high-touch engagements for 25 strategic, tier-1 enterprise accounts across the UKI region.Architected the initial organisational transformation of technical specialists into a commercially aware Customer Success team, guiding them through their first 12 months in the DACH market and establishing the foundation for sustained regional growth.Consistently maintained >100% Net Retention Rate (NRR) across all portfolio configurations through proactive expansion identification, robust churn mitigation, and acting as the strategic bridge between technical engineering and executive stakeholders.Maintained technical and commercial fluency across the IBM Automation and Data portfolio, including Turbonomic, Instana, and the watsonx suite.
EDUCATION
University of Exeter
Bachelor of Arts - BA, Economics
SKILLS
ABOUT CHRIS WESTWOOD
Throughout my 20+ year career in enterprise technology, my core philosophy has remained the same: complex technology only matters if the people involved truly understand what it does and can unlock the value it promises. I specialise in closing the gap between technical capability and commercial outcomes.I am a senior People and Business Transformation Leader who specialises in bridging the gap between highly technical engineering teams and the customers who rely on their products. After spending over two decades at IBM—scaling teams through major industry pivots from middleware to Blockchain and Generative AI—I have made a deliberate career focus towards the human side of leadership. I thrive on translating emerging, experimental technologies into mission-critical, enterprise realities.In my most recent role as a Customer Success Leader, I directed a team responsible for $11M+ in hybrid SaaS and on-premise software deployments across a portfolio of around 25 large, strategic customers throughout the UKI region, consistently maintaining >100% NRR. Previously, as the pioneer of the IBM Blockchain Garage, I brought the \'Garage spirit\' of Agile innovation to life, scaling first-of-a-kind projects from abstract concepts to $1M+ production cloud environments.I have a 100% success rate in stepping into unfamiliar, complex operational landscapes and mastering them quickly. Whether I am guiding a 15-person engineering team through an Agile transformation, mitigating churn for enterprise accounts, or serving as a School Governor providing oversight on ethical AI strategy, my focus is always on fostering a culture of continuous growth, psychological safety, and operational excellence.Core Specialities & Technical Fluency- Leadership: Cross-functional Team Building, Agile/Scrum Leadership, Organisational Transformation, Design Thinking, Post-Sales Strategy- Commercial Focus: Customer Success, NRR Growth, Churn Mitigation, Consumption-Based Commercial Models, Strategic Account Planning- Technology: Generative AI Strategy (WatsonX, Gemini, Claude), API-First Architectures, Hybrid Cloud Deployments, SaaS & On-Premise Operations, Enterprise Integration.
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