Otho Lyon

About Otho Lyon

Highly experienced Vice President with a successful 15-year track record in devising and implementing customized plans, resulting in significant cost reductions, sales growth, market share expansion, and enhanced customer experiences. Known for delivering measurable results, I specialize in portfolio management, delivery enablement, proficiency, and growth for GTM and sales organizations. With a strategic mindset, I leverage expertise to analyze industry trends and develop innovative solutions that provide valuable insights to customers. Recognized for exceptional communication skills and a clear strategic vision, I excel in driving disciplined execution throughout the organization.As a customer-centric senior leader, I have a proven history of guiding high-performing teams to achieve and exceed their goals. Dedication, hard work, and an internal drive for excellence enable me to deliver exceptional results consistently. Moreover, I bring expertise in building and training effective teams, with a strong background in team development and training. This skill set makes me a highly adept and tactical team builder, allowing me to assemble and nurture teams that consistently achieve outstanding outcomes.

Experience

1. Vice President Customer Success

   Cloudera

   Mar 2025 — Present · Wake Forest, NC, US

   As Vice President of Customer Success at Cloudera, I lead the transformation of Customer Success into a scalable, data-driven growth engine aligned to a $1B+ ARR business. I redesigned our global CSM and TAM coverage model to align with customer value and growth potential, improving visibility into ARR coverage and resource deployment. By aligning Customer Success to outcomes such as cloud consumption, product adoption, and platform utilization, we’ve accelerated adoption while strengthening partnership with Sales and Professional Services to improve time-to-value. Leveraging Gainsight and internal telemetry, I’ve driven a shift from reactive support to predictive, insight-led engagement. I also introduced a Day -1 through Day 2 lifecycle framework and scalable digital coverage models, positioning Customer Success as a strategic lever connecting customer outcomes to long-term enterprise value. Drove Adoption & Consumption Growth: Aligned Customer Success to measurable business outcomes including cloud consumption, product adoption, and platform utilization,Operationalized Customer Success with Data & AI: Leveraged platforms such as Gainsight along with internal telemetry to transition from reactive engagement to predictive, insight-led customer managementModernized the Customer Lifecycle: Implemented an end-to-end Day -1 through Day 2 lifecycle model, aligning Sales, Professional Services, Support, and Customer Success to deliver a seamless customer journey and improved time-to-valueBuilt Scalable Engagement Models: Introduced digital and fractional CSM coverage strategies to extend reach across under-covered segments while maintaining high-touch engagement for strategic accountsStrengthened Technical Value Delivery: Expanded TAM engagement to deepen technical alignment, improve platform utilization, and drive more effective customer outcomes across complex environments

Education

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  Sociology & Economics

  1985 — 1989

• University of Chicago

  Certificate, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science For Leaders

• North Carolina Wesleyan University

  BS, Computer Information Management

  2008 — 2010

• Wake Technical Community College

  Associate of Arts and Sciences (A.A.S.), Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications

  1999 — 2002

• North Carolina Wesleyan University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Business Administration and Management, General

Skills

• Information Management
• Storage Area Networks
• Project Planning
• Account Management
• IT Strategy
• IT Service Management
• Visionary Thinking
• Strategic Leadership
• Enterprise Storage
• Itil
• Service Delivery
• Customer Success
• Professional Services
• Strategic Planning
• Managed Services
• Storage
• Disaster Recovery
• Data Center
• Technical Support
• Nas
• Management
• Hardware
• Servers
• Cloud Computing
• Netapp
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Operating Systems
• Vmware
• Virtualization
• Active Directory
• Crm
• San
• Team Leadership
• Customer Service
• Solaris
• Saas
• Storage Virtualization
• Networking
• Integration
• Leadership