What it takes to become a Chief Customer Officer - with Pat Phelan
- E86
- 26:09
- April 12th 2023
The Chief Customer Officer role has become one of the most important leadership roles in SaaS.
But what does the journey actually look like?
In this episode of Breakthrough SaaS Growth, Jason Noble and Jason Whitehead are joined by Pat Phelan, Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless, to explore his path into customer leadership and what it takes to build and scale a global customer organisation.
Pat shares lessons from leading Customer Success, Customer Onboarding, Support, Customer Experience, CS Management and Account Management teams across fast-growing technology and fintech businesses.
We cover:
- What it takes to become a Chief Customer Officer
- How the CCO role has evolved in SaaS and fintech
- How to build and scale global customer teams
- Why Customer Success, Support, Onboarding and Account Management need alignment
- What customer leaders need to learn from commercial roles
- How customer leadership supports retention, expansion and growth
This is a practical conversation for SaaS CEOs, CCOs, Customer Success leaders and post-sale teams thinking about customer leadership, operating models and scalable customer growth.
Breakthrough SaaS Growth with The Jasons
SaaS growth isn’t owned by a single team - it’s a cross-functional sport.
Each week, hosts Jason Noble (UK) and Jason Whitehead (US) dig into what actually drives sustainable growth across product, pricing, onboarding & adoption, customer success, sales, marketing, finance, and leadership. Expect candid conversations, practical playbooks, and board-level perspectives on topics like AI (beyond the hype), data quality & trust, in-product guidance, value realization, renewals, expansion, and customer experience. You’ll hear from founders, investors, product and revenue leaders who’ve built real results - not just slideware.
Formerly known as The Jasons Take On, the show has evolved to reflect a broader mission: turning insight into action that breaks through silos and accelerates SaaS growth. Same Jasons. Bigger vision. Sharper takeaways.
Subscribe and explore more at breakthroughsaasgrowth.com.
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