Michael Ward

Experience

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  UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

  Jun 1990 - May 1996

  Petty Officer Second Class (Submarine Qualified)

  The mission of the U.S. Submarine Force is to execute the mission of the U.S. Navy in and from the undersea domain.Petty Officer 2nd Class FT2(SS). Qualified in Submarines.Awarded two Navy Achievement Medals (NAM) under combat conditionsMeritoriously advanced via decree of Commanding Officer to Petty Officer 2nd Class outside the promotion cycle.Directed an at-sea division (acting FT1) of 5 Fire Control Technicians in the operation and maintenance of submarine combat control systems. Enhanced targeting accuracy and operational readiness through meticulous system calibrations, resulting in a 25% increase (70% to 95%) in mission efficiency.Led a critical upgrade project for fire control systems, which involved scheduling, coordination with multiple departments, and hands-on technical work. Successfully completed the project two weeks ahead of schedule, under budget, and without compromise on submarine safety or mission capability.Conducted regular and emergency maintenance on advanced submarine weapon control systems, ensuring a 98% readiness rate. Identified and rectified a recurring issue in the targeting system, which prevented potential mission delays and operational hazards.Developed and implemented a comprehensive training program for junior Fire Control Technicians and related submarine crew, increasing departmental qualifications by 40%.Held a TS/SCI clearance. Show less

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  Muzak Holdings LLC

  Jun 1996 - Aug 2000

  Manager of Engineering

  Muzak provided background music for businesses and homes via satellite and streaming. Muzak's services include music, digital signage, hold music, on-hold messaging, scent, integrated audio-visual, and mobile marketing solutionsLed daily operations of business music broadcast station in all aspects of satellite and streaming music delivery and advertising content.

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  Verizon Business

  Aug 2000 - Oct 2021

  Verizon's SaaS portfolio includes Contact Center, Cloud Access, Security, and Network as a Service (NaaS) solutions.Simultaneously led Principal Onshore CS Group (100-person team managing 200+ customers, $565M in revenue) and a dedicated team for Johnson & Johnson (200+ person team across NA, EMEA, LATAM, APAC, $30M contract).___Principal Onshore CS Group- Built a new 100-person team to support 200+ existing customers ($565M in revenue) who were previously self-serve only- Team: Directors, Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and Technical Account Managers (TAMs)Key Achievements:- Increased Net Revenue Retention (NRR from) ~60% to 90% by developing a personalized onboarding process tailored to each customer segment's needs, leading to faster time-to-value (TTV), preserving ~$170M in revenue. - 50% reduction in customer churn through enhanced engagement and support protocols.- 45% increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS) within two years by implementing a proactive CS program focused on identifying and resolving issues before they affected the customer experience.- Generated $35M in upsell revenue by translating customer analyses into targeted technology recommendations and working closely with sales, product, and marketing teams to develop tailored upsell packages aligned with customer objectives.- Developed and implemented a customer segmentation strategy that increased targeted communication efficiency by 25% and boosted engagement rates by 30%.___Strategic CS Organization for Johnson & Johnson- Built a 200-person team across NA, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC to support a $30M contract with J&J- Team: Directors, CSM, TAM, PM, Financial, Change and Incident ManagersKey Achievements:- Improved SLA compliance by 40% by optimizing change management processes.- Streamlined implementation by improving the scoping of program initiatives for clearer requirements and understanding of customer needs upfront, resulting in an 84% improvement in time-to-deliver. Show less - Asked to relocate from Chicago to NYC to lead financial vertical (UBS, TD Ameritrade, Goldman Sachs, etc.)- Led 25 Enterprise Customer Success and Service Delivery Managers.Key Achievements:- Improved project timelines by 34% through an enterprise-wide initiative.- Increased team performance metrics by 25% through a peer training and mentoring program.- Achieved a 9.4/10 C-SAT score and 71% average NPS score yearly.- Retained $135M in revenue through compliance and continuous service improvement.- Improved strategic account revenue by 32% through enhanced customer reviews. Show less Technical consulting support to AON, a Fortune 300 Healthcare/Insurance client.- Achieved 25% enhancement in Availability and Mean Time to Repair metrics, elevating the client to a 98% compliance rate.- Spearheaded significant process improvements, aligning operations more closely with customer requirements and preferences.- Led groundbreaking geographical diversity study that successfully rehomed site-redundant circuits to different provider edge (PE) routers, effectively eliminating over 100 single points of failure.- Authored comprehensive root cause analyses (RCA) in response to critical customer outages and network issues, facilitating ongoing improvements and more efficient issue resolution.- Leveraged expertise to conduct thorough network hardening and diversity reviews, presenting a range of options and providing expert guidance to ensure customers had a clear understanding of the most suitable recommendations.- Delivered effective second-level support for intricate network implementations and managed services change management requests, ensuring seamless operations and client satisfaction. Show less

  • Senior Director, Customer Success

    Sept 2017 - Oct 2021

  • Group Senior Manager, Customer Success

    Jun 2010 - Sept 2017

  • Technical Services Manager

    Apr 2009 - Jun 2010

  • Strategic Sales Executive

    Apr 2008 - Jun 2009

  • Senior Manager (Complex Managed Services Network Operations Center)

    Apr 2002 - Apr 2008

  • Network Engineering Lead

    Aug 2000 - Apr 2002
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  Armis

  Feb 2022 - Apr 2023

  Head of Enterprise Customer Success

  Armis is a leading cybersecurity platform that provides unified asset visibility and security for all devices, managed and unmanaged. During my tenure, Armis experienced rapid growth, scaling from 300 to 600 employees and from $20M to $100M in ARR.- Hired by the executive team as the startup entered a period of hyper-growth to build, streamline and optimize the Enterprise Customer Success organization, ensuring seamless onboarding, engagement, and value realization for high-value accounts. - Leveraged analytics and performance metrics to drive tactical actions and improvement, including a 30% reduction in Time-to-Value (TTV) timelines and a 25% increase in customer upsell opportunities.- Drove a 35% Net Revenue Retention (NRR) improvement by engineering an automated forecasting model using historical customer data and engagement metrics, enabling proactive intervention in tactical actions, product issues, and renewals.- Managed a portfolio of 15 enterprise accounts personally while building the team, representing the highest value customers at Armis, generating $25M in annual recurring revenue, including key accounts like Intel, Tyson Foods, Abbott Labs, Verizon, FedEx, New York City agencies (FDNY, NYPD, DEP), HCL, and CDW.Tools used: Salesforce, Gainsight, Jira, Confluence, Slack, Smartsheet, Asana, and Google Workspace.*Transitioned out of the role due to relocation from New York to California to assist in parents' end-of-life care. Armis required an on-site presence to establish and manage key public sector relationships in New York City effectively.* Show less