In this edition of Success Made Simple, we sat down with Michaela Kimber, Head of Commerce Customer Success at Coveo.
Michaela shared her journey into CS, her leadership values, and how her team measures success using the KORE framework. From hiring for curiosity and adaptability to designing a structured onboarding experience, Michaela shares how Coveo is setting up its CS team to thrive.
⛷️ A winding path to CS
Q: Michaela, let’s start with your journey into Customer Success. How did you get into this field, and what do you love about it?
Michaela: My path into CS wasn’t linear. I always knew I wanted a role that was people-focused. At one point, I even wanted to be a teacher! I thrive when I collaborate with others and help them develop.
I initially worked in account management, where the focus was maintaining customer relationships and identifying opportunities for growth. Later, I transitioned into what I call “internal CSMing”, meaning that I helped build out their internal e-commerce campaign team. While that experience helped me understand retailers, I missed the external, customer-focused nature of CS.
What brought me back to CS was the ability to drive real customer outcomes. For me, two things are essential when choosing a company:
- The company’s values must align with my own.
- I need to be passionate about the technology I’m working with.
These factors fuel my motivation to grow both my customers and my team
🤝 The foundation of leadership
Q: You mentioned values being a key factor in where you work. What are your non-negotiable values as a CS leader?
Michaela: I have three core values that are essential to how I lead:
- Customer growth & team development – CS isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about enabling customers to achieve their business goals while ensuring my team is constantly learning and evolving.
- Accountability – CSMs don’t always execute every solution themselves, but they must take full ownership of customer success. We need to be the guiding force in solving customer challenges.
- Transparency & collaboration – CS requires close alignment across departments. If teams like R&D, Account Management, and Customer Success aren’t fully transparent, progress stalls.
🎯 Targeted teams
Q: At Coveo, CSMs focus on adoption while renewals and upsells are handled by separate teams. How does this structure impact efficiency?
Michaela: It was a big adjustment for me at first. I was used to owning renewals and expansion in past roles.
However, at Coveo, CSMs focus solely on adoption, use case utilization, and value realization. Renewals are managed by subscription managers, and expansion by account managers.
For a complex, technical product like Coveo, this setup makes sense. Our CSMs need deep product expertise, while the commercial teams focus on revenue-driving activities.
🌫️ CS requires skill, curiosity, and nuance
Q: When hiring for your CS team, what are the key traits and skills you look for?
Michaela: Beyond cultural fit and values alignment, I focus on three things:
- Industry experience – We look for candidates with commerce experience—whether as merchandisers, e-commerce managers, or CS professionals who have worked in the industry.
- Technical aptitude – While we don’t expect CSMs to code, they need to be comfortable troubleshooting and working with technical teams.
- Curiosity – Great CSMs ask the right questions. They dig deeper to understand customer needs and proactively uncover opportunities to drive value.
Another essential quality is the ability to navigate gray areas. CS isn’t black and white. There’s no step-by-step handbook that applies to every situation.
🚀 Leveling up with structured onboarding
Q: Your onboarding program for CSMs sounds incredibly structured. Can you tell us more about it?
Michaela: Absolutely. We have a structured CS90 Program, which includes:
- A buddy/mentor system to help new hires integrate into the company.
- Structured “Level Up” courses that guide CSMs through product and process learning.
- A knowledge-sharing framework where seasoned CSMs host recorded sessions on industry-specific insights.
- A “Pokémon challenge” (yes, really!) that simulates real-world customer scenarios to test and develop problem-solving skills.
Our Global Enablement Team oversees updates to ensure content stays relevant.
🔍 Smarter CS with AI insights
Q: Let’s talk about AI. Everyone is discussing its impact on CS! How is Coveo leveraging AI in its Customer Success function?
Michaela: AI is embedded in our workflow in three key ways:
- Call intelligence & summaries – We use Zoom Revenue Accelerator (similar to Gong/Chorus) to analyze call sentiment, extract key takeaways, and integrate insights into Gainsight.
- Our own generative AI – We use Coveo’s AI for internal documentation and customer support, summarizing resources to provide faster answers.
- Risk identification – We’re exploring Magnify, an AI-powered tool to proactively detect churn risks and create targeted customer journeys.
AI doesn’t replace the human element in CS — it enhances efficiency, allowing our team to focus on high-value, strategic work.
🏆 KORE, a holistic view of success
Q: How do you measure customer success at Coveo?
Michaela: We’ve recently shifted from NPS to a more holistic framework called KORE – Keeping Organizational Outcomes, Retention, Renewal, and References Excellent.
It was developed by TSIA to address the shortcomings of NPS, and to evaluate customer health based on multiple dimensions, including:
- Adoption & outcomes
- Likelihood to renew
- Customer advocacy
This gives us a clearer, more actionable understanding of customer satisfaction and risk.
🪞 Humility and clarity
Q: And what’s your top piece of advice for new CS leaders?
Michaela: Two things!
- For first-time CS leaders – Don’t feel pressured to always be right. Your team members often know their customers better than you do—listen to them, learn from them, and use that knowledge to scale best practices.
- For experienced leaders new to CS – Be crystal clear on the role of CS within your company. Are CSMs focused on adoption? Retention? Growth? Ambiguity leads to confusion—set clear expectations and avoid trying to make CSMs do everything.
🧘 Balancing a global role and personal well-being
Managing a global CS team means early starts and late meetings, but Michaela has three non-negotiables that help her maintain work-life balance:
- Prioritizing sleep – “If I don’t sleep, I can’t perform well.”
- Time outdoors – “Even if something is burning, my dogs get their evening walks.”
- Exercise – “Running is my way of thinking and unwinding.”
Leading with purpose & precision
As the landscape of Customer Success continues to evolve, the need for clear leadership remains constant.
Michaela Kimber’s insights highlight the importance of nuance in hiring, the power of structured onboarding, and the role of AI in enhancing — not replacing — the human element of CS.
For aspiring CS leaders, her advice is simple yet powerful: embrace humility, listen to your team, and set clear expectations. In a role that often operates in the gray areas, clarity and adaptability are the keys to success.
