Available immediately · Seoul · Open to remote, global roles and relocating

I help software companies keep their customers, and I help people build their careers.

Eight years in customer success and SaaS implementation. I also mentor graduates and early-career professionals, and I am invited to speak, train and consult at events, companies and universities in India.

Elisha Michael smiling, seated by a window with a laptop
8 yearscustomer success, consulting and operations
700+accounts managed at PowerSchool
98%of renewals collected at PowerSchool
20+consultants led, coached and mentored
Experience atApptio · IBMPowerSchoolCprimeBYJU'SHDFC BankIBM Apptio Certified Practitioner

Career

Eight years, six roles


Select a role. The bar under each name shows how long I stayed.

Assistant Manager, Operations

HDFC Bank · May 2018 – Jan 2020
7 consecutive Star Service Excellence Awards, 2019
  • Led branch operations and teams through month-end close, reconciliations, budgets and audits
  • Advised customers on investments and asset-backed loans

Product Specialist

BYJU'S – The Learning App · Feb – Nov 2020
  • Product demonstrations, requirements and roadmap planning
  • Market and competitor research
  • Supported launches and events with Sales and Marketing

Customer Success Manager

PowerSchool · Dec 2020 – Feb 2023
700+ accountsUSD 6M+ ARR98% renewals collectedPower Producer Award, Jan 2022
  • Helped build the SMB customer success team: hiring, onboarding, training and mentoring
  • Helped design portfolio structures in Salesforce and Gainsight for health scoring and SLA tracking
  • Partnered with Sales on adoption and churn risk

Customer Success Manager and Industry Consultant

Apptio, an IBM Company · Feb 2023 – Oct 2024
18 strategic accountsAbout USD 6MTeam Squad Award, 2023IBM Apptio Certified Practitioner
  • Led executive quarterly business reviews and built TBM roadmaps with C-level customers
  • Defined churn-risk criteria and a customer contact methodology
  • Negotiated long-term renewals; owned escalations across Sales, Support, Product and development

Senior Consultant

Cprime Inc. · Oct 2024 – Oct 2025
US, Canada, EMEA, APAC20+ consultants led
  • Primary customer contact for enterprise Targetprocess implementations, from kickoff to deployment
  • Delivered train-the-trainer programs for client power users
  • Recruited, onboarded, coached and reviewed consultants

Independent consultant

Targetprocess implementation and change management · Nov 2025 – Mar 2026
South Africa · UK · India
  • Targetprocess implementations from discovery to go-live: data model, migration, integrations, dashboards, UAT and training
  • Change-management engagement for an Indian enterprise (Jan – Feb 2026)

Renewal collection

PowerSchool · USD 6M+ ARR
98%

of renewals collected across 700+ accounts.

Two ways to look after about USD 6M

Same revenue scale, very different customer counts
PowerSchool: breadth700+ accounts · USD 6M+ ARR
Apptio: depth18 strategic accounts · about USD 6M
Bars show revenue scale only. Both portfolios were around USD 6M.

Problems I help with

What B2B technology companies are struggling with in 2026


Current industry evidence, my approach, and the experience behind it.

Retention

Retention is under pressure

Median net revenue retention102%
Bottom quartile 92% · median gross retention 84%
Aleph & Benchmarkit, 2026 [1] · 342 companies, 2025 data

My approach: Rank accounts by risk and agree renewal plans early. Give every key account an executive sponsor.

My experience: 98% renewal collection on 700+ accounts (PowerSchool); churn-risk criteria and long-term renewals (Apptio).
Data

Health scores not trusted or used

Customer data fragmented52.1%
Health scores reviewed ad hoc or never60.7%

My approach: Agree a short list of health signals the team trusts. Build one account view with a fixed review rhythm.

My experience: health scoring and SLA tracking in Salesforce and Gainsight (PowerSchool).
Alignment

CS and Sales on different numbers

CS teams sharing NRR with Sales17.3%

My approach: Keep one shared renewal and expansion forecast. Make handoffs clear from onboarding to renewal to growth.

My experience: growth opportunities coordinated with Sales; onboarding handoffs owned (Apptio).
AI cost

The full cost of AI is not visible

Not capturing the full hidden costs of AI78%
TBM Council pulse survey [3] · 640 responses, updated 23 Oct 2026

My approach: Cost AI beyond tokens: people, data, integration and compliance. Show leaders the full lifecycle cost.

My experience: TBM roadmaps and use cases with C-level customers (Apptio). AI cost is the newest chapter of the same work.
Funding

Leaders and practitioners disagree

Practitioners: no standard AI funding model40%
Executives: believe mature mechanisms exist72%

My approach: Give IT, finance and the business the same numbers. Start with showback, then move to chargeback.

My experience: executive quarterly reviews for 18 accounts (Apptio).
Shadow tech

Tools growing outside central IT

Practitioners: IT supports 7+ AI tools55%
Executives: believe 6 or fewer55%

My approach: Keep one registry of tools and one intake route. Require a business case before funding.

My experience: data models, Jira/ServiceNow/ERP integrations and executive dashboards (Targetprocess).

These are industry problems, not claims that I have solved these exact cases. Each card shows related work and the method I would use.

Case studies

The work behind the claims


An enterprise portfolio in which every renewal had a plan

Apptio, an IBM Company · Feb 2023 – Oct 2024
The business problem

18 strategic and enterprise accounts, mainly in North America, worth about USD 6M. Each had to adopt the platform and renew.

How I helped
  • Executive quarterly business reviews for every account
  • TBM roadmaps and use cases with C-level customers
  • Churn-risk criteria and long-term renewals
The result

Structured renewal and adoption plans across the whole portfolio.

18 accountsAbout USD 6MTeam Squad Award, 2023
For your company: a disciplined renewal process for a book of business that depends on individual memory.

Managing 700+ accounts, and helping build the team behind them

PowerSchool · Dec 2020 – Feb 2023
The business problem

700+ SMB and enterprise accounts and USD 6M+ ARR, with a customer success function still being built.

How I helped
  • Helped build the SMB team: hiring, onboarding, training
  • Health scoring and SLA tracking in Salesforce and Gainsight
  • Partnered with Sales on adoption and churn risk
The result

98% of renewals collected, with a repeatable way to cover many accounts.

700+ accountsUSD 6M+ ARR98% renewalsPower Producer Award, 2022
For your company: a proven approach when customers grow faster than the team.

Enterprise implementations across four regions

Cprime · Oct 2024 – Oct 2025
The business problem

Enterprise clients in the US, Canada, EMEA and APAC adopting Targetprocess, each needing a guide from kickoff to go-live.

How I helped
  • Primary contact from kickoff to deployment
  • Executive goal-setting and roadmaps
  • Train-the-trainer programs; led 20+ consultants
The result

Client power users trained in administration and advanced reporting; a delivery team coached through reviews and training.

4 regions20+ consultants led
For your company: a new customer taken from signed contract to a team that uses the product.

Helping an Indian enterprise adopt change

Independent engagement · Jan – Feb 2026
The business problem

A large organisation needed its people, not only its systems, to adopt a change.

How I helped
  • Change strategy and impact assessment
  • A network of change champions
  • Communication, training and sponsorship plans
The result

A structured adoption plan with measurable readiness indicators, delivered within two months.

Delivered in two months
For your company: help when a rollout is sound but people are not using it.

Skills and details

What I work with


Customer success

Keeping customers adopting, renewing and growing.

  • Onboarding and adoptionRoadmaps and use cases with C-level customers (Apptio)
  • Health scoringPortfolio design in Salesforce and Gainsight (PowerSchool)
  • Churn-risk managementDefined criteria and a customer contact methodology (Apptio)
  • Renewals and retention98% renewal collection (PowerSchool); long-term renewals (Apptio)
  • Executive QBRsLed for 18 strategic accounts (Apptio)
  • Success plansRenewal and adoption plans across a whole portfolio (Apptio)

Consulting and delivery

Taking a platform from requirements to live use.

  • SaaS implementationTargetprocess, from discovery to go-live (Cprime, independent)
  • Requirements gatheringStakeholder workshops with client teams
  • Data migrationCustomer data moved into Targetprocess
  • IntegrationsJira, ServiceNow and ERP systems
  • DashboardsFor PMOs, product owners and executive sponsors
  • Change managementChange champions, communication and training plans (Indian enterprise, 2026)
  • Train-the-trainerPrograms for client power users (Cprime)

Leadership

Building, coaching and connecting teams.

  • Hiring and onboardingThe SMB team (PowerSchool); consultants (Cprime)
  • Coaching and mentoring20+ consultants, from recruiting to performance reviews (Cprime)
  • Cross-team partnershipEscalations owned across Sales, Support, Product and development (Apptio)
  • Stakeholder communicationExecutives and C-level customers across four regions

The tools I use

Grouped by what they are used for.

Customer success

Salesforce · Gainsight · Gong

IBM Apptio

Targetprocess · ApptioOne · Cloudability

Delivery and service

Jira · ServiceNow · Confluence

Business and reporting

NetSuite · Excel · PowerPoint

Background

Education and credentials


  1. 2013 – 2017

    B.E., Electrical and Power Engineering

    R.T.M. Nagpur University · CGPA 8.6/10

  2. 2020 – 2022

    Executive PGDM, Marketing Management

    Alliance University · CGPA 8.6/10

  3. 2023 – 2024

    IBM Apptio Certified Practitioner

    Targetprocess · ApptioOne · Cloudability

  4. 2025 – 2026

    Korean language, Level 2 completed

    Yonsei University Korean Language Institute

Languages

EnglishFluent
HindiNative
KoreanIntermediate, improving daily

Contact

Let's talk

Hiring for customer success, organising an event, planning a university programme, or looking for career guidance: book a 45-minute video call, or get in touch directly. I am open to opportunities in Korea, India and worldwide.

Sources for the statistics (checked 2 November 2026)
  1. Aleph and Benchmarkit, 2026 SaaS & AI Performance Benchmarks (342 companies; full-year 2025 data; published 1 June 2026). getaleph.com
  2. Customer Success Collective, citing the 2026 State of Customer Success Report (page dated 22 October 2026; sample size not stated). customersuccesscollective.com
  3. TBM Council, Data Snapshot: Pulse Survey (640 responses; updated 23 October 2026). tbmcouncil.org
  4. TBM Council, 72% of Execs Think AI Costs Are Covered, 40% of IT Teams Disagree (2026 pulse surveys; updated 23 October 2026). tbmcouncil.org
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