Announcing the 2020 GameChanger Award Winners Image

Announcing the 2020 GameChanger Award Winners

DRUM ROLL PLEASE…AND THE 2020 GAMECHANGER AWARD WINNERS ARE… 

First and foremost, for everyone who joined us online last week for the absolutely unprecedented Pulse Everywhere. We were completely blown away not only by the attendance but of the engagement and palpable energy that came to life in this virtual experience. While we didn’t have 22,000  people in one room together – we all came together. 

If you watched Nick’s Keynote, you heard him talk about coming together and being stronger together as a community. That’s what our GameChanger Community is all about—creating success for all Gainsight customers. Collectively we can inspire and push each other to new heights, learn and grow together, and connect from anywhere.

The dictionary definition of a GameChanger is an event, idea, or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something. Being a Gainsight customer by our definition means you are a GameChanger. It’s been a remarkable year, to say the least, and we have been in awe to see how our customers have switched up familiar landscapes and shifted the status quo way things have always been done and thought about. 

We are honored that our customers entrust us to drive growth and health with their customers and in turn, we want to honor them. We are ecstatic to announce the winners of The 2020 GameChanger Awards. The GameChanger Awards are designed to recognize and celebrate our customers who have achieved significant results using Gainsight to support their business strategy, customers, teammates, and partners. 

We were overwhelmed by the number of customers who shared their success stories with us. As we read each submission, a theme started to emerge. Each of these customers had embarked on their own “Hero’s Journey.” They were called to adventure and began their journey with Gainsight who guided them as their helper and mentor towards transformation and revelation. As all true Hero’s do, they seized their sword. Congratulations to all our winners and honorees. 

The Visionary 2020 Winner: Splunk 

The Visionary knows that without a unified view of their customer data, their teams wouldn’t have the full picture. They’ve truly mastered shifting their teams from reactive to proactive. 

Nominated by: Emily Ryan, Director, Success Management Strategy & Operations

“I cannot think of a team more deserving of this award. Splunk had no small task in front of them and their efforts in transforming their business have been nothing short of monumental. Their rigor, execution, and dedication to their mission is inspiring and I feel so lucky to have the privilege to partner with them and come along for the ride, I cannot wait to see what our future holds.” Josh Weber, Senior Client Outcomes Manager, Gainsight

The Challenger 2020 Winner: ADP

This award recognizes an organization that has risen to the occasion to take on challenges with an uncompromising dedication to the success of the individuals in their organization, their customer base, or their community. 

Nominated by: Edgar Ramirez Vilchez, Director of CS Ops and Wendy Erdely, Director, Client Success   

“Working with ADP has been one of the true highlights of my time at Gainsight. Their motivation and dedication to Customer Success is extraordinary and their ability to change the game in just a few short years is nothing less than inspiring. They 100% embody everything that is the “Challenger Award” – they never let a bump in the road bring them down, if anything they see challenges as an opportunity to be innovative and come together as a group with a Success-for-All mentality. I’m beyond lucky to work with this team and learn something new from them every day! Thank you, ADP!” Kate Peter, Client Outcomes Director, Gainsight

COVID-19 Readiness 2020 Winner: FinancialForce.com

This award recognizes the organization that has demonstrated exceptional leadership and responsiveness for their customers during these unprecedented times. 

Nominated by: Kathleen Rouse, Director, Customer Success Operations

“FinancialForce was one of the first customers who took the learning from Gainsight’s joint webinar with Bessemer Ventures on COVID-19 readiness and adapted those processes to their business model almost overnight. FinancialForce showed urgency and worked towards implementing a ‘risk framework’ to better forecast and manage churn in the time of COVID-19. What is impressive about this team is the agility and speed with which they sprung into action when the needs of their business changed!” Meenal Shukla, Sr. Client Outcomes Manager, Gainsight

The Defender 2020 Winner: Vonage

The Defender has future-proofed their business by identifying areas of risk to increase product adoption, increase retention, and decrease churn. 

“When I think about what it truly means to “partner,” with a customer, Vonage is the first customer that comes to mind. I’ve been with them since day one and partnering with them to truly and intimately understand their business and chart the course forward in shifting their business from a reactive organization to a proactive philosophy has truly been the highlight of my professional career. They care deeply about their customers and sincerely live their human first values – with an obsessive focus on customer experience and living their values they have truly transformed and future-proofed their business. I am so honored to have the opportunity to work with this team.”Josh Weber, Senior Client Outcomes Manager, Gainsight

Nominated by: Ethan Douglas, Director of Customer Success

The Experience Maker 2020 Winner: IBM

The Experience Maker is hyper-focused on improving the experience of their customers and personalizing relationships at scale. 

Nominated by: David Read, Leader WW Customer Success

“In 2019, IBM constructed and executed on a Value Delivery Program to elevate the process maturity of 9 business units (250 Products) to drastically improve the customer experience through the entirety of the Customer Journey. The team was meticulous in approach – Four key focus areas of measurable impact were identified (product adoption, customer retention, expansion, and scalability – “No Customer Left Behind”) and executed upon through comprehensive maturity assessments and bi-monthly Steer-Cos to align priorities and build work with Unit leadership. This program could not have been successful without the commitment and support of Unit leadership, Gainsight admins, and the centralized SABA Transformation (Operations) Team working in stride together. The scale at which they organized and executed was truly impressive and I’m so proud they’ve been named the “Experience Maker” of 2020.” Courtney Hauser, Global Client Outcomes Director, Gainsight

The Dream Team 2020 Winner: Boomi

The Dream Team epitomizes customer-centricity with deep partnerships that span organizational boundaries with collective strategy and shared goals. 

Check out their acceptance speech here!

Nominated by: Michelle Wideman, Chief Customer Success Officer

“Dream Team,” is almost an understatement for what Michelle and crew have been able to accomplish at Dell Boomi!  It comes as no shock that Boomi was able to achieve so much in just a year with every single role working together for their customers. With the assist of some great leaders like Michelle and Chris (to name just a few!), the Boomi dream team has really worked to transform into a Customer Success/Obsessed organization. I’m so proud to be able to work alongside such an amazing group.” John Heintschel, Customer Outcomes Manager, Gainsight 

The Transformational Leader 2020 Winner: Commvault

These leaders have truly transformed their organizations by making customer success and product experience a key driver of growth with Gainsight. 

Nominated by: Lee Peterson, Aron Lanclos, Cody Nichols 

“Commvault is a gigantic company and change management is hard. The dedication and determination of the team here to shift their entire organization’s mindset from reactive support to a proactive customer success philosophy have been…impressive to say the least. They have faced so many challenges and uphill battles to convince their organization that customer success is the business imperative that will guide their company to a successful future. Aron and his team are some of the greatest champions of and true believers in customer success I have ever met and as a career CS professional, it’s inspiring – I never leave a conversation with this team without feeling FIRED UP for their bright future, and the future of customer success. They are true human first leaders and I cannot wait to work side by side with them to see all that they will accomplish in the years to come.” Josh Weber, Senior Client Outcomes Manager, Gainsight

The Visionary 2020 Winner: Mavenlink

The Visionary knows that without a unified view of their customer data, their teams wouldn’t have the full picture. They’ve truly mastered shifting their teams from reactive to proactive. 

Nominated by: Harris Eilenberg, Manager of Client Success Operations & Enablement

“The way Mavenlink uses Gainsight CS+PX capabilities is remarkable! I often use their example with other customers to emphasize how they’re utilizing Gainsight today and how they’re always up to expanding its capabilities. I’m proud to be working alongside such an amazing group.” Shivam Kapoor, Customer Outcomes Manager, Gainsight

To keep the celebration going last week we also launched our new GameChanger VIP program for the Gainsight customers who have changed the game completely for their companies, achieving amazing success as a result of their boldness and willingness to challenge the status quo. On a quarterly basis, Customers will be invited to share their success stories to be inducted into this exclusive group of VIPs. Please join us in giving these winners another round of applause!