{"id":410,"date":"2026-09-25T15:41:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theopensideflanker.com\/?page_id=410"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T11:46:07","slug":"the-openside-flanker","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theopensideflanker.com\/","title":{"rendered":"The Openside Flanker"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Logo_TheOpensideFlanker_blanc\"<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Fractional Customer Success leadership <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fix retention.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlock expansion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scale post-sales.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I help B2B SaaS founders redesign Customer Success and post-sales operations so growth does not erode margin, customer satisfaction, or net revenue retention.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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$0 to $<\/span>0<\/span>M<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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REVENUE SCALE-UP<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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+<\/span>0<\/span>%<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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PRODUCTIVITY GAIN <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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1 to <\/span>0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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BUILT CS TEAM AT SCALE<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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94 to <\/span>0<\/span>%<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NRR IMPROVEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book a first conversation<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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The Thinking Behind The Openside Flanker<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The profile<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I\u2019m not a storyteller. I\u2019m a fixer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A nod to my years playing rugby: I\u2019m the openside flanker of commercial teams. I\u2019m a hybrid athlete similar to Tight End or Outside Linebacker in US football. As on-field captain, I call the shots on structure and process while I\u2019m still the one making the tackle. I don\u2019t step off the pitch to draw up the playbook; I build it between plays, with the team, while the game is live.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I started as a player in the trenches: firefighter mode at early-stage Criteo, onboarding clients and fixing whatever broke across several markets at once. Over time I became the one reading the game, resetting the shape and moving the scoreboard from inside the play. Today I help commercial teams tackle churn risk and turn expansion into revenue \u2014 so revenue scales faster than cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The impact<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I believe pre and post-sales teams should be treated as a crucial part of the revenue engine, not as an expendable cost center. So I help ensure that Customer Success department becomes a growth engine by strengthening retention, unlocking expansion, and giving the business a solid foundation to scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So when I say I\u2019m a problem tackler, this is what I mean: I work with founders to design the structures, processes, tools and metrics that let Customer Success team perform at their best and visibly protect NRR and margin \u2014 within the reality of their sales and product context.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI help founders turn pre and post-sales operations into a profit center, not a cost center.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Read my full story<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Criteo \u2014 building a scalable team, from near-zero revenue to Nasdaq<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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I joined Criteo very early, when revenue was close to zero and the product was still finding its market. At first I was in pure firefighter mode \u2014 onboarding clients, integrating publishers and fixing whatever broke across multiple markets at once. Over a few years the company grew from a small startup to thousands of employees and hundreds of millions in revenue, on its way to roughly $2B. In October 2013 Criteo went public on Nasdaq, raising about $250M at a valuation above $2B \u2014 and I had the privilege of ringing the bell with the team. My role in that phase was essentially COO of our go-to-market engine: I built and led a multicultural onboarding and support organization of about 240 people across Europe, the Americas and APAC, and we delivered programs that increased operational productivity by double digits in a matter of months. That is where I learned my core operating principle: start with common sense and lead by example, then codify what works into frameworks, tooling and training \u2014 so the commercial organization keeps performing even when you are not in the room.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Criteo Retail Media \u2014 turning post-M&A assets into one commercial machine<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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After the IPO, Criteo began its Retail Media push and I moved to New York to merge two acquisitions, HookLogic and Storetail, into a single global commercial operations engine. We had two cultures, two tech stacks and a product that needed to become one coherent offering that Sales, Marketing and Customer teams could confidently take to market. I built and scaled a global team spanning post-sales, technical solutions, analytics, engineering and creative across the US, Europe and APAC, and we put in place the KPIs, dashboards and continuous improvement framework that improved operational efficiency by around 30% in 2020. That work helped turn Criteo Retail Media into a business contributing hundreds of millions in annual revenue, onboarding new retailers every year and serving thousands of brands in more than 10 countries. In short: we turned fragmented post-M&A assets into one aligned commercial machine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Potloc \u2014 +40% productivity in a fast-growing startup<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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After Criteo, I wanted to apply that playbook in smaller, high-growth environments. At Potloc, a research tech company, I was asked to make the whole delivery and account organization both faster and more scalable across Montreal, Paris and New York. Instead of asking teams to \u201cwork harder\u201d, we specialized roles, clarified processes and introduced Gen AI tools to accelerate routine and creative work. That mix of structure and AI support increased team productivity by about 40% and helped drive a 400% increase in US revenue over two years, while also improving customer retention.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kevel \u2014 NRR from 94% to 103% in a pivoting scale-up<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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As VP of Customer Success at Kevel, I led the revenue-adjacent side of the business: everything that happens after the contract is signed, and much of what influences renewals and expansion. We streamlined the customer journey, defined clear customer tiers and aligned service levels to each tier, so the team put the right energy on the right accounts. We automated manual tasks with AI-powered tooling and focused the team\u2019s time on the work that genuinely moves Net Revenue Retention. Renewal rates went up and NRR moved from 94% to 103%.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So when I say I\u2019m a fixer and a tackler, this is what I mean: I design and run the commercial operations that turn Customer Success and post-sales into a profit center, not a cost center. IPO-grade execution \u2014 without needing a 200-person organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Book a first conversation<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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Trusted by<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Clients <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"SOSA<\/picture><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Where I\u2019ve built and led teams <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Criteo<\/picture><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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18+ years building and leading commercial teams across Europe and the US \u2014 in adtech, retail media, research tech and B2B SaaS.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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CONTACT<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Start with a first conversation for free<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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You are a founder, CEO, or COO who already knows the business has outgrown its current post-sales model.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Book a first conversation<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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Frequently asked questions
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Straight answers to what B2B SaaS founders ask before bringing in a fractional Customer Success leader.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Is The Openside Flanker right for my company?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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I work with founders and leadership teams of B2B SaaS companies whose growth is putting pressure on Customer Success and post-sales operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You are probably in the right place if you recognize one or more of these:<\/span><\/p>\n