Women in Technology – Jackie Kamel

This blog is part of our ongoing Women in Technology series.

With over a decade of experience in customer success and business leadership, Jackie is a seasoned professional dedicated to driving organizational growth and fostering exceptional customer relationships. Known for her ability to transform customer success strategies and maximize client retention, Jackie combines a strong analytical mindset with a passion for delivering unparalleled value to clients.

As a former Manager of Customer Success, Jackie spearheaded initiatives that resulted in impressive increases in customer retention rates and significant revenue growth through strategic account management. Her expertise in customer success management, sales enablement, and project management has consistently positioned her as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to clients across diverse industries.

In addition to her extensive client-facing expertise, she has played a pivotal role in shaping and fostering a vibrant organizational culture within her workplaces. Demonstrating her commitment to employee satisfaction and engagement, she held leadership positions such as Vice Chair of Membership Satisfaction for her company’s Lean In group, where she spearheaded initiatives to empower and support colleagues. As the Social Chair, she orchestrated memorable company-wide events, fostering camaraderie and team spirit. Her contributions further extended to serving on her company’s Shadow Board, where she advocated for inclusive decision-making processes that consider the diverse perspectives of all generations of workers.

With a proven track record of success and a relentless drive for excellence, Jackie continues to make a profound impact in the world of customer success and beyond. Her dedication to customer satisfaction and retention, and innovation serves as a guiding force in her mission to drive positive change and create lasting value for organizations worldwide.

How did you get into this industry?

I started my career in aviation, and I spent a lot of my time at that company in support roles, specifically sales support. While I loved the industry, I was missing a key component that I needed in a job to feel fulfilled and that was face-to-face interactions with our customers. That’s when I discovered the Customer Success role, I worked at a couple of different companies in the engineering and technology spaces in that role. It was absolutely the perfect role for me! Last year, my company joined the many tech companies around the world laying off employees and I found myself unemployed for the first time in my professional career. This meant I was now competing in one of the toughest job markets I’d ever experienced. Lucky for me, one of my incredible colleagues from my aviation days reached out and told me about the incredible company she worked for, Consilio. There just happened to be a role open that would marry the best of both of my Customer Success roles and I knew I couldn’t pass it up! I continued to meet truly lovely people at Consilio throughout the hiring process and I knew this was the role and company I’d been looking for.

What were some pivotal moments in your career that helped to get you to where you are today?

The most pivotal moment in my career was when I transitioned into my first Customer Success role. I was hired as the first-ever Customer Success person at a small Engineering company and I can’t even begin to describe how much I learned in this role. Because it was a small company and because the Customer Success Team was new, I got to wear a ton of different hats and I was able to get involved with various processes in different departments within the organization. It was an excellent learning experience and gave me a newfound confidence in myself and my capabilities. It was my first customer-facing role and it paved the way to where I am today.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that much of the success in my career is not just the result of my achievements, but it’s also due to the fact that I have been fortunate enough to have had some extremely supportive men and women in my life. That support has helped me build confidence and believe in myself and my capabilities. It can be difficult, especially for women, to own our accomplishments, take credit for them, and be proud of what we’ve done, but throughout my life, I’ve had supportive people who have been my advocates. From my favorite college professor to incredible female role models, male and female bosses, friends, and direct colleagues. Without these incredible role models and mentors, I don’t think I’d be where I am today.

Have you ever noticed a time in your career where your gender proved to differentiate you?

Most of the jobs I’ve held in my career have been in male-dominated industries or teams. At the aviation company, all of the Account Managers were men except for one. All of the other women on the team were in a support capacity whether that be an Administrative Assistant or Sales Support. At this company, I remember one particular meeting where I happened to be the only female in the room. I remember speaking up with an idea that I had and my male boss barely acknowledged my comment. My male colleague spoke up a few moments later and said almost exactly the same idea that I had said just a few moments earlier and my boss chimed in with what a great idea it was. I sat there in shock wondering if I had actually said my idea out loud or dreamt it.

At the engineering company, we didn’t have a single female engineer working there and I think in total we had only 11 women out of a total of 72 employees. I remember sitting in a meeting at that company and I was the only female in the room, but this time around I actually felt empowered. I felt like my viewpoint as the only woman in the room and the only customer-facing entity in that room, gave me an advantage. I also was the only non-engineer in the room, which again, allowed me to see problems in a different way.

The difference in these two experiences? The men in the room with me. One company had men with very traditional ideas of the role women should play in the workplace and the other valued the unique perspective that women can offer when they have a seat at the table alongside their male colleagues.

What is your advice for someone working in a predominately male workplace?

Throughout my career I was given all kinds of advice, that I am too nice, I’m not forceful enough, I need to be more like this or more like that. This was feedback on my personality, not the quality of my work. My thoughts on this feedback were always the same: “But that’s not who I am.” I never wanted to lose who I was in an effort to reach a specific position. So, the best advice that I can give is to stay true to who you are. There are many different kinds of leaders in this world, and you get to decide, not only how you get there, but also what kind of leader you want to be.

My other advice is to believe in yourself, and your capabilities, and remember that you’re there for a reason. It’s likely because you bring a unique, diverse perspective that your other colleagues, whether male or female, don’t have. Our lived experiences influence our perspectives, and, as women, we have very different perspectives on a lot of things. So, use any opportunity you have to speak up, ask questions, or challenge an idea or process. Your voice deserves and needs to be heard.

Lastly, I would say that, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve been fortunate enough to have had some incredibly strong female leaders, mentors, and bosses throughout my career. Some of them I sought out and some of our connections just happened naturally, but all of them have been influential in my career. We have each advocated for the other at one point or another. So, my last piece of advice is to seek out other strong females in your workplace or in your network and to advocate for one another if and when it’s needed. Don’t be afraid to ask a woman you admire if they would be your mentor, or to just chat over a coffee so you can hear about that woman’s career journey. And don’t be afraid to seek out male allies either. We need that support just as much as we need female support, especially in male-dominated workplaces.

What do you think companies could do to motivate more women to pursue careers in technology?

I think companies need to focus on increasing not only the number of women in leadership roles at every level of the organization, especially the C-Suite, but also the number of women on technical teams where female representation may be lacking. It makes it much easier to recruit women when there is female representation on the team and in leadership because it shows them that there is an opportunity for growth and that the company values experience regardless of gender. Also, highlighting those women’s stories in some way makes sure that their experiences are shared and other women can hear from successful female leaders.

I definitely think that companies are doing much better today than even just five years ago and it’s exciting to see that women are beginning to get more respect and recognition for their work and achievements. I hope that this trend continues and we begin to see equal representation from the C-suite all the way down to the individual contributor.