Based in Cologne, Germany

Senior Customer Success Manager
for Strategic Enterprise Accounts

I help enterprise customers turn adoption into measurable business value, renewal confidence, and long-term growth.

I am Ekrem Obuz, a Customer Success professional based in Cologne, Germany, with more than 20 years of customer-facing experience across SaaS, e-commerce, and AI-driven platforms. I work best in complex enterprise environments where business goals, operational change, and technical depth need to come together. My focus is clear — help customers realize value they can measure, communicate internally, and build on over time.

↓ View My Impact ↗ Download CV
20+ years in customer-facing roles
Portfolios up to 5M EUR ARR
AI, SaaS & Commerce
DACH & EMEA focus
Ekrem Obuz

By the Numbers

Impact at a Glance

5M€
Strategic ARR managed — portfolios between 2M and 5M EUR
12–16
Enterprise customer relationships across DACH and EMEA
96%
Gross Revenue Retention in portfolio examples
104%
Net Revenue Retention — growth through expansion
20+
Years in customer-facing and technical roles
5
Industries: media, automotive, insurance, logistics, commerce
Business outcomes over activity. My work is built around measurable goals, stakeholder alignment, operational adoption, and visible value for the customer.

Career

Selected Experience

Senior Customer Success Manager
Parloa

I managed strategic enterprise customers in AI-driven customer service environments across industries such as insurance, media, automotive, and logistics.

Enterprise AI Programs Operational Automation Executive Business Reviews Cross-functional Stakeholder Management Partner Coordination
Selected customers
DEVK Generali Admiral Direkt Agila Madsack Reifen Lorenz Rossmann
Customer Success Manager & Partner Success Manager
Spryker

I managed enterprise commerce customers and worked closely with implementation partners to drive adoption, customer value, and long-term account development.

~3M€ ARR managed across EMEA
~13 Enterprise accounts
96% Portfolio GRR
104% Portfolio NRR
Selected customers
Kosmos GVS Dehner Wibu Meesenburg ESA Elmer ROSE Bikes Lekkerland Norma
Earlier Customer-Facing & Technical Roles
Cleverbridge · Digital River

Before my recent Customer Success roles, I spent many years in customer-facing, operational, and technical environments that gave me a strong foundation in complex operations, integrations, and commercial account management.

Capabilities

What I Bring

🎯
Strategic Customer Success
I help customers move from platform usage to measurable business outcomes. I create structure around goals, priorities, risks, and ownership.
📈
Value Realization
I connect customer initiatives to clear KPI impact — efficiency gains, cost reduction, service quality, or automation outcomes.
🤝
Executive Communication
I am comfortable working with leadership stakeholders and translating operational detail into a concise business narrative.
⚙️
Technical Credibility
I enjoy complex products and integrations and help bridge the gap between business expectations and delivery realities.
🔗
Cross-Functional Leadership
I collaborate closely with Sales, Product, Professional Services, Support, and partners to keep customer programs moving and aligned.

Case Studies

Selected Achievements

Enterprise Insurance · AI Adoption
Driving Adoption Through Operational Value
Context
A large insurance customer was exploring AI-driven service automation in a regulated environment with complex workflows and multiple internal stakeholders.
Challenge
The customer needed a path toward automation that balanced efficiency, trust, governance, and measurable business impact.
What I Drove
I helped align business and technical stakeholders around a practical adoption motion, focusing on operational outcomes, feedback loops, and executive visibility.
Result
The program was framed around clear KPI impact, stronger decision-making, and a credible path from pilot to value realization.
Enterprise Commerce · Retention & Growth
Strengthening Retention and Growth
Context
Enterprise commerce customers often had strong day-to-day platform usage but inconsistent strategic planning and limited visibility into value.
Challenge
Without a stronger success motion, adoption stayed operational and renewal conversations became harder to elevate.
What I Drove
I built structured account plans around stakeholder mapping, business reviews, adoption priorities, and early renewal preparation.
Result
Portfolio examples included 96% GRR and 104% NRR, supported by more proactive and value-based customer engagement.
Service Automation · Voicebot
Translating Complexity into Action
Context
Customers with high service volumes and seasonal peaks were exploring automation use cases involving telephony, operational systems, and external partners.
Challenge
Teams needed alignment across business needs, technical feasibility, integration realities, and customer expectations.
What I Drove
I helped shape use case prioritization, create alignment across stakeholders, and establish clear feedback loops during testing and rollout.
Result
Customers gained a clearer path from technical concept to business-relevant service automation.

Methodology

My Customer Success Approach

01
Start with the Business Goal
I begin with the outcome the customer cares about. What should improve, who owns it, how will it be measured, and why does it matter now.
02
Build a Real Success Plan
I define milestones, stakeholders, dependencies, risks, and KPIs. The plan needs to work in the customer's actual environment, not just in theory.
03
Drive Meaningful Adoption
I focus on adoption that changes behavior, improves process quality, or creates measurable business value. Usage alone is not enough.
04
Make Value Visible
I use regular business reviews to connect product usage and project progress to results the customer can communicate internally.
05
Prepare Early for Renewal
I do not treat renewal as a late-stage commercial event. Renewal confidence should be the result of visible value, strong alignment, and consistent execution.

Background

About Me

I am based in Cologne, Germany. I see Customer Success as a role that combines empathy, structure, business thinking, and technical curiosity. I like to go deep into products and customer environments so I can become a credible partner, not just a relationship manager.

My strength is helping customers move from feature usage to business value. I listen closely, ask direct questions, and bring clarity when things are complex or ambiguous.

I aim to be the kind of partner customers trust when priorities shift, challenges appear, or executive decisions need sharper context.

Ekrem Obuz
Cologne, DE
Based in Cologne, Germany
20+ Years
Customer-facing & technical experience
DACH · EMEA
Primary customer regions
EN · DE
Working languages

Get in Touch

Let's Connect

If you are hiring for a senior Customer Success role, or want to learn more about my experience, feel free to reach out.

✉️
Email
ekremobuz@gmail.com