Sky Names New Chief Customer Officer: Why It Matters for Customer Success Leaders
Sky has just announced Nikki Goodman as its new Chief Customer Officer (CCO).
For those of us in Customer Success, this is more than just a leadership move at a major company—it’s another signal that the CCO role is gaining serious weight at the executive level.
Nikki brings over 15 years of leadership experience in customer experience and brand strategy. She’s worked across industries—from airlines to finance to telecom—always focusing on how to connect brand, operations, and customer outcomes.
At Air New Zealand, she redefined how CX tied into the broader business. More recently, she helped organizations like Vodafone and Kiwibank craft experiences that kept customers engaged and loyal.
Sky’s CEO put it simply: they want to be a “customer-led company.” That’s a powerful statement in a market where subscription businesses thrive or fail based on retention.
Why This Matters for Customer Success
Moves like this reinforce something I’ve been saying for years: Customer Success is no longer a support function—it’s a growth engine.
Here’s why CS leaders should pay attention:
Boardroom-level impact: Appointing a CCO signals that customer outcomes are a top-line priority. If Sky is betting its future on customer-led growth, other companies will follow.
Cross-functional alignment: Nikki’s background shows how customer experience, brand, and operations need to move together. CS teams can’t work in isolation; we need to tie our programs directly to revenue, marketing, and product.
Leadership opportunities: The CCO role is still relatively new, but every high-profile appointment creates more room for CS professionals to grow into executive careers. If you’re building your career path, this is one more proof point that the ceiling keeps getting higher.
This follows a wider trend we’ve been tracking at The CS Café. Smartsheet’s recent new CCO appointment and Glassbox’s leadership move both show the same shift: companies are putting CS leaders at the center of growth strategy.
What You Can Take Away
Start thinking like a CCO: Even if your title isn’t there yet, act like it is. Map your work to business outcomes, not just customer activity.
Connect brand with experience: Don’t let CS live in a silo. Partner with marketing, product, and operations to create consistent customer experiences.
Show the revenue link: Every time you stop churn, expand an account, or improve onboarding, tie it back to revenue impact. Executives notice when you speak in financial terms.
If you’re working on building executive presence, my playbook on getting invited to executive meetings as a CSM has practical steps you can start applying right away.
Related Resources
At The CS Café, I’ve been tracking how CS is moving from back office to boardroom. This appointment at Sky is another clear signal: the companies that win will be the ones that put the customer at the heart of strategy—not just support.