Wrike just appointed Michelle MacCarthy as Chief Customer Officer. (Source: Wrike)
It means one thing very clearly: in modern B2B SaaS, customer success is now a primary growth engine, not a support function.
This fits into the broader shift I break down in my analysis of the future of customer success leadership, where CS moves from “nice to have” to “core revenue infrastructure.”
Wrike is an intelligent work management platform selling into complex enterprises, and they just put a seasoned CS leader in a C-level seat to own value, retention, and expansion. That move looks a lot like the revenue-focused operating model I describe in the CS revenue strategy transformation guide.
In simple terms, this appointment tells you:
Customer Success is moving closer to revenue and strategy.
Executives now expect CS to prove business impact, not just product usage.
The CCO role is becoming the natural next step for senior CS leaders.
Why Should Customer Success Leaders Care About Michelle MacCarthy’s Role?
If you’re a CS leader, this appointment is a real signal:
Companies like Wrike now want one leader to connect customer experience, success, advocacy, and growth.
The leaders who can speak in outcomes, not activities will be trusted with that responsibility, just like the leaders I profile in my CS leadership strategies playbook.
The gap between “Head of CS” and “Chief Customer Officer” is closing faster than most people think.
The real opportunity is not just to watch this trend, but to use it.
The key questions now are:
How do you reshape your CS team so it looks “CCO-ready”?
How do you talk to your executives in a way that earns that same level of trust and ownership?
How do you move from “we manage accounts” to “we manage growth and risk” in clear, measurable terms?
You’re about to see exactly how to do that.
If this helps you understand what’s changing and why Wrike’s move matters, the next part goes a level deeper.
In the premium section, I’ll walk you through step-by-step plays you can use to:
Reframe your CS team as a strategic growth engine
Build a value narrative that gets real buy-in from your C-suite
Position yourself on a clear path toward a future CCO role, building on the same principles I use in my customer success director promotion strategies
🔐How Customer Success Leaders Can Turn The Wrike CCO Shift Into Real Career And Revenue Upside
Let me answer this directly: yes, you can use Wrike’s CCO move as a blueprint for your own org — even if you don’t have Wrike’s scale or budget.
Below, I’ll show you practical frameworks and scripts you can apply within the next 30–60 days to:
Prove business impact
Align with revenue and product
Drive expansion without feeling like sales
Scale your team
Position yourself for a future Chief Customer Officer role
You can go even deeper later by pairing this with the operating principles in my enterprise customer success management guide.