Customer Success · Post-Sale Leadership

R. Shane James

Customer Experience Executive · Author · Tampa Bay, FL

I build the post-sale function that tells a company which customers are at risk and why, then rebuilds the teams around the answer.

Open to new CS leadership roles Remote or Tampa, FL Get in touch
R. Shane James, headshot
R. Shane James
R. Shane James
22→7%
Churn at Manta, down to under 7 percent
92→113
Net revenue retention at Manta
118%
NRR delivered at Tanium
80
Employee NPS held through the scale
2×
Acquisition exits (IBM, ServiceNow)
01

About

I am a customer experience executive on the post-sale side of enterprise B2B SaaS, and I have spent more than 20 years leading Customer Success, Support, and Professional Services. At Manta I took churn from 22 percent to under 7 percent and moved net revenue retention from 92 to 113, while holding employee NPS at 80. I did the same kind of work at Tanium and Onapsis, and I led the post-sale integration when data.world was acquired by ServiceNow.

I am a player-coach. I set the strategy and I still run the QBRs. Before Customer Success I spent nine years as a Principal Architect at Oracle, which is where the data and the security discipline come from, and I hold a CISSP. More recently I co-founded Avolv.ai and built it end to end, so I know what it takes to ship as well as to retain.

What I keep coming back to is a simple idea. Customers tell you they are fine right up until they leave, and the signal that they are leaving was in the data the whole time. The job is to read it early and act on it.

02

Selected work

A tool I built · AI in customer success

CCOPilot.ai

A customer success platform I designed and built end to end, as a working example of how AI changes the post-sale function. More than 20 AI agents score account health across six dimensions, predict churn before the customer feels it, prepare executive business reviews, and turn each signal into the next action a CSM should take. I built it to test the ideas in my writing against working software, not as a product to sell.

See the platform →
  • 20+ AI agents
  • Six-dimension health scoring
  • Churn prediction
  • EBR / QBR generation
  • Email and meeting intelligence
Avolv.ai
2025 – Present
Co-founded and built a multi-tenant vertical SaaS for home-service businesses, now used by the largest pool service company in Florida.
Co-Founder
data.world
2025
Led the post-sale organization through acquisition by ServiceNow. Cut mean time to recovery 15 percent and lifted risk-signaling actions 20 percent during the bridge period.
Global Head of CX (CCO)
Onapsis
2023 – 2025
Turned a reactive CS function into a revenue-driving operation for Fortune 500 ERP accounts. Lifted net revenue retention 15 points.
Global Head of CS
Manta → IBM
2021 – 2023
Built the post-sale function and scaled it past 25 people. Cited in IBM due diligence for repeatable retention. Churn 22 to 7, NRR 92 to 113. Read the case study →
Global Head of CX (SVP)
Tanium
2019 – 2021
Led health, adoption, expansion, and renewal across enterprise accounts. Built the playbooks that became internal standards. 118 percent NRR.
Director, CS
Oracle
2004 – 2019
Nine years as a Principal Architect in database and security, then led Pre-Sales and Customer Success for a $100M+ North America business.
Principal Architect → Director
03

What people say

I had the distinct privilege of hiring Shane into my team at Onapsis. He joined us at a time when we needed to build out our Customer Success function grounded in best practices, data, consistent execution, and high customer engagement. He rose to the challenge. Shane is a strategic, results-driven executive who fundamentally understands that Customer Success is not just a department but a core business multiplier.

Kellie SnyderChief Customer & Operations Officer · Hired Shane at Onapsis

Shane joined Manta when we had no formal customer success function and built it from the ground up. He is hard-working, process-oriented, and relentlessly focused on disciplined execution. Whether designing scalable systems or jumping on tough customer calls, he always showed up. He led his team with care and clarity, invested in their growth, and built a culture of trust and accountability. Smart, loyal, and a real fighter when things get ugly, someone I trust deeply and am proud to call a friend.

Tomas KratkyFounder & CEO, Manta (acquired by IBM)

I have had the pleasure of working alongside Shane at Manta. He innately motivates everyone around him, elevating performance levels while fostering a positive work environment. His unique blend of coaching and care ensures that each member of the Customer Success team is not only meeting their goals but also experiencing both professional and personal growth. As a key executive team member, Shane consistently champions a culture of mutual respect and shared purpose, acting as a true partner in leadership.

Nancy Louisnord, MBAGroup Chief Marketing Officer · Worked with Shane at Manta

I had the pleasure of working with Shane as my SVP of Customer Success at Manta. He is a consummate professional and an incredible leader, providing not just direction but mentoring using his extensive experience in Customer Success and Technology. As a leader in his organization I was empowered to do my job with clear guidance and support, and always knew that Shane not only had my back but was available any time for questions, guidance, or just to be a sounding board for my ideas. Shane is incredibly approachable yet a firm and effective leader.

Brian PerkinsDirector, Data Governance & Analytics, Luminare Health · Reported to Shane at Manta

I am writing to express my recommendation for Shane James, previously my Senior Vice President in Customer Success. It is with great admiration and gratitude that I share my experiences working with Shane during his tenure at Manta Software Inc. Shane's impact on our organization has been truly transformative. His dedication and vision were the driving force behind my decision to move across the country to work under his leadership.

Ryan DaltonSolutions Architect, IBM · Reported to Shane at Manta

Shane James is a fantastic team member with a strong orientation toward results. His attention to detail, customer success, and delivering true value make him an impressive partner both internally and externally. I really enjoyed working with Shane during our time together at Oracle and would welcome any opportunity to do so again. He is a keeper.

Nick KritikosCOO & CCO · Managed Shane at Oracle

I have known and worked with Shane James for over 10 years. Shane led the North America Sales Consulting team that I was part of and had a solid head for technology and business. While at Oracle, he constantly looked for ways to improve process and was instrumental in creating the Open Source Center of Excellence and Customer Success Programs. Shane takes time to get to know his team and always supported individual growth. I really enjoyed my time getting to know Shane personally, professionally, and being part of his high performing team.

Ken EllisOracle SaaS & Data Integration · Reported to Shane at Oracle

Shane was my North American counterpart in the pre-sales and customer success leadership team. He is a strong leader and the epitome of a play-coach management style. Shane excelled at executive-level engagements and possessed strong functional knowledge to communicate across hierarchies. He was also instrumental in driving impactful enablement initiatives globally. My JAPAC team still vividly remembers his thought-provoking coaching.

Chia Zyn LooDirector, JAPAC Sales Consulting · Oracle

I worked with Shane for several years as he was leading a team of solution engineers at Oracle. He has outstanding business acumen and was exceptional at identifying, analyzing, and positioning business value at our clients. His business skills complement his technical knowledge. In addition, he was a great leader, and his team really respected him.

Glenn HabibSupply Chain Executive · Oracle

I am delighted to recommend Shane for his exceptional managerial skills. While working alongside him at Oracle, Shane consistently demonstrated strong leadership qualities. His ability to navigate and resolve complex challenges, coupled with his profound understanding of the industry, made a significant impact on our team's success. Shane's dedication to creating a collaborative and empowering work environment showcased his managerial prowess. I highly endorse Shane for his outstanding managerial abilities.

Omar AhmadIT Managed Services Leader · Worked with Shane at Oracle

Shane was my manager at Oracle. He was one of the fairest managers I reported to over the years. He always listened for feedback and would help bring new ideas to the table from the team. I really liked this about Shane since it made me feel like I could make a difference at Oracle. I feel he enriched my career and helped me grow to where I am today. Shane is a good listener and that is also hard to find in a person. I would work for him in the future again.

Bryan TanoueSolutions Leadership · Reported to Shane at Oracle

Shane is one of the best managers I ever had in my 30+ years of IT experience. He always empowered me and the whole team with encouragement and full support. He is a great leader with deep knowledge of the IT industry and always put our customers first in everything we did as a team. I learned a lot from Shane about how to be a good leader, a good team player, and a trusted advisor for customers.

Jacky (Dejian) ChenExecutive Coach · Reported to Shane
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04

Books

Your Customers Are Lying to You, book cover

Your Customers Are Lying to You

How AI exposed everything wrong with Customer Success, and what to do about it. Written for CS leaders. Published 2026.

Read on Amazon →
The AI-Era CSM, book cover

The AI-Era CSM

A field manual for Customer Success in the age of machines. Written for the working CSM.

Read on Amazon →
The Great Orchestration, book cover

The Great Orchestration

Artificial intelligence and the future of human work. Real stories, hard data, and what comes next. Free to read here.

Read it free →
05

Recognition

CDO Magazine, Leading Voice in Data
Named a leading voice in the data community, 2022.
Open-Source Summit EMEA, Keynote
Keynote speaker on open-source and the enterprise customer.
Oracle Top Security Presentation
Selected from a field of more than 300 for Oracle's top security presentation award.
Dual Purdue Degrees, CISSP
M.S. and B.S. from Purdue, both 4.0 GPA. CISSP (ISC2).
06

Contact

I am in the market for my next Customer Success leadership role, Head, VP, or Chief Customer Officer, remote or in the Tampa Bay area. If you are hiring, or you know someone who is, I would be glad to talk. The fastest way to reach me is email.

Phone(615) 961-7585