We’re coming off of a momentous time in our company’s history - in case you missed the news, Chorus was named a Top 100 Global Software Company and Top 50 Fastest-Growing Product by G2 and announced our Series C Raise.
And now we are proud to announce that Thiago Sá Freire is joining our ranks as CRO to take us to new heights.
Formerly the SVP of Sales & Customer Success at Hudl, Thiago brings with him a rich experience of leadership, expertise, and a refreshing perspective that he likes to call Customer Obsessed.
“I am - I’m customer-obsessed,” he said. “GTM structures should be built around customers’ desired outcomes rather than your own sales process. This is what makes a good partnership.”
It’s his thoughtful approach to customer-centric experiences that makes Thiago excited to accelerate the Conversation Intelligence space with Chorus. His philosophy aligns with our passion to ensure that we continue to deliver an awesome experience to our customers.
“When we speak about putting the ‘R’ back into CRM,” he added, “it starts with us creating strong relationships with our customers, and continuing to invest in them.”
We sat down with Thiago to hear more about his approach, his expertise, and his forecast for Conversation Intelligence’s role in sales.
Meet Thiago Sa Freire, CRO of Chorus #
Question: At Hudl, you were a Chorus customer and a member of our Customer Advisory Board. What was your experience with Chorus as a customer?
“Chorus delivered on the implementation, adoption, and the promised outcomes across our customer-facing teams and broader company. We were able to bring the customer voice to every decision we made. It was a way for our company to rally around the voice of the customer.
Well, once we were on board, it was hard to imagine ever working without it. It brought a level of objectivity to our team that was hard to have prior to Chorus.
Question: What excited you most about this opportunity with Chorus?
I had the opportunity to intimately meet the Chorus executive team by being a part of the Customer Advisory Board where I experienced first-hand the actions taken from our feedback. I was impressed by how responsive they were - how truly dedicated they were to making this product and this experience as positive and useful as possible.
The reaction from Jim and the broader company on being so thoughtful regarding Project Choir during the BLM movement was also key in my decision.
I am aligned with the company’s customer-centric approach. I am aligned with Jim on a people-first leadership style. And we are aligned on my guiding principle: Create a foundation that enables our people to be the best version of themselves.
Question: What can customers expect from your first 90 days?
I’m a week in and am already joining customer calls to learn more about their challenges and how we can help them achieve their desired business outcomes.
We are scaling and customers can expect us to do so with a focus on our customer-centric mindset along with significant investment on our customer success side.
I want to be a strategic partner to our customers in helping them achieve their outcomes.
Question: What excites you most about Chorus’ future and the role of Conversation Intelligence in sales?
Our relationship with customers and our ability to help them achieve their outcomes is the new currency for success. And Conversation Intelligence powered by Chorus is the way to get there.
Chorus achieves this by:
- Bringing the voice of the customer to every decision.
- Bringing our best to every interaction.
You can’t ask for a better, more essential quality for future growth of any revenue team.
Considering the increased focus on customer relationships, Conversation Intelligence will continue to become a more critical component of everyone’s tech stack.
This is the hottest space since CRM with adoption of over 1500 companies and $230M invested. What’s not to get excited about?
Question: Aside from your sales experience, what influences the way that you lead, sell, coach, and grow?
Aside from sales? My experience as a soccer player.
Soccer taught me many lessons in life: It taught me how to lose and fail, how to have healthy competition, and about servant leadership.
In college, I wasn’t the captain of the team because I was the best player, but rather because I had the ability to bring people together and help them be the best version of themselves.
This led to my guiding principle in business. Build a foundation for people to be the best version of themselves. That’s how you win.
Question: Any last thoughts about what customers, partners, and prospects can expect from us now that you’re on board?
Just this: We are coming off an exciting last 12 months and you can expect us to continue to invest in our overall customer experience.
We will continue to be the company that aligns success to customer outcomes and seeing that as the catalyst for growth.
