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She's So Suite: The Veterinarian turned CCO at SAI360 ft. Paula Sobb
- Kristi Faltorusso
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
LISTEN TO THE LATEST SHE'S SO SUITE PODCAST
IN THIS EPISODE KRISTI AND PAULA DISCUSS:
Career Journeys are Not Linear
Both Kristi and Paula highlight that there’s no straight path to success. Careers are full of twists, turns, and pivotal moments that ultimately contribute to growth.
You Can Have It All—but Not All at Once
Paula underscores that while it’s possible to have a thriving career and family, it’s rarely feasible to do everything simultaneously. There are seasons where you might have to prioritize one over the other, and that’s okay.
Stepping Back Doesn’t Mean Stepping Down Forever
Taking time away from a high-powered job for family or personal reasons doesn’t mean you can’t return to a successful career. Paula’s story shows you can come back even stronger.
The Value of Female Leadership and Representation
Both hosts discuss the critical importance of seeing women in leadership roles, having female mentors, and creating supportive spaces for women in male-dominated industries.
Empowered Women Empower Women
Paula emphasizes the importance of lifting up other women, mentoring, and being a visible example so others can see what’s possible.
Self-Care and Boundaries are Essential
Burnout is real, especially for women trying to “do it all.” Prioritizing well-being is key to sustaining both personal and professional success.
Skills Are Transferable and Evolution is Possible
Paula’s transition from sales, to entrepreneurship, to customer success, and back to corporate leadership demonstrates that skills acquired along the way are valuable and can be applied in new ways.
It Takes a Village
Having a support system is crucial, especially for working parents. Building a network of friends, family, and colleagues helps manage the demands of work and home.
Define Success on Your Own Terms
Success looks different for everyone. The best outcomes happen when you’re clear about what matters to you and pursue your own definition rather than someone else’s.
Vulnerability Inspires Others
By sharing real, sometimes difficult experiences—like burnout, single motherhood, or career pivots—leaders make it easier for others to be authentic, seek help, and realize they’re not alone.
Sponsored by: ClientSuccess and WednesdayWomen
Produced by: Manali Bhat
Listen to the She's So Suite Podcast:
Podcast Episode Overview:
In this episode of the She’s So Suite podcast, host Kristi Faltorusso sits down for an inspiring conversation with Paula Sobb, most recently Chief Customer Officer at LifeLoop. The discussion centers around Paula’s non-linear career journey, her transition from sales to customer success, her bold move into entrepreneurship running a successful etiquette business, and her eventual return to corporate leadership—all while navigating significant personal challenges, including single motherhood and a cancer diagnosis.
Paula shares candidly about the difficult choices she faced balancing career ambitions and family life. She reflects on how taking a step back from her career to focus on raising her children, although challenging, ultimately enriched her personal growth and professional perspective. Upon returning to the workforce, she leveraged her skills and experience to rapidly progress through the ranks of customer success leadership.
The episode dives into the realities of being one of the only women leaders in male-dominated environments, the importance of female mentorship, and the need for women to intentionally support and empower each other. Kristi and Paula discuss how the landscape for women in leadership—especially in tech and customer success—has evolved, emphasizing the importance of representation, vulnerability, and self-definition of success.
Listeners are encouraged to find mentors, support other women, embrace career pivots, and define success on their own terms. The conversation wraps with Paula sharing heartfelt lessons about resilience, showing up authentically, and the power of empowering the next generation of women leaders—for the sake of their daughters and for future trailblazers.
About Paula Sobb
Paula Sobb is an accomplished executive with a proven track record in scaling and leading high-performance customer success organizations, primarily within SaaS and technology-driven environments. With deep expertise in building customer-centric strategies, improving operational efficiency, and driving net retention, she is passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences that fuel both growth and loyalty.
Known for a human-first approach to leadership, she is committed to talent development and cultivating inclusive, high-performing teams. She is also a strategic advocate for the voice of the customer, using data-driven insights and customer feedback to drive continuous improvement across all facets of the customer experience.
With a passion for operational excellence and customer-centricity, she continues to lead transformative efforts that align company culture with customer success, driving sustainable growth and exceptional outcomes for both the business and its clients.
Most recently, as Chief Customer Officer at LifeLoop, a SaaS platform, Paula leads a post-sales team, including Customer Success, Renewal Management, Onboarding, Professional Services, Education & Enablement, and Technical Support. Under her leadership, LifeLoop restructured their CX strategy and launched several impactful initiatives, such as AI-driven technology improvements, retention and renewals function, and data-driven analytics, resulting in significant enhancements in customer engagement, NPS, and customer led-growth.
Paula truly loves what she does and being a CX practitioner. Her passion for the profession is displayed in her pursuit of continuous growth and learning in the CS community and by her 2024 election to the Top 100 Customer Success Strategists.
Timestamps
00:00 Midwest to Atlanta Journey
05:12 "Career Journey Highlights"
09:15 Balancing Work, Motherhood, and Burnout
12:38 Corporate Etiquette Training Launch
15:04 "Christy's Corporate Comeback Journey"
18:09 COVID's Work-Life Balance Shift
20:13 Balancing Career and Family Choices
23:56 "Customer Success: Boost for Women in Tech"
28:44 Female Leadership Challenges and Progress
31:57 Self-Care Enhances Performance
34:06 Career Growth and Pivotal Moments
39:39 Mentoring Young Women Initiative
43:00 Embrace Career Flexibility
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