Head of Customer Success - APAC

ABOUT US

Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language.

Learning a language can change a life by opening doors to new cultures, careers, and communities. Two billion people around the world are actively trying to learn a language, but the best way to learn (one-on-one tutoring) is hard to access at scale and hasn’t been meaningfully improved in decades. Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered tutor in your pocket: a conversation-first experience that lets learners actually speak, get instant feedback, and progress through carefully designed lessons. The result is a complete path from beginner to confident speaker across multiple languages.

Speak first launched in South Korea in 2019, where Speak has now become the number one language learning app, and we now serve learners across many markets and 15+ languages. Speak is one of the world’s leading AI companies, with over $150m raised in venture investment from OpenAI, Accel, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and more, with a distributed team across San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Speak for Business (S4B) is scaling rapidly, and Customer Success team is the engine that turns new customers into long-term partners. As our first Head of Customer Success in the APAC region, you'll build and lead a world-class CS organization across Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and future markets—owning post-sales revenue outcomes, establishing operational excellence, and creating playbooks that define how we scale globally.

This is a builder role. You'll manage CSMs across multiple markets, drive market-leading Net Revenue Retention (130%+), and architect the processes that enable our team to operate at scale. Your team will be responsible for the full post-sales journey—from onboarding and activation to expansion and renewal—ensuring every B2B customer maximizes value from Speak and every learner achieves their goals.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

• Build and lead the APAC Customer Success organization across Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and future markets, directly managing CSMs in each region

• Own post-sales revenue outcomes, including a target of 130%+ Net Revenue Retention across the APAC book of business (direct and partner accounts)

• Drive expansion revenue by coaching your team to identify and close upsell/cross-sell opportunities, often in close partnership with Sales

• Establish operational excellence by designing and implementing scalable processes for onboarding, health scoring, renewals, QBRs, and customer engagement programs

• Manage strategic partnerships at the regional level, ensuring Partner Operations Managers are equipped to drive growth through key channel partners

• Develop your team through clear performance metrics, regular coaching, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement

• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Engineering to surface customer insights, drive product adoption, and improve the customer experience

• Launch programmatic engagement campaigns in partnership with Marketing to drive activation rates and weekly active use across all customer segments

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 8+ years of Customer Success experience in B2B SaaS, with at least 3+ years in a leadership role directly managing a team of CSMs or Account Managers

• Proven track record of owning revenue metrics, including NRR, Gross Retention, and expansion revenue targets

• Deep understanding of APAC business culture, particularly in Korea, Japan, and/or Taiwan, with the ability to navigate cultural nuances and build strong relationships

• Bilingual communication skills with exceptional written and verbal communication in English

• Operational mindset with a demonstrated history of building and scaling CS processes (onboarding, health scoring, renewals) that improve efficiency and drive better outcomes

• Cross-functional leadership with experience partnering closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Engineering teams to drive customer outcomes

• Working knowledge of CRM systems (e.g. HubSpot), customer success platforms, and data visualization tools; SQL understanding is a plus

• Experience in fast-growth environments, ideally at companies scaling rapidly in APAC markets

NICE TO HAVE

• EdTech or education industry experience, especially in APAC markets

• Experience managing distributed teams across multiple countries and time zones

• Background in partner/channel management or experience overseeing Partner Operations teams

• Change management skills and experience driving organizational transformation

WHY WORK AT SPEAK

Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.