Precursive Perspective | For Professional Services

Ilene Landon, SVP of Customer Success at Vena, joins Jonathan Corrie to unpack one of the biggest challenges in SaaS: repositioning Professional Services from a cost centre to a growth engine.

Drawing on 20+ years leading global delivery organisations, Ilene explains why PS is often seen as slow, complex, and difficult to sell - and how that perception becomes a self-fulfilling cycle.

The conversation explores how to break that cycle by redefining the mission of services teams. Instead of focusing on utilisation or timelines, high-performing teams align around delivering measurable customer ROI - driving adoption, retention, and revenue growth.

Ilene also shares practical strategies for improving cross-functional alignment:

Structuring feedback loops between services and product to improve implementation and scalability

Enabling sales to confidently position services without slowing deals

Using productisation and fixed pricing to simplify selling and improve margins

Building trust internally through consistent delivery and clear communication

The episode also dives into services economics, highlighting why understanding margin, attach rates, and cost structure is critical - especially in today’s market.

For leaders scaling services organisations, this is a clear, practical playbook for driving impact across the business.

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AI is accelerating a structural shift in SaaS - from systems of record to systems of action. In this episode, Andy Cater - Director, AI Agents at Zendesk joins Jonathan Corrie to unpack what that means for Professional Services leaders.

As buyers demand measurable ROI within months, proof of concept is no longer enough. The new expectation? Proof of value in a live production environment. Andy explains how forward deployment helps de-risk enterprise decisions by delivering tangible outcomes early — not slideware, not promises.

Key themes include:

Why AI creates both optimism and skepticism in buying cycles

The rise of proof-of-value over proof-of-concept

Customer readiness: knowledge, process, and data as the three pillars of AI success

Why exec sponsorship and InfoSec alignment matter more than ever

Designing forward deployment to scale without creating long-term dependency

The conversation also challenges the romanticised view of forward deployed engineering. It’s not about throwing elite engineers into accounts. It’s about building trust, enabling adoption, and creating long-term partnerships.

For Professional Services leaders navigating AI, this episode provides a clear lens on where the market is heading — and how delivery models must evolve.

 

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Jeroen Bos, SVP Global Professional Services at Bizzdesign, brings deep experience leading transformation across complex, multi-product organizations. In this episode, host Jonathan Corrie explores how Jeroen and his team are evolving the role of services to be more strategic, commercial, and growth-focused.
Key discussion areas include:
The changing role of services in today’s market
How to shape service offerings and GTM around customer maturity
Practical steps to harmonise teams, methodologies, and culture across geographies
Lessons learned from multiple M&A integrations
Why progressive service orgs focus on packaging expertise, not hours
Jeroen shares how aligning PS with business strategy, and enabling sales to champion services, can unlock faster growth and deeper customer partnerships. Whether you’re scaling delivery, leading a transformation, or integrating teams, this episode is packed with practical insights from someone who’s done it at scale.
 
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In this episode, Jonathan Corrie speaks with Stephen Elrod, SVP Global Delivery & Professional Services at Degreed, about the intersection of AI, services-led growth, and transformation in Professional Services.
Stephen shares how Degreed has positioned services not as a reactive function but as a growth engine. By engaging services early in the sales cycle, his team helps shape deals, advise clients, and reinforce value across the customer journey. He highlights how a strong partnership between Professional Services and Sales ensures services are seen as revenue-generating, not just post-sale delivery.
A major theme is AI-powered services:
- How Degreed’s AI learning solutions are transforming customer outcomes
- Overcoming AI-literacy gaps among clients
- Leveraging AI internally to enhance team productivity and delivery quality
Stephen also reflects on Degreed’s services transformation - from cost center to profit contributor and what it takes to lead teams through change. Governance, process, and control matter, but success depends on how teams embrace transformation and align around value creation.
 
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In her role as Head of Professional Services at Gorgias, Onnela Pukk brings with her over 10 years of experience in Toronto's B2B SaaS tech industry, specializing in Customer Success and Professional Services. In this episode, host Jonathan Corrie, speaks to Onnela about the rise of services-led growth in today's modern GTM landscape.

Some key highlights in this episode include: 
From Post-Sale → Growth-Sale: PS as a revenue driver, not a cost center.
Outcome-Driven: 50% automation in 50 days — measurable, contractual value.
Focus Wins: Clear on what you don’t do + leverage partners for the rest.
Stories + Data: Proof points that build confidence across sales & product.
Culture of Sharing: A “spirit of generosity” to scale best practices fast.
 
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