Customer experience (CX) has become one of the most crucial factors in any company’s success. In turn, businesses are placing more time and investment into it. For some leading technology brands like Cisco, that means investing in new C-suite executives. During April 2018, Cisco welcomed Maria Martinez to their executive suite for the position of Chief Customer Experience Officer. Maria also acts on the Board of Directors for not just the Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), but also the McKesson company too. At Cisco, Maria plays a crucial role in ensuring that customers can transform their businesses with Cisco technology.
A Legend in CX Leadership
Martinez brings more than 35 years of leadership experience to her role at Cisco. Previously, she served as the President of the Global Customer Success Cloud at Salesforce. As well as this, Maria was also Salesforce's General Manager for Latin America. During eight years with the world’s leading CRM company, Martinez was responsible for keeping more than 100,000 Salesforce customers happy. Maria helped with everything from onboarding to customer support, training, and professional services. This period in her career gave Maria an excellent insight into the techniques required to build long-term relationships between brands and their clients. Before Salesforce, Martinez also held a role with Microsoft’s global service business. At the company, Maria assisted with leading Microsoft to outperform numerous revenue targets. In particular, Maria helped the company significantly increase its satisfaction rating. Over the years, Martinez also held positions with companies like AT&T and Motorola and served as CEO of Embrace Networks too.
Leading a New Age of Customer Experience
Since earning her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Puerto Rico University, and a master’s degree in computer science from Ohio State University, Maria has come a long way. Her background in both the technology and customer experience environments makes her a uniquely effective leader. Martinez has achieved commendation for her leadership too. Maria is ranked at number 2 on the Association of Latino Professionals for America, or the ALPFA list, for the 50 most influential Latinas in the industry.
