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
Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company.
Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply.
Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.
Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.
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.