Why Coursedog's New CCO Hire Redefines Customer Success Leadership
Coursedog just made a strategic power move in the customer success space—and it’s one every CS leader should note.
The academic operations platform (used by 300+ colleges to streamline course scheduling and degree pathways) has appointed Ben Gardner, a 25-year EdTech veteran, as their new Chief Customer Officer.
Here’s why this leadership shift matters beyond higher education circles.
Explore other recent CCO appointments and their impact on customer success.
The Appointment Breakdown
Ben Gardner brings deep expertise from his time as Ellucian’s SVP of Global Customer Success, where he oversaw systems supporting 4,500+ institutions.
At Coursedog, he’ll focus on:
Scaling customer success operations for international expansion
Developing new onboarding frameworks for complex academic systems
Bridging the gap between legacy university processes and modern SaaS solutions
His public comments highlight a key insight:
“Student Information Systems weren’t built for today’s student success metrics.”
This aligns with Coursedog’s mission to help institutions turn historical data into actionable retention strategies.
Learn how to align customer success with end-user outcomes in our guide.
Why Customer Success Pros Should Care
1. Leadership signaling
When SaaS companies prioritize CCO hires from operational backgrounds (vs sales-oriented leaders), it indicates a maturity shift toward outcome-based customer partnerships.
Gardner’s background in change management suggests Coursedog will double down on:
Success planning tied to specific institutional KPIs
Customized adoption metrics for different user personas
ROI tracking beyond basic platform usage stats
Discover how to measure ROI effectively in customer success.
2. The integration imperative
Coursedog connects with 15+ student information systems—a technical feat with CS implications.
Gardner’s experience suggests we’ll see:
New co-developed implementation playbooks with IT teams
Proactive monitoring of integration health scores
CSM training on academic data governance
Check out my guide on AI-driven customer success transformations.
3. Student impact = customer impact
Coursedog’s internal data shows 68% of course access issues trace back to manual scheduling errors—a pain point their platform directly addresses.
The company helps registrars prevent these errors. And so Coursedog’s CS team directly impacts:
First-year retention rates (critical for university budgets)
Time-to-degree metrics (key for federal funding)
Staff capacity redirection (30+ hours saved weekly per admin)
Read about strategies to reduce churn and improve retention.
The Big Picture
This hire isn’t just about Coursedog—it’s a case study in vertical SaaS leadership.
Gardner’s move underscores three truths for CS leaders:
Domain expertise matters more than generic playbooks in complex industries
Customer success must own data integration strategies, not just adoption
Aligning to your customer’s customer outcomes (student success here) creates unbreakable partnerships
For CS teams in any sector:
Where could a strategic hire or internal pivot help you better connect your metrics to your clients’ end-user outcomes?
Explore my framework for proactive customer success operations.
Ready to Turn Industry Moves Into CS Strategy Gold?
This analysis took 3 mins to read - but weeks of CS trend-watching to craft.
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