Victoria Shapira: "We know you are a good CSM when your client calls first"
Some career paths defy expectations—and that's precisely what makes them interesting. Victoria Shapira is a Customer Success Leader, coach, content creator, and one of the most followed voices on LinkedIn in the French-speaking and international CS ecosystem. Based in Israel, she juggles a demanding role as a CS Leader, a constantly expanding mentoring schedule, and a content presence built post by post, every week.
We sat down together to talk about what CS really means—not the theoretical version, the real deal. And what happens when AI enters the conversation.
From Law to Finance, from Strasbourg to Tel Aviv: A Detour to CS
How did you get into Customer Success?
Victoria smiles. "It definitely wasn't planned."
She started her law studies in France. Then, at 22, she moved to Israel, earned a Bachelor's degree in Finance, and gained her first experiences in startups—customer-oriented roles, but without an official title. "At the time, Customer Success didn't really exist as a function. The market created the need. Customers asked, and we adapted."
That's where her instinct was born: understanding what the customer wants before they even articulate it, building a relationship before discussing renewal. After a Master's degree in Marketing, she joined Checkmarx—a global leader in cybersecurity—and that's where she officially took on the title of CSM.
What followed was a career path that went far beyond the traditional CSM: leadership, customer enablement, professional services, strategic account management. She was involved in everything—the customer, the product, the sales. "I was lucky enough to see CSM from every angle. And that completely changes the way you think about customer relationships."
What 'Success' with a Client Really Means
How do you define a truly successful client relationship?
Without hesitation: "It's when the client calls you first."
Not just because they're renewing. Not because they're checking off the boxes on a well-prepared QBR. But because they have a problem, an idea, an opportunity—and their first instinct is to pick up the phone and call you.
"That's the real measure of engagement. When you become the trusted person, not just the point of contact."
To get there, Victoria emphasizes two pillars. First, the human element: creating a real relationship, not a service relationship. Being interested in the person, not just the account. Second, expertise: being an expert. Knowing the product inside and out. Having the answers. Or knowing how to find them quickly.
"A customer who tells you they can count on you—not just the product team or support—is a customer who stays. And who recommends."
AI in Customer Success: Real Boost or Background Noise?
Is artificial intelligence really changing your daily reality?
Victoria is direct: "Generally speaking, yes. It's a real boost. But we have to be honest about what AI does—and what it can't do."
What it can't do is build relationships. The human connection, the trust, the ability to read between the lines of a difficult call—that remains the domain of people. "AI won't replace the intuition of a good Customer Success Manager who tells you a customer is about to hang up before the numbers even show it."
What it does do, however, is free up time and capacity. "You can manage more customers without sacrificing quality. You can prioritize better." You get fewer alerts.
For her, AI is primarily integrated around data: CRM, dashboards, call transcripts via tools like Gong, sentiment analysis. "What really changes is the contextualization. Before a call, you arrive with all the context already prepared. During the call, a co-pilot can suggest points to discuss. Afterward, you have a structured resume."
The impact is most visible at the company level. A customer service team that effectively uses AI can manage a much larger portfolio, detect churn risks earlier, and build upsell arguments based on real data—not intuition.
"That's the real change: not replacing customer service representatives, but making them much more effective."
Coaching Careers, One Hour at a Time
What motivated you to get into coaching and mentoring?
"I had things to share. And the requests started coming in."
About a year ago, Victoria began coaching clients informally. Young people looking to enter the job market. People changing careers. Candidates struggling to land interviews despite having strong profiles.
She helps them structure their resumes, prepare for interviews, and activate their networks. Sometimes she even helps them work on their personal branding—because in a competitive job market, what you project is just as important as what you can do.
"What I find so moving about coaching is seeing someone break through a barrier. Sometimes it doesn't take much—a rewording, a different perspective—and it changes everything."
Demand quickly exceeded her expectations. Referrals are piling up. And coaching has become an integral part of her professional identity—not just a side gig.
Writing to Exist: LinkedIn as a Space for Reflection
Is your presence on LinkedIn an extension of your work—or something else?
"Both. It started as a space to organize my thoughts. And it became a way to contribute to the CS community."
Victoria posts with almost metronomic regularity. Mondays are dedicated to research: CS trends, studies, market signals. Wednesdays are more hands-on—practical advice for CSMs, frameworks, and feedback from experience.
The long-term goal? A newsletter. To go beyond the post format and build something more sustainable. "I want to create a real community. But that takes time—and time is the most precious resource."
Regarding AI in content creation, she's pragmatic. No dedicated personal assistant yet, no AI agent integrated into her workflow. But she uses AI to improve her drafts—refining wording, developing an idea, testing a hook. "I'm still the author. But AI helps me work faster and express exactly what I wanted to say."
The Takeaway
Victoria Shapira is the kind of person who defies easy categorization. She's a CSM, coach, writer, strategist—and she does it all with rare consistency: putting people first and using tools (including AI) to go further, not to replace what truly matters.
If she had to sum up her philosophy in one sentence? "A client who trusts you isn't looking for a tool. They're looking for a person."
Did you enjoy this interview? The Voices in Business series highlights professionals who are reinventing the way they work in the age of automation and AI. Each episode is an unfiltered conversation about real-world experiences.
Do you work in customer service, operations, or customer management and are looking to integrate AI into your processes without losing the human touch? Book a free call at operato-ai.com—let's talk.