Otava promotes Cyndi Lyon to Chief Experience Officer
Otava has strengthened its commitment to its customer-centric approach with the promotion of Cyndi Lyon to Chief Experience Officer. In this newly created role, Lyon is focused on clients’ end-to-end journey with Otava.
She is a key contributor to the overall experience with an emphasis on continuous improvement to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction. To deliver exceptional client experiences, Lyon oversees the marketing and communications, product management, platform development, and customer success functions within the organization.
“Creating a seamless journey to the cloud for businesses today is both challenging and ever evolving. This is exactly why we tapped Cyndi for this critical new role. She has proven herself to be a great leader that is on a mission to create and deliver the best possible service to our growing customer base.” said Brad Cheedle, CEO of Otava. “She continues to be instrumental in developing highly efficient teams centered on the customer journey. Her passion for the customer experience is integral to our vision for the company and we are proud to have her leading this important charge.”
Otava is part of the growing movement among global organizations placing greater emphasis on user experience. According to Forrester Research in 2020, the number of Customer Experience executives were expected to increase by as much as 25% as companies world-wide began to realize the value of user experience. As Chief Experience Officer, Lyon joins the ranks of other like-minded organizations such as Amazon and Netflix that have experience executives building loyalty across its customers and employees.
“Otava’s differentiation is its focus on its people and customer-first approach,” said Lyon. “Many larger cloud technology providers don’t offer direct access to skilled technical support which can be challenging for growing businesses with legacy systems and limited resources. I am fortunate to be working with this outstanding organization that highly values the customer experience start to finish. We intend to set the standard for our customer’s cloud journey and build a true center for customer experience excellence.”
Prior to joining Otava, Lyon was the Director of Professional Services with Foresee where she set the onboarding strategy for customers and developed the professional services Architect’s Consultants team and product offerings. Earlier, she was a City Planning Director in Romulus Michigan, where she established the city’s first Planning Department and was integral in creating the Detroit Region Aerotropolis, a four-community, two-county public-private economic development consortium.
“Cyndi is a collaborative and strategic leader with proven experience growing and developing teams to scale,” said Todd Schurz, President and CEO of Schurz Communications. “Her practical skills combine with her creative energy to help make Otava an efficient and productive organization where customers always come first. Otava has recognized the significance of this new role and its impact on client retention and growth.”
Lyon has been certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds VMware and Veeam sales professional certifications. She is based in Otava’s Ann Arbor, Michigan, office and holds an honors Bachelor degree from Eastern Michigan University.