Manuel Harnisch

Roles available for:
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Fractional
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Consulting
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Contract
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Interim
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Page, Arizona, United States
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https://topserv.info
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Assets
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Country experience:
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United States of America
Northern America -
Germany
Western Europe
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Languages:
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English,
EnglishLevel: Native
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German
GermanLevel: Native
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English,
Achievements

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Expertise
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Services
CS org design and hiring. Retention and renewal operations. Churn forecasting and health scoring. Expansion revenue through CS. AI tooling to scale without adding headcount. Post-sales restructuring with clear P&L ownership. Coaching first-time CS leads.
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Employees overseen
32 employees
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Budget overseen
$ 5,000,000
Roles available for:
-
Fractional
-
Consulting
-
Contract
-
Interim
-
Page, Arizona, United States
-
https://topserv.info
-
Assets
-
Country experience:
-
United States of America
Northern America -
Germany
Western Europe
-
-
Languages:
-
English,
EnglishLevel: Native
-
German
GermanLevel: Native
-
English,
Achievements
Why hire me in a fractional role
Experience
Strengths in this role: I build Customer Success organizations at B2B SaaS companies from seed through Series C. Have done it four times: built the function, team, systems, and forecasting from scratch. Track record: 90%+ gross retention, $45M Series B supported, $600K OpEx cut via AI, zero voluntary attrition. Named Top 50 CS Influencer by Custify (2026). Native English and German with a technical foundation (former SE, employee #11). I don't bring a generic playbook. I build the one your company needs.
Industry Group: High Tech
Industry: Computer & Network Security
Years of experience: 18 years
Industry Group: High Tech
Industry: Computer Software
Years of experience: 18 years
Industry Group: High Tech
Industry: Computer Networking
Years of experience: 18 years
Industry Group: High Tech
Industry: Information Technology and Services
Years of experience: 18 years
Industry Group: High Tech
Industry: Internet
Years of experience: 18 years
Company name: FOSSA
Company size: 70 employees
Role in this company: • Turnaround: Rebuilt Customer Success from the ground up. Lifted gross retention from below 70% to the mid-80s, preserving approximately $1.2M in ARR through proactive account planning and restructured renewal processes • Expanded scope: Took on Support, Pre-Sales Engineering, and Technical Services after the company pivoted strategy and consolidated all technical field functions under one leader • AI-driven efficiency: Cut $600K in annual operating expenses by introducing AI-native platforms
Company name: People Data Labs
Company size: 50 employees
Role in this company: • Greenfield build: Scaled team from 3 to 14, adding CSMs, Customer Success Engineers, and a dedicated Solutions Engineering team to support complex data implementations. • Revenue impact: CS contributed approximately 33% of 2021 revenue. Supported 100% ARR growth. • Series B catalyst: Developed churn forecasting and ARR tracking in Salesforce that directly supported a $45M Series B raise at $330M valuation.
Company name: Kentik
Company size: 50 employees
Role in this company: • Built from zero: Designed the company's first CS organization. Implemented Salesforce Service Cloud and Guru for knowledge management. Built headcount model mapped to account tier and need, then hired and coached 10+ specialists for global coverage. • Growth engine: CS drove 20%+ of ARR growth via expansions and upsells, peaking at 50% in key quarters. • Retention: Maintained 90%+ gross retention with full P&L ownership. Achieved 0% voluntary attrition.
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Degrees & accreditations
B.S. Information Systems
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Success story
Joined a Series B SaaS company where gross retention had dropped below 70%. Rebuilt the CS function from scratch: restructured the team, implemented proactive account planning, and codified renewal processes. Within 18 months, GRR climbed to the mid-80s, preserving $1.2M in ARR. When the company later pivoted strategy, I expanded scope to lead all post-sales, cut $600K in annual OpEx through AI automation, and helped extend runway to profitability while growing ARR from $9M to $14M.