Valentine Utoh
Saskatoon,SK
Summary
Accomplished governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) leader with a strong record of aligning corporate strategies with global regulatory frameworks and standards, including ISO 27001, GDPR, NIST, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2. Skilled in enterprise risk management, contract negotiations, and third-party governance to enhance compliance, operational efficiency, and organizational resilience. A results-driven enterprise partner with deep capabilities across customer success, revenue growth, and strategic stakeholder engagement. Known for streamlining processes, mitigating risk, and fostering trusted C-suite relationships that accelerate business transformation and long-term value. Empowering organizations to navigate complex regulatory landscapes, optimize performance and accelerate growth. Committed to self-development and promoting a collaborative team culture grounded in continuous learning. Passionate advocate for equity, inclusion, and diversity in the workplace.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Cybersecurity GRC Analyst
Expertedge Consulting Group
04.2024 - Current
- Steered compliance gap analyses and risk assessments for 4 clients, aligning practices with ISO 27001, NIST, SOC 2, and GDPR, and developed strategies that reduced non-compliance risks by 30%.
- Designed and implemented 25+ security policies and controls, and streamlined governance processes to address escalating risks for a growing SaaS firm, reducing security incidents by 40% and strengthening operational resilience while ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Coordinated internal audits and third-party risk assessments for a global enterprise with 20+ vendors, ensuring compliance with GDPR and PCI-DSS, thus improved vendor compliance by 35% and achieved an 85% first-pass audit success rate, reducing risks and disruptions.
- Partnered with CISOs and risk leaders of 3 Fortune 500 companies to integrate GRC strategies into their business operations and conduct security trainings, increasing best practice adoption by 50%.
Senior Customer Success Manager
Afrochaxnge
02.2023 - 03.2024
- Directed the end-to-end lifecycle of Afrochaxnge’s SaaS platforms (HRMS/RMS/LMS), aligning product deployment with strategic goals and accelerating customer success across SMB to enterprise clients, contributing to a 20% boost in overall adoption.
- Contributed $550K in quarterly revenue by delivering tailored product demos, leading value-based consultations, aligning solutions with enterprise client needs across enterprise, mid-market and SMB segments, while leveraging a structured lead qualification framework to shorten sales cycles by 20%.
- Spearheaded go-to-market strategy including new logo acquisition and expansion efforts, securing multi-year contracts, driving a 20% revenue increase and a 15% regional sales contribution by July 2023 through upsell and cross-sell strategies.
- Optimized CRM-driven pipeline management and data insights through HubSpot, enhancing forecasting, follow-up cadence, client engagement, retention, and expansion via proactive relationship management and data-informed decision-making, boosting revenue by 20% and increasing customer lifetime value.
Strategic Account Leader
ApplyBoard
11.2021 - 01.2023
- Spearheaded regional operations for a $5M business unit, driving a 15% profit margin increase through strategic partnerships, P&L management, and hiring, coaching and guiding 8 account managers on how best to effectively drive expansion and acquisition.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to adopt tailored strategic account plans to align clients’ business objectives with company solutions, identify upsell opportunities, and optimized contract terms and SLAs, resulting in a 35% growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) across 5 top-tier accounts.
- Enhanced sales performance and forecasting by leveraging Salesforce CRM to manage 300+ B2B/B2C accounts, resulting in a 25% increase in sales through improved pipeline visibility and reporting.
- Championed team development through personalized coaching, pipeline reviews, and skills training, while overseeing product demos and strategic customer engagements to drive SaaS EdTech adoption and enrollment growth.
Regional Customer Success & Account Lead
Orange Business
01.2016 - 10.2021
- Oversaw a $50M+ regional portfolio and expansion across Fortune 500 clients, driving 35% YoY revenue growth and 98% retention via data-driven customer success strategies, and proactive risk mitigation.
- Collaborated internally to align solutions with compliance requirements, driving advocacy programs and automation that boosted Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 30% and reduced escalations by 50%.
- Aligned adoption and renewal strategies with client compliance objectives for 5 multinational clients, optimized onboarding to reduce time-to-value by 40% and drove SLA adherence and contract fulfillment.
- Conducted Quarterly Business Review (QBRs) and success reviews with C-level executives for key clients, driving strategic initiatives that reduced churn by 20%, improved customer lifetime value (CLTV) by 30%, and upsell and cross-sell revenue by 25%.
Education
Master of Sustainability (MSc) - Energy Security
University of Saskatchewan
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
Bachelor of Engineering - Electrical Engineering
University of Nigeria
Skills
- Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC): ISO 27001, NIST, GDPR, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, CIS Controls, Regulatory Compliance, Policy Development, Internal Audit & Controls Assessment, Security Awareness & Training
- Risk & Vendor Management: Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM), Enterprise Risk Assessments, Incident Response (IR), Business Continuity (BCP), Disaster Recovery (DR), SLA & Contract Negotiation, Issues & Dispute Management, Incident Management (IM)
- Enterprise & Business Strategy: Customer Success Strategy, SaaS Operations, Renewals & Expansions, Stakeholder & Client Advisory, Enterprise Account Leadership, Strategic Sales & Revenue Growth, Process Optimization, Negotiation & Relationship Management
- Tools & Technologies: Salesforce, HubSpot, Gainsight, ServiceNow, Archer, SharePoint, Notion, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, DocuSign, Webex, Zoom, Teams, Loom, Jira
Certification
- Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) ISC2
- Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) Scrum.org
- Professional Scrum Master (PSM) Scrum.org
- Certified Customer Success Manager Level 1 Success Coaching
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Amazon Cloud Institute
- Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt PeopleCert
- Certified ITIL Professional, (ITIL) V3 Foundation Axelos Limited
References
Available upon request
Timeline
Cybersecurity GRC Analyst
Expertedge Consulting Group
04.2024 - Current
Senior Customer Success Manager
Afrochaxnge
02.2023 - 03.2024
Strategic Account Leader
ApplyBoard
11.2021 - 01.2023
Regional Customer Success & Account Lead
Orange Business
01.2016 - 10.2021
Master of Sustainability (MSc) - Energy Security
University of Saskatchewan
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
Bachelor of Engineering - Electrical Engineering
University of Nigeria
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