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Jim Richmond is the Chief Customer Officer at Smartling, an AI-powered translation company doing AI "before it was cool" since 2009. Leading 50 professionals across support, services, and customer success, Jim shares his 2026 playbook: why GRR is his North Star, how he's building systems to scale 4x, and why role specialization beats generalization in the AI era.

Jim reveals how AI bots eliminated single-touch support tickets at Smartling, why he still carries his own book of business as a CCO, and his career advice for aspiring leaders to build the professional empathy that makes them an authentic partner.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

1:25 - Meet Jim Richmond

1:50 - Smartling Overview

4:33 - 2026 Priorities: GRR as the North Star metric

6:30 - Building a four-quarter forecast

9:40 - Building systems for 4x growth

12:24 - Forecasting to eliminate surprises

14:55 - Will AI make CSMs more generalized or specialized?

18:32 - How AI bots eliminated single-touch support tickets

21:42 - What it's like being a first-time Chief Customer Officer

23:38 - The rule of thirds: How a CCO allocates time

25:10 - Why this CCO still carries his own book of business

25:52 - Seek out a diversity of experiences

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What You’ll Learn

* How to build a four-quarter forecast that eliminates revenue surprises

* Why role specialization creates more operational leverage than generalization

* How AI bots eliminated single-touch support tickets at Smartling

* Why leading from the front means carrying your own book of business

* How to build professional empathy by seeking diverse experiences across sales, CS, and services

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Where to Find Jim Richmond

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimrichmondatl/

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Where to Find Josh:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/

Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

This CCO Won't Ask His Team What He Wouldn't Do Himself (And Why) ft. Jim Richmond (Smartling)