Karen Lam, Director of Customer Support at Top Hat, outlines a context-driven leadership style grounded in storytelling. She traces her path from retail to EdTech, culminating in managing support and shaping customer dialogue at Top Hat.

“Every single company should have a Voice of the Customer program because it's the one way you're going to get a good pulse on not only your customers and your product, but also the pulse of the people who are behind the scenes and working for you and bringing that brand message and reputation forward.” – Karen Lam

Karen highlights the power of a disciplined Voice of the Customer program to move support from cost containment to growth. She identifies career progression and underused customer insight as core blockers, then shows how AI synthesizes surveys, reviews, and public chatter into clear narratives executives can act on. Karen recommends cross-functional cadence, measurable feedback loops, and storytelling that ties to revenue.