Mark Bernardin

Customer Success Manager, Cybersecurity SaaS, Social Engineering & Phishing Defense

I help mid-enterprise and enterprise security customers get from onboarding to real adoption, renewal, and expansion. My particular strength is spotting risk early and turning accounts around before they become escalations.

Portrait of Mark Bernardin
12 yearsIn cybersecurity SaaS Customer Success
$8.5M ARRPortfolio managed to 115%+ Net Revenue Retention
$4M+At-risk ARR recovered across three RED accounts
40%Reduction in average phishing click rates at Proofpoint

About

I have spent 12 years in cybersecurity SaaS Customer Success across phishing defense, security awareness, social engineering, SOAR, XDR, MDR, and insider risk. I have managed mid-enterprise and enterprise customers, from U.S. Federal agencies to Fortune 100 retailers and the Big Four, through onboarding, adoption, renewal, and expansion.

Much of my work has focused on accounts in trouble. I recovered three RED-status accounts representing more than $4M in at-risk ARR, and I formalized that approach as the Path to Green, a 30/60/90-day recovery framework built on root-cause diagnosis, stakeholder alignment, and a recovery plan with visible milestones.

I also build the systems that keep accounts healthy: customer programs, health-monitoring models, account-planning frameworks, and scalable CS processes, in both high-growth startups and large cybersecurity organizations. At Palo Alto Networks I created the Account Success Plan program and rolled it out company-wide.

Expertise

Customer Success

Portfolio management, onboarding and adoption, value realization, renewals, expansion, customer enablement, business reviews

Account Health & Retention

Health monitoring, early risk identification, at-risk recovery, root-cause analysis, executive alignment, recovery planning

Stakeholder Management

Technical and executive stakeholders, C-suite communication, cross-functional collaboration, customer advocacy

Revenue & Growth

115%+ NRR, $8.5M+ ARR portfolio, $2M+ expansion pipeline, outcome-based account planning, upsell identification

Cybersecurity

Phishing defense, social engineering, security awareness, security behavior change, SOAR, XDR, MDR, SIEM, insider risk

CS Operations

Account health modeling, adoption tracking, playbooks, Account Success Plans, Gainsight, Salesforce, Planhat, process design

Experience

2021 to present

Founder & Principal Customer Success Advisor

ClearPath CX
  • Advise Customer Success leaders on account health, stakeholder alignment, early churn signals, at-risk recovery, and repeatable operating practices across B2B cybersecurity SaaS.
  • Developed the Path to Green at-risk recovery framework and authored eight published Customer Success books covering at-risk recovery, executive business reviews, AI-powered CS, and CSM practice.
  • Produce ClearPath Conversations, a podcast focused on practical Customer Success execution and account management.
Aug 2024 to Jan 2025

Customer Success Manager

DTEX Systems
  • Audited the enterprise Insider Risk customer portfolio within the first 30 days, identifying process gaps affecting onboarding scalability, adoption tracking, and customer readiness.
  • Partnered with Sales and Product to develop readiness playbooks and recommendations designed to improve onboarding consistency and customer adoption.
  • The position was eliminated after five months as part of a company-wide Customer Success restructuring.
Jun 2022 to Aug 2024

Customer Success Manager, Cortex Cybersecurity Platform

Palo Alto Networks
  • Managed an $8.5M ARR portfolio across 25+ enterprise customers to 115%+ NRR, balancing adoption, retention, executive engagement, and expansion.
  • Recovered three RED-status Fortune 100 and Big Four accounts representing $4M+ in at-risk ARR through root-cause diagnosis, stakeholder alignment, and structured recovery plans.
  • Earned recognition from a Lowe's executive as "the greatest CSM we've ever had" following a multimillion-dollar account turnaround.
  • Generated $2M+ in expansion pipeline by connecting Cortex capabilities to customer priorities and identifying broader adoption opportunities.
  • Created the company-wide Account Success Plan program from scratch and personally rolled it out, standardizing strategic account planning across Customer Success.
  • Initiated and co-created the Professional Services to Customer Success handoff with a PS Product Manager, reducing time-to-value by 20% and improving CSAT from 7.1 to 8.8.
  • Built account health models and adoption dashboards in Gainsight and Salesforce to identify risk and prioritize engagement.
  • Mentored seven CSMs during our manager's three-month extended leave, maintaining account continuity with no escalations or attrition.
Oct 2021 to May 2022

Customer Success Manager

Deepwatch
  • Managed an enterprise MDR portfolio to 100% logo retention through proactive health and engagement cadences with Security Operations and executive stakeholders.
  • Helped reduce customer MTTD and MTTR by 15% by connecting MDR performance to measurable security outcomes.
Mar 2020 to Jun 2021

Customer Success Manager

Swimlane
  • Drove 120% NRR and $1.5M+ in expansion revenue by mapping SOAR workflows to customer security priorities and identifying broader adoption opportunities.
  • Took an at-risk enterprise customer live in one month instead of three, secured the renewal, and helped turn the customer into a user group speaker.
Jan 2019 to Feb 2020

Managed Services Representative, Customer Success

Proofpoint
  • Managed 50+ enterprise customers through security awareness and phishing defense programs, achieving 95%+ logo retention.
  • Reduced average phishing click rates by 40% across managed programs, using measurable outcomes to drive customer enablement, renewals, and $1M+ in expansion influence.
Aug 2014 to Nov 2018

Senior Information Security Program Manager / CSM

Cofense (formerly PhishMe)
  • Managed enterprise and public-sector portfolios, including U.S. Federal agencies across DHS, State, Transportation, and Education.
  • Built the organization's first onboarding and account management frameworks during a high-growth period, establishing repeatable processes for customer engagement and program execution.
  • Developed phishing simulation, security awareness, and threat-informed behavioral-change programs for technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Publications & thought leadership

  • Author of eight published Customer Success booksIncluding The Path to Green, The Executive Business Review Playbook, AI-Powered Customer Success, and No Title Required
  • Featured Expert Interview, CX CurrentUsing stakeholder density to predict account risk before it shows up on a dashboard
  • Featured Expert Interview, The Revenue WireReplacing reactive fire drills with structured at-risk recovery frameworks
  • ClearPath ConversationsPodcast on practical Customer Success execution and account management

Certifications

  • CompTIA Security+Active through June 2029
  • Certified Customer Success Manager, Levels 1 and 2SuccessCOACHING
  • Certified SOAR AdministratorSwimlane

What people say

"Customer Success is ultimately about trust, and that is something that comes naturally to him. He knows how to listen, understand what a customer actually needs, build strong relationships at every level, and translate those relationships into meaningful business outcomes."

Melanie Johnson, Senior People Operations Manager, worked with Mark at Deepwatch

"Whether supporting a customer, helping work through a difficult situation, or stepping in for the team, Mark was dependable, knowledgeable, and focused on getting to the right outcome."

Clinton Kosh, Founder, Clintware, worked with Mark at PhishMe/Cofense

"You are the best CSM I've had since I started my career."

Information Security Engineer, SHAZAM

"You get it. You understand the customers."

Systems Engineer, Palo Alto Networks

Let's talk

I am open to Customer Success Manager roles in cybersecurity SaaS. The best way to reach me is by email or phone.

Emailmark.bernardin@gmail.com
Phone(614) 499-5044
LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/markbernardin
LocationLewis Center (Columbus), Ohio