Mark Bernardin

Senior Enterprise Customer Success Manager, Cybersecurity SaaS

I turn at-risk enterprise accounts around before they reach escalation, and I keep healthy portfolios growing. Twelve years in cybersecurity SaaS, with Fortune 100, Big Four, and federal customers.

Portrait of Mark Bernardin
$8.5M ARREnterprise portfolio managed at Palo Alto Networks
115%+ NRRNet Revenue Retention on that portfolio
$4M+At-risk ARR recovered across three RED accounts
8 booksPublished on enterprise Customer Success practice

About

Known in the Customer Success community as "The At-Risk Whisperer," I specialize in moving accounts from RED to GREEN. At Palo Alto Networks I took on some of the most demanding customers in the portfolio, including Lowe's, The Home Depot, and Ernst & Young, and turned each relationship into a working partnership. A Lowe's executive told me I was the best CSM they had ever had.

My approach is simple: find the real root cause, rebuild trust with the people who make decisions, and run a recovery plan with milestones everyone can see. I formalized that approach as the Path to Green, a 30/60/90-day recovery framework, and published it so other practitioners can use it.

I also care about the team around me. I mentored seven CSMs during our manager's extended leave, built the Account Success Plan program at Palo Alto Networks from scratch and rolled it out across the team, and created a Customer Success training path my teammates used. I believe that if you put the customer first, collaboration, execution, and integrity follow.

Experience

2021 to present

Founder & Principal Customer Success Advisor

ClearPath CX
  • Advise enterprise CS leadership teams on stakeholder alignment, early churn signals, and repeatable operating models that protect Net Revenue Retention.
  • Authored eight books on enterprise CS practice, including the Path to Green at-risk recovery framework.
  • Produce the ClearPath Conversations podcast, built on the Path to Green and Executive Business Review frameworks.
Aug 2024 to Jan 2025

Senior Customer Success Manager

DTEX Systems
  • Audited the full enterprise Insider Risk portfolio within 30 days and documented the process gaps limiting onboarding scale and adoption tracking.
  • Built readiness playbooks with Sales and Product to close those gaps. The role was eliminated in a company-wide CS restructuring, unrelated to performance.
Jun 2022 to Aug 2024

Customer Success Manager, Cortex Platform

Palo Alto Networks
  • Recovered three RED-status Fortune 100 and Big Four accounts representing $4M+ in at-risk ARR through root-cause diagnosis, executive re-alignment, and structured recovery plans.
  • Moved Ernst & Young from RED to GREEN and opened an expansion into Focused Services.
  • Managed an $8.5M ARR portfolio to 115%+ NRR and generated $2M+ in expansion pipeline.
  • Created the Account Success Plan program from scratch and personally rolled it out across the Customer Success team, standardizing strategic execution.
  • Redesigned the Professional Services to Customer Success handoff, cutting time-to-value by 20% and raising CSAT from 7.1 to 8.8.
  • Mentored seven CSMs during our manager's extended leave with no escalations or attrition.
Oct 2021 to May 2022

Customer Success Manager

Deepwatch
  • Kept 100% logo retention across an enterprise MDR portfolio and reduced customer MTTD and MTTR by 15% through proactive health monitoring with Security Operations.
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.
  • Took an at-risk enterprise customer live in one month instead of three, secured the renewal, and turned the customer into a user group speaker.
Jan 2019 to Feb 2020

Managed Services Representative, Customer Success

Proofpoint
  • Managed 50+ enterprise accounts to 95%+ logo retention.
  • Reduced average phishing click rates by 40%, using the results to anchor renewals and influence $1M+ in expansion.
Aug 2014 to Nov 2018

Senior Information Security Program Manager / CSM

Cofense (formerly PhishMe)
  • Managed enterprise and federal portfolios including DHS, State, Transportation, and Education.
  • Built the organization's first onboarding and account management frameworks during a high-growth phase.

Selected books

  • The Path to GreenRescuing At Risk Accounts and Building Resilient Customer Relationships
  • The Executive Business Review PlaybookThe CSM’s Guide to Owning the Room
  • AI-Powered Customer SuccessThe Complete Implementation Guide
  • No Title RequiredOwning Outcomes Without Owning the Team
  • The CSM's Personal PlaybookA Tactical Guide to Managing Your Time, Accounts, and Career Growth

Certifications

  • CompTIA Security+Active through June 2029
  • Certified Customer Success Manager, Levels 1 and 2SuccessCOACHING
  • Certified SOAR AdministratorSwimlane
  • AI-Powered Customer Success & Journey Mapping with GenAI

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 Senior and Enterprise Customer Success 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