Built to Scale: Reflections After 30 Days

Originally published on LinkedIn on February 26, 2026.

Sustainable growth does not happen in bursts. It happens when momentum is engineered.

Over the past six years, Percepta expanded its global footprint, modernized core systems, deepened automotive capabilities, and delivered measurable gains in customer advocacy and revenue. In doing so, the team created a clear path to double the business, not through volume alone, but through operational discipline and cultural consistency.

Thirty days into serving as President, my focus has been understanding how that momentum was built and how we accelerate it responsibly.

I have spent time with teams in Allen Park, Melbourne, and Dunton to see how this organization operates at scale. What stands out is structural strength, the kind that allows growth without instability.

The depth of our automotive expertise is the first confirmation. Supporting more than 150 automotive programs across over 20 stages of the customer journey and nine channels is significant. But scale alone is not the differentiator. Deep industry know-how, executed with precision, is.

Our teams navigate EV onboarding, telematics, dealer ecosystems, warranty adjudication, and diagnostics with confidence and precision. In Europe alone, nearly 600 team members support 42 automotive programs across multiple markets and languages, with tenure well above industry norms. That experience creates stability for clients operating in an increasingly complex automotive landscape.

As the industry shifts toward electrification, connected services, and lifecycle engagement models, clients need partners who bring judgment and continuity, not just capacity. That capability runs deep here.

The second confirmation is the strength of the CX model itself. Sustained advocacy gains across mature and emerging global markets reflect disciplined governance and repeatable execution across 14 countries and 60 markets. When results hold across varied regulatory and cultural environments, it signals durability.

What makes that durability competitive is how insight is applied.

DAISY, our proprietary analytics engine, reviews 100% of customer interactions and translates those conversations into actionable insight. But technology alone does not create advantage. How you use it does. For example, our analytics and training teams partnered around an empathy-focused development program. DAISY was programmed to evaluate interactions against a rubric aligned to the training objectives, allowing the team to compare trained and untrained groups and isolate the program’s impact. The results were clear: a 9.3 point NPS improvement. But not among every agent. The strongest gains came from mid-performing agents, not from the highest performers who were already proficient or the lowest who required more foundational support.

Blanket solutions rarely work. Insight allows us to focus resources where they drive the greatest impact for customers and sustainable value for the business.

That discipline of applying insight with intention reflects something deeper about how Percepta operates.

The third confirmation from my first month has been the strength and maturity of Percepta’s culture. Over the past six years, under Karen Gurganious’ leadership, the organization expanded globally, launched new programs, modernized CRM and AI-enabled capabilities, and delivered measurable growth while elevating both customer advocacy and employee engagement. Those outcomes reflect more than operational progress. They reflect a culture that ties people, discipline, and performance together in a way that scales. During my first 30 days, Karen and I worked closely to ensure a thoughtful transfer of knowledge and continuity. The transition has been grounded in mutual respect and a shared understanding that growth is sustained when the culture behind it is strong.

Earlier this month in Melbourne, our leadership team aligned around what comes next. The discussion was not about reinvention. It was about acceleration. How do we continue expanding while preserving the rigor and cultural consistency that made this trajectory possible? Growth is a clear priority for 2026, but growth without durability creates volatility. What gives me confidence is that the systems, expertise, and leadership bench here are built to scale. The award-winning recognition the organization has received in recent years is not accidental. It is the result of consistent execution and leadership clarity.

After more than 20 years in global operations, I have seen what creates durable advantage. It is the combination of disciplined execution and embedded industry expertise. That combination defines Percepta today, and it is what will power the next phase of growth.