Putting the Customer First

Before Reza Kumara began Northwestern's Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program, he launched a trucking marketplace and an investment research platform. He felt he had the technical skills to build a business, but lacked the knowledge to scale something he'd built.  

Last quarter, he got the chance to learn from someone who knows a thing or two about building businesses. 

Kumara (MEM '23) interviewed Christina Kosmowski, current CEO of LogicMonitor, at MEM's ninth-annual Industry Night. 

“Christina has a very polished background and experience scaling tech companies,” Kumara said. “I was looking forward to learning about her transition to leadership, the importance of customer success, growth drivers for LogicMonitor, and how to build great products.” 

Kosmowski, who graduated from Northwestern with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1998, did not disappoint.  

As CEO of LogicMonitor, which provides a cloud-based tool to help businesses keep track of the health of their computer systems and networks, Kosmowski leads a company that was recognized by the Financial Times as one of the fastest growing companies in the Americas in 2023. She's been with the company since 2021, when she joined as president.  

She's held her current role since January 2022. 

Kosmowski previously spent 15 years at Salesforce, advancing to the role of senior vice president for lifecycle management.  

In 2017, Kosmowski joined then-startup messaging app Slack, where she built and led the customer success team. While with Slack, she helped grow revenue from around $90 million to more than $1 billion. 

Salesforce wound up purchasing Slack for $27.7 billion in 2021. 

Kumara’s questions at Industry Night came in the style of a fireside chat and walked Kosmowski through her career path. He and his fellow attendees learned about the complexities of a large acquisition, developing brand identity, and how great product teams differentiate themselves.

Kumara's queries brought out important lessons Kosmowski has learned during her career as a business leader.  

“If there’s any phrase that Christina repeated a lot, it’s putting customers at the forefront of everything,” Kumara said. “I learned that the customer success role is an attractive career path due to your intimate interactions with customers from different industries. You get to see how your product solves – or doesn’t solve – your customers’ problems.” 

Succeeding in that type of role teaches empathy and top-notch communication skills, Kumara said – two traits that are hallmarks of successful leaders and ones he wants to lean on during and after MEM.  

Kosmowski also stressed that as students are looking for job opportunities, it helps to focus on the industry or company they are interested in, and not so much the specific role, because roles change and evolve. 

When looking for a new job, focus on the industry and the company and not so much the role as the role will change and evolve 

Being able to learn from innovative leaders like Kosmowski, who will speak at Northwestern Engineering's Undergraduate Convocation in June, is one of the reasons Kumara first applied to MEM. He was drawn to the network that exists within and around MEM, as well as the length of the program and its customizable curriculum.   

Thanks to his talk with Kosmowski, he's more motivated than ever to apply the lessons he's learning in MEM at a business or venture after graduation. 

"In addition to getting career tips, students got to learn about culture, mindset, and what it takes to build a successful product and company," he said. "I am now seeking to leverage my skills and experience in a role where I can help companies scale their products."