262: Moving Up the Career Ladder – Navigating the Transition from Technical Employee to Managerial Role

laurent pierre jr
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As the Vice President of Customer Service Excellence (SVE) for the Tax & Accounting North America division at Wolters Kluwer, Laurent leads system, process and talent optimization strategy through multi-disciplinary teams that accelerate business performance, customer experience and financial results. He also drives customer experience and software support strategy for technology, knowledge management and technical support delivery for SVE TAA North American business units.a

More Laurent Pierre Jr. 

As the Vice President of Customer Service Excellence (SVE) for the Tax & Accounting North America division at Wolters Kluwer, Laurent leads system, process, and talent optimization strategy through multidisciplinary teams that accelerate business performance, customer experience, and financial results. He also drives customer experience and software support strategy for technology, knowledge management, and technical support delivery for SVE TAA North American business units.

Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Laurent was the Partner General Manager for Microsoft Azure supporting US Government agencies and partners.  Laurent also enjoyed a fourteen-year career at IBM leading various teams whose focus was on delivering world-class support to Fortune Global 500 customers, while driving customer experience initiatives using Salesforce, Medallia and IBM Watson AI.  He also led a global team of Client Experience Managers who optimized user and customer experiences and successfully protected $2.4B in software account revenue.

Laurent holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University and dual MBA’s in Financial Management/Management from Southeastern University.  He is married and has five children.  

You can find Laurent on LinkedIn here or on Twitter here.

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Through candid conversations with executives, frontline leaders, coaches, and everyday heroes, Heather uncovers the real stories behind growth, compassion, setbacks, and transformation.

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I've been through every type of
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
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Layoffs, reorgs, mergers, acquisitions and major technology shifts. More than 20 years leading teams through high-stakes situations where results mattered, people depended on me, and decisions couldn't wait.

Those years taught me how to lead. But they also showed me the hidden cost of always being the one who holds it all together.

During our second reorg in less than a year, I walked out of a meeting with no say in what was happening, just marching orders. When my team asked how the meeting went, I should have said, “Give me 15 minutes to process this.” But I didn't. Instead, I let them absorb every ounce of my frustration.

Then I saw their faces.

The people who looked to me for stability had just watched me unravel. What was that teaching them about their ability to handle the pressure?

That moment changed how I saw my role as a leader. Leading teams isn't only about grit or resilience. It's about how your presence builds the trust your team needs to function when things get hard.

Today, I help organizations build unshakable leaders, teams, and cultures. Because when leaders become the calm teams can count on, organizations don't just survive change, they come out strong enough to handle what’s next.

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The Cycle of Active Listening

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Through this guide, uncover how to ensure those in your care at work feel heard and valued, resulting in increased loyalty and satisfaction.

  • Understand why listening is the key to improved engagement
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  • Get a practical framework for creating a listening culture that is bidirectional, responsive, and supportive

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Contact Heather Today!
+1 403-398-8488

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I'm really interested in...

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Additional Comments