Gainsight's New CEO ft. Nick Mehta and Chuck Ganapathi | Ep. 144

[Un]Churned – The No. 1 Podcast for Customer Retention

Meet Chuck Ganapathi, the new CEO of Gainsight!

In this special episode of [Un]Churned, host Josh Schachter sits down with Gainsight’s outgoing CEO Nick Mehta and his successor, Chuck Ganapathi, to mark a pivotal leadership transition. Nick reflects on his 13-year journey building Gainsight into a category-defining company, the lessons he’s learned navigating growth, and why now is the right time to hand over the reins. Chuck shares his gratitude for the opportunity, the deep trust he and Nick have built over decades of connection, and his vision for the company’s next chapter—one shaped by AI, customer success innovation, and a human-first culture.

Timestamps

0:00 - Welcome & The Big Announcement

2:25 - Why Nick Is Stepping Down

3:54 - Lessons from Private Equity & Building a Lasting Company

6:23 - Chuck on becoming the NEW CEO

7:10 - How Nick & Chuck First Met (Stanford Days & Startup Stories)

16:25 - Why Chuck Was the Obvious Choice for CEO

21:12 - CEO Transitions as Turning Points

25:40 - Human-First Leadership & Gainsight’s Mission

28:20 - What’s Next for Customer Success in the Age of AI

34:12 - Will AI Replace CSMs? (Nick & Chuck’s Take)

36:42 - Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter of Gainsight

38:52 - Fun Facts About Chuck (Heartthrob, Tennis & Shopping!)

44:34 - Final Words: Legendary & Transformational Futures

👉 Explore more episodes, takeaways & transcripts: https://gainsight.com/unchurned

👉 Check out the bonus episode: https://gainsight.com/unlock

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👉 Follow the podcast

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Gainsight

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dfWXmD

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KD3Ehl

👉 Connect with the guests

Chuck Ganapathi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckganapathi

Nick Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmehta/

👉 Connect with host

Josh Schachter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/

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Keywords:

Gainsight, Customer Success, Nick Mehta, Chuck Ganapathi, CEO Transition, Customer Retention, SaaS Leadership, AI in Customer Success, AI Agents, Business Growth, Human-First Leadership, Churn Reduction, Scale Customer Success, SaaS Leadership Podcast, SaaS Growth Strategies

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[Un]Churned is presented by Gainsight

About Gainsight

Gainsight is the retention engine behind the world’s most customer-centric companies. The Gainsight CustomerOS platform orchestrates the customer journey from onboarding to outcomes. More than 2,000 companies trust Gainsight’s applications and AI agents to drive learning, adoption, community connection, and success for their customers. Learn more at www.gainsight.com.