Helping customers unlock the social advantage with Naqaash, value realization principal
After pivoting from a large consultancy to a startup, Naqaash Pirani swapped suits and blazers for plaid shirts and jeans — and built a global team that’s using data and analytics to help Hootsuite’s enterprise customers succeed with social.
Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been at Hootsuite for just over three years, and am currently in my fifth role in the company. I guess you could say I thrive in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment! Hootsuite has been a great place to grow my career and have a meaningful impact along the way.
As we have evolved into a more mature enterprise-focused organization, I’ve had the opportunity to help build and scale some of our key customer-facing programs, including our Customer Insights team and Value Realization service offering.
Outside of work, I enjoy staying active and partaking in Vancouver’s great culinary scene. My wife and I are regulars at Lagree West and Moksha Yoga, and try to get out on the seawall for a run at least once a week. We also are proud parents to an adorable English bulldog named Kingston who accompanies us on our many road trips in and around the province of BC.
Describe your role at Hootsuite.
The work I do as a Principal on our Value Realization team results in real business outcomes for our customers. I have the opportunity to work with some of our largest and most strategic customers worldwide. My role entails helping organizations build their vision and strategy to improve the customer experience, identify and measure KPIs to track success, and quantify the impact of their efforts on business outcomes.
As you can imagine, every week is different since I travel quite regularly to visit with clients for workshops and strategy meetings. This past year I’ve had the opportunity to meet with clients in New Orleans, Nashville, California, New York, Paris, and London. One of my favorite Hootsuite memories was being flown to a client meeting in a helicopter — it doesn’t get much better than that!
Why did you decide to join Hootsuite?
For me, the decision to join Hootsuite was an easy one. Having already worked in the public sector and at a Big Four consultancy, I was eager to experience a startup environment. Social media and digital strategy had been a focus of mine throughout my career, so this was a chance to bring that skill set to a company that provides the technology which empowers brands to execute their social media strategies at scale.
What was one of the adjustments for you joining Hootsuite?
One of the most notable adjustments was a welcome one for me — getting to ditch the suits and blazers and trade them in for jeans and plaid shirts (don’t worry, you don’t have to wear a plaid shirt to work at Hootsuite). I find I am much more creative and energetic when I’m comfortable in what I’m wearing. Hootsuite is an environment where you can feel fully comfortable bringing your whole self to work. Not having to shave every morning is also a nice bonus!
How do you know you’re making an impact at Hootsuite?
In my time at Hootsuite, I have seen many customers advance their overall social maturity and grow initiatives from pilots to large-scale deployments. Seeing customers be successful and achieve their goals is one of the best things about my job.
An example I have of this is our work with a top 20 US healthcare system. They were trying to find a way to drive patient acquisition, improve recruitment efforts, and foster greater engagement and communication with employees. After a three-month project with their leadership team, we came up with a plan to use employee advocacy (using Hootsuite Amplify) to meet their goals. This year they reached a huge milestone, deploying Amplify to over 40,000 employees across the US, making them our largest and most successful client to date.
What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?
My proudest moment at Hootsuite has been leading our Customer Insights team, who combine research with data and analytics to help our customers unlock the social advantage.
This was my first people leadership experience and it was even more challenging since I would be responsible for launching the customer insights program at the same time as I was onboarding the team. There were certainly some difficult moments and lessons learned along the way, but overall the program has been a real success. Over a one-year period, the team grew from nine people in Vancouver and Toronto to over 18 across the globe, and it’s a key part of our enterprise customer experience.
What advice would you give to people who are early in their careers or new to Hootsuite?
Never accept the status quo — always look for opportunities to introduce new ideas, contribute to innovative programs, or drive greater impact for our customers.
This has been a key factor in my career progression to date. Rather than waiting for opportunities to come to me, I’ve actively sought out new challenges and experiences. By taking on greater responsibility and demonstrating an ability to deliver results, I’ve been fortunate to move into increasingly challenging and rewarding roles within the business.
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