A Conversation with our New Chief Customer Officer Eric Schreiner
Our Chief Customer Officer Eric Schreiner has spent over two decades in the software world, leading global teams and helping some of the biggest names in SaaS figure out how to keep their customers happy.
We sat down with Eric to talk about his path to NETCONOMY, his “homecoming” to the SAP ecosystem, and why he thinks business needs a little more punk rock energy.
Eric, after leading global teams in some large enterprise and scale-up software environments, you chose NETCONOMY for your next chapter. What was the deciding factor?
Eric: It was foremost the culture and reputation. I know every company says they have a “great culture,” but it’s rare to find one built so deeply on mutual respect and teamwork.
I’ve always looked for three things: innovation, a reputation for doing high-quality work, and trusted long-term partnerships. NETCONOMY has all of those in addition to this “leading boutique” feel. We’re large enough to handle complex digital transformations for leading global brands, but we’re still a place where people genuinely care about each other’s success. That lack of ego in the leadership team was another big driver for my decision.
You often talk about “simplifying complexity.” How will your past experience help companies that are struggling with silos and tech debt?
Eric: Look, B2B technology can be messy. Between legacy systems, data silos, and the pressure to “do AI,” most leaders are overwhelmed or have to prioritize which challenges to address first. My ambition is to cut through all that noise and work with our customers to identify and focus on those areas that will bring them the most value in terms of clear, tangible, and measurable business outcomes.
I don’t think our job is to sell more features or technology stacks. It’s to help customers perform better than their peers. To understand the status quo or the baseline, and then to improve. Whether that’s by building a better revenue engine, cleaning up a digital core, or driving efficiencies and productivity up, it has to be about having a meaningful impact on their key business KPIs. If we can’t show how a solution makes a business more efficient or more profitable, we haven’t done our job. I like to peel back the layers until we find the core problem. Once you simplify the “why,” the “how” becomes much easier to manage.
You’ve mentioned that this move feels like a homecoming regarding the SAP ecosystem. How does it feel to be back in that world?
Eric: It feels great. I spent a big chunk of my career inside the SAP Customer Experience (CX) organization, so I have a deep respect for that community. Coming back as a partner gives me a different perspective.
We know SAP is the foundation for so many of our clients, and further incremental value comes from how we weave that together with Google Cloud, Azure, and other innovators. I’m really looking forward to catching up with old friends and showing them what we’re building here. It’s a very collaborative ecosystem, and I love that energy.
Everyone is talking about AI, but often in a very abstract way. How do you keep the conversation grounded for our clients?
Eric: By treating AI as a tangible opportunity, not a miracle. We don’t connect AI to a broken process and expect it to work.
Instead, we start with the foundation by ensuring the data layer is governed and clean. Once that’s done, then you can start using tools like Agentic AI to actually automate workflows and free people up to do more creative work. It’s about moving with purpose, not just being first at the finish line. And very important, it’s about thinking in outcomes and not existing processes.
We heard you’re a big punk rock fan. Does that influence how you lead a customer organization?
Eric: (Laughs) More than people realize! To me, punk rock was always about authenticity. It’s about challenging the status quo, and not being afraid to make some noise if things aren’t working.
At NETCONOMY, my role is to act as a filter for value. If a customer asks for a feature that I know is just “bloat,” the traditional corporate response might be to say, “Sure, we can invoice you for that.”
Our approach is different. We tell them: “That feature is bloat. It creates no value or even technical debt, and ultimately wastes your budget. We won’t build it because it compromises the integrity of the outcome you’re paying us for.” I’d rather lose a line item on an invoice than lose the customer’s long-term trust by delivering something that hurts their ROI.
What’s your first priority as you settle into the new role?
Eric: I want to meet as many of our customers, partners, and teams as possible and hear what we’re great at and where we can be even better. I’m here to help simplify some complexity, empower our people to do their best work, and ensure that every customer who partners with us feels like we are truly in their corner. And if I find a few people who want to talk about old records along the way, that’s a bonus.
Want to talk about digital strategy, SAP, or just share your favorite concert memories? Connect with Eric Schreiner on LinkedIn or reach out to us to see how we can help your business get ahead of the curve.
