Mike Gutner
Chief People Officer & Advisor
Greater Boston
Validated traits
Artifacts
Toast, Inc. · VP Restaurant SuccessWhen I stepped into the Account Management function at Toast, I inherited a team of approximately 25 account managers struggling to support over 3,000 customers. The function was fundamentally broken: segmentation was virtually non-existent, many team members lacked either the technical aptitude or strategic account management skills needed for the role, and processes were entirely ad hoc. There was no performance management system, no competency framework, minimal enablement or training, and zero accountability. The team spent every day firefighting with no capacity for proactive customer work or revenue expansion opportunities. I prioritized ruthlessly, starting with the foundational building blocks in my first 90 days. I implemented performance management and competency frameworks to establish clarity around expectations and capabilities, then moved quickly to segmentation and territory redesign to ensure customers were matched with appropriately skilled account managers. This required some difficult decisions: we moved underperformers out who couldn't level up, and simultaneously recruited high-caliber talent to raise the bar. I also designed a new compensation model that rewarded high performance through bonuses and included an effective commission structure on upsells, creating clear incentives aligned with business outcomes. Territory design became sophisticated, taking into account account manager level, tenure, compensation, and the strategic importance of each customer. The transformation was dramatic. Upsells improved by double-digit percentages quarter-over-quarter throughout the first 12 months, while customer churn remained remarkably low despite the organizational upheaval. Beyond the revenue impact, we achieved a massive cultural overhaul—several of the rockstar hires I brought in have leveled up tremendously and moved into increasingly senior management roles across Toast. Perhaps most gratifying was that many of the people processes we incubated on my team—including competency maps, the performance management system, and upward manager surveys—were borrowed and scaled across the entire company, creating lasting organizational impact far beyond my immediate function.
Google · AdSense Manager, Australia & New Zealand · September 2005When I arrived in Australia and New Zealand, Google had AdSense publishers in the region but no localized support—growth was entirely organic, and the business lacked the infrastructure to unlock its true potential. I saw an opportunity to change that by building a dedicated local team and establishing a formal go-to-market motion tailored to the region's unique needs. I started by hiring four technical account managers who could serve as a hybrid of sales rep and account manager, giving us the flexibility to both acquire and nurture publisher relationships. Together, we built a publisher outreach program from scratch, created localized pitch decks that resonated with regional clients, and established weekly syncs with the California-based product team to surface and address regional product gaps. This wasn't just about scaling headcount—it was about creating a sustainable model for how Google could support publishers in satellite markets far from headquarters. The results were transformative. In the first year, we grew regional revenue by 150%. One of the most impactful breakthroughs came when a major retail client wanted to use AdSense on transactional eCommerce pages, but the product wasn't built for that use case. I partnered closely with the CA product team to customize ad units and bidding logic specifically for this client's needs. That solution worked so well it became a template that was rolled out globally, proving that insights from a regional team could drive product innovation at scale. This experience built my confidence in leading teams from the ground up, taught me what it truly means to operate as a global organization in a satellite office, and earned me credibility across the broader business for my ability to deliver results and build cross-functional relationships. It was a foundational chapter that shaped how I approached leadership in every role that followed.
Testimonials
Work history
Jan 2018 - Present · 8.8 years · Chief People Officer, SVP People & Organizational Success, VP People & Organizational Success, VP Restaurant Success
May 2014 - Jan 2018 · 3.8 years · Chief Operating Officer
Jul 2004 - Feb 2013 · 8.7 years · Head of Global Advertiser Platforms Solutions, Head of Advertiser Solutions, Americas, Head of Americas Publisher Solutions, Media & Platforms, Business Manager, Publisher Ad Serving Services, AdSense Manager, Audience Channels & Scalable Account Management, AdSense Manager, Australia & New Zealand, Strategic Account Manager, AdSense Online Sales & Operations
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