William Kennedy

Commercial & Partnerships Leader | Account Management, Customer Success & Strategic Growth | SaaS & Higher Education

London, England, United Kingdom

About

I’m a commercially focused, customer-ordinated leader with 10+ years’ experience across account management, customer success, sales, and strategic partnerships, primarily within SaaS and the education sector. I specialise in building long-term, high-value relationships that drive retention, revenue growth, and mutual value. My background spans hands-on account ownership through to leading UK & Ireland partnerships, working closely with senior stakeholders to align commercial goals with customer outcomes. Career highlights include: - Leading strategic university partnerships across the UK & Ireland - Driving account growth and improving conversion through process improvement and stakeholder alignment - Launching new products and regulatory initiatives into market I’m particularly interested in roles where I can combine relationship management, strategic thinking, and commercial execution including Account Manager, Customer Success Manager, Sales Manager, and Head of / Strategic Partnerships roles. I value collaboration, clear communication, and building trust. I’m always open to conversations about growth, partnerships, and new opportunities.

Experience

  • Self Employed at Various Companies
    Aug 2020 - Mar 2026 · 5 yrs 8 mos

  • Head of UK&I University Partnerships at The PIE
    Sep 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 4 mos

  • Blackbaud Europe (London, United Kingdom)
    • Account Manager
      Oct 2017 - Jun 2020 · 2 yrs 9 mos

      Taking a customer-centred approach to sales, I successfully built strong relationships, identified opportunities for business growth, and created customer-oriented solutions with a portfolio of SaaS offerings. Notable career highlights outside of my day-to-day activities include: - Owned the partner relationship, roll-out and launch of GDPR and Direct Debit functionality to the UK & I market. - Increased the conversion rate of marketing generated leads by over 10% through introducing new SLAs for Business Development Representatives. - Introduced and organised a quarterly ‘Executive Summit’ thought leadership & networking event which targeted key figures at enterprise accounts.

    • Product Marketer/Inbound Marketing Executive
      Aug 2016 - Sep 2017 · 1 yr 2 mos

    • Associate Account Executive
      Jun 2015 - Aug 2016 · 1 yr 3 mos

  • Market Researcher at PIL Membranes Ltd
    Jan 2015 - Apr 2015 · 4 mos

  • Pharmaceutical Cell Operative at Teva Pharmaceuticals
    Oct 2014 - Dec 2014 · 3 mos