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Building trust with customers is really important, and I think that comes through clear communication, regular meetings and taking the time to understand the challenges they’re facing.
My name’s Paul Holmes, and I’m a Customer Relationship Partner at KaarbonTech.
I’ve spent more than twenty years in customer-facing roles, with the last fifteen years working across SaaS businesses ranging from start-ups to international organisations. Throughout that time I’ve worked across account management, customer support, operations and sales, and that experience has shown me that strong relationships are built on trust.
What attracted me to KaarbonTech was that it’s the clear leader in its field. I’ve worked in customer relationship roles throughout my career, so joining a business with such a strong reputation was a natural next step.
I like being a partner to customers rather than having a traditional customer-supplier relationship. By working together, understanding their priorities and communicating regularly, we can help customers achieve both their short-term objectives and their longer-term goals.
What excites me most about working with local authorities is seeing the benefits they achieve through using our systems. That isn’t just about financial savings — it’s also about the operational improvements that make day-to-day services more effective.
I’m particularly looking forward to learning more about flood risk and drainage, and understanding how interconnected those areas are. I don’t think many people realise just how important those connections are.
Outside of work, I live on the foothills of the South Pennines, so you’ll often find me out walking. I also enjoy cooking and I’m a long-time fan of classic computer games. If I hadn’t followed this career path, I’d probably have been doing something much more hands-on, perhaps as a mechanic, engineer or even a park ranger.
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Meet Paul – Customer Relationship Partner
Building long-term relationships sits at the heart of Paul’s approach to customer success. As Customer Relationship Partner at KaarbonTech, he works closely with local authorities to help them get the greatest possible value from their systems, ensuring the relationship continues long after implementation.
Built Around Customer Relationships
Paul has spent more than twenty years in customer-facing roles, with the last fifteen years working across SaaS businesses ranging from start-ups to large international organisations.
Throughout that time, he has worked across account management, customer support, operations and sales, giving him a broad understanding of what organisations need to build successful, long-term customer relationships. His philosophy is simple: trust, communication and partnership are the foundations of lasting success.
Partnership Over Supplier
Rather than seeing customers as clients to support from a distance, Paul believes in becoming a genuine partner to the organisations he works with.
Regular communication, understanding operational challenges and spending time with customers are all key to helping authorities achieve their goals. Whether those benefits are financial, operational or strategic, Paul believes the best outcomes come when both organisations work together towards shared objectives.
Supporting Better Outcomes
One of the aspects of the role Paul enjoys most is seeing customers realise tangible benefits from the work they do with KaarbonTech.
He is particularly interested in helping authorities achieve not only financial efficiencies but also the day-to-day operational improvements that allow services to become more resilient, effective and easier to manage.
As he develops in the role, Paul is especially looking forward to learning more about drainage, flood risk and the way these systems connect with the wider highway network. Understanding those relationships, and helping customers make better use of that knowledge, is something he sees as increasingly important for the future.
Outside of Work
Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time outdoors and regularly walks across the South Pennines, where he lives. He also enjoys cooking, particularly a good chicken and ginger curry or homemade fajitas, and is a long-time fan of classic computer games dating back to the ZX Spectrum era.
In Paul’s words:
“I like being a partner to a customer and not having that customer-supplier relationship. It’s about working together so we can both grow and develop.”