--- title: "Team Spotlight: Ray Wakiyama, Head of Customer Success at Balloon" description: Meet Ray Wakiyama, Balloon's Head of Customer Success. image: https://blog.getballoon.com/hubfs/ray%202.jpeg --- [Balloon\_Logo\_Dark](https://getballoon.com/) - [Product](https://getballoon.com/product) - [Templates](https://getballoon.com/templates) - Resources - [The Insight Blog](https://blog.getballoon.com) - [Customer Stories](https://blog.getballoon.com//tag/case-studies) - [Pricing](https://getballoon.com/pricing) - Log In - [Log In](https://balloon.app/login) - [Book A Demo](https://meetings.hubspot.com/balloon/demo) - [Product](https://getballoon.com/product) - [Templates](https://getballoon.com/templates) - Resources - [The Insight Blog](https://blog.getballoon.com) - [Customer Stories](https://blog.getballoon.com//tag/case-studies) - [Pricing](https://getballoon.com/pricing) - Log In ![](https://blog.getballoon.com/hubfs/ray%202.jpeg) # Balloon Team Spotlight: Ray Wakiyama, Head of Customer Success Written by [The Balloon Team](https://blog.getballoon.com/author/the-balloon-team) December 07, 2019 ###### **What is your role at Balloon?** I'm the Head of Customer Success, so my work mostly revolves around Balloon's growth. I work closely with our customers and partners to establish an idea meritocracy with some of the world’s most amazing organizations. ###### What's your background? I’ve always enjoyed the opportunities and the potential impact I could make at startups, which naturally led me to be a part of amazing teams at ElasticBox, Sprig, and now Balloon! ###### What made you want to join Balloon? Smart co-founders and smart product! There’s also something deeply alluring about breaking down walls within some of the most progressive companies and organizations in the world. ###### Why is Balloon's mission important to you? I’ve been in situations where biases like groupthink led to bad decisions. Bad decisions are never fun, and nothing feels more like a waste of time than being limited by an unnecessary restriction — I think if we can mitigate it, we should! ![ray 1](https://blog.getballoon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ray%201.jpeg?width=768&name=ray%201.jpeg) ###### What do you like to do outside of work? Camping and being outdoors! Being around technology 24 hours a day, it’s important for me to clear my mind and reset. Besides, there’s nothing like star gazing in the middle of nowhere. ###### What do you consider your greatest achievement? My family—nothing is more important. *But*, platinuming Final Fantasy X by dodging 200 lightning bolts and winning an absurd race on a creature that most people consider an oversized chicken is definitely up there. ![ray 2](https://blog.getballoon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ray%202.jpeg?width=400&name=ray%202.jpeg) ###### What is your greatest fear? Germs on a plane. ###### Who are your heroes? Hedy Lamarr — without her foundation in frequency hopping, I’d be living a much different life. Also, J Dilla, a record producer that my closest friends and I listened to religiously growing up. ###### What do you dislike? Losing the 50% gamble when plugging in a USB cable. ###### What is your current state of mind? Balanced, motivated, and ready! --- *We love having you on the team, Ray! You can get in touch with Ray at ray@getballoon.com.* ### Tags - [Team](https://blog.getballoon.com/tag/team), - [Leadership](https://blog.getballoon.com/tag/leadership) ### The Author The Balloon Team ## Keep Reading [Back to Blog](https://blog.getballoon.com) - ### The Future of Work is Now: Reprogramming the working world 5 min read — - ### Balloon Team Spotlight: Cydney Hayes, Head of Content 2 min read — - ### Leaders on effective DI&B efforts, in their own words 2 min read — ### Make your team faster, smarter, tighter. 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