For years, our Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) has been building something that goes far beyond a single month on the calendar: a community rooted in connection, visibility, and belonging for employees and allies across 1Password.

This Pride Month, we're spotlighting Chris Houckham-West, a Senior Customer Success Manager based in EMEA and a leader within our Pride ERG. In his time at 1Password, Chris has built a high-performing Customer Success team, earned recognition as part of President's Club, and helped bring our very first in-person Pride event in EMEA to life. What stands out most about Chris beyond his accomplishments is the way he leads: with openness, authenticity, and a genuine belief that when people feel like they belong, everyone does better work.

We sat down with Chris to talk about his career journey, his philosophy on building inclusive teams, and why creating spaces for connection and belonging remains as important as ever.

Can you walk us through your career journey and what drew you to Customer Success? Was this a path you always envisioned for yourself, or did it evolve through unexpected opportunities and experiences?

Customer Success definitely wasn't a career path I set out to follow. Like many people who have been in the industry for a while, I found my way into it before it was really called Customer Success.

I've always been drawn to understanding people, solving problems, and building relationships. Early in my career I worked in customer-facing roles across retail, travel, and technology, and what I enjoyed most wasn't closing a deal or handling a support ticket. It was helping customers achieve something meaningful and seeing the impact that had on their business.

Over time, I realised the most rewarding conversations were the strategic ones. The conversations about outcomes, adoption, growth, and long-term partnerships. Customer Success brought all of those things together.

I've been fortunate to work in a number of high-growth companies and build teams along the way. Each role taught me something different, whether that was scaling processes, leading through change, or developing people. Looking back, the path wasn't planned, but it makes perfect sense. Customer Success sits at the intersection of people, technology, and business outcomes, which are the three things I've always been most passionate about.

You've built a Customer Success team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and perspectives. What's your philosophy on building, developing, and retaining a team like that, and what does inclusive leadership look like in practice for you?

I've never believed there is a single profile of what makes a great Customer Success Manager. Some of the best people I've hired have come from completely different backgrounds and brought skills that wouldn't necessarily have shown up on a traditional checklist.

For me, building a great team starts with recognising that diversity of thought, experience, identity, and perspective makes teams stronger. When everyone approaches a challenge in the same way, you tend to get the same answers. Diverse teams challenge assumptions, bring fresh ideas, and ultimately make better decisions for customers.

Inclusive leadership isn't something that happens during a hiring process or a company event. It's the day-to-day work. It's making sure everyone has a voice, creating an environment where people feel safe to contribute, and understanding that different people need different things to do their best work. As a leader, my job isn't to create a team of people who think like me. It's to create a team where people can be themselves, grow their careers, and succeed on their own terms. When people feel valued and supported, performance tends to follow.

You were recently recognized as part of the President's Club in GTM, a significant acknowledgment of the impact you've had. What did that recognition mean to you personally, and what do you think has been key in building such a strong, high-performing team?

Being recognised as part of President's Club was incredibly meaningful, particularly because Customer Success is such a team sport. While it's a personal recognition on paper, the reality is that achievements like that are only possible because of the people around you. I lead a fantastic team, and I work alongside colleagues across Sales, Support, Product, Marketing, and many other functions who all contribute to our customers' success.

The thing I'm most proud of isn't the recognition itself; it's seeing the growth of the team. Several members of my team joined 1Password relatively recently, and watching them build confidence, deepen their expertise, and deliver great outcomes for customers has been incredibly rewarding.

If there's one thing that's contributed to our success, it's creating a culture where we openly share both successes and failures. We celebrate wins, learn from challenges, and encourage people to be honest about what's working and what isn't. Combined with a shared focus on helping customers achieve their goals, that openness helps us continuously improve, support one another, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for our customers.

This year you joined the leadership team for our Pride ERG and helped bring our first in-person Pride event in EMEA to life. What has that experience meant to you, and what do you hope attendees took away from it?

Joining the Pride ERG leadership team has been incredibly rewarding because I've seen both sides of the equation throughout my career.

I've worked in organisations where LGBTQ+ employee groups didn't exist, or where there was a perception that they weren't really needed anymore. The reality is that, for many LGBTQ+ people, there are experiences that never fully go away. Every time you start a new job, there's a moment where you're deciding whether to come out, how much of yourself to share, and how people might respond. And while we've seen a huge amount of progress over the years, it's also hard to ignore that some members of our community continue to face increased scrutiny and uncertainty. 

That's why ERGs matter. They create visibility, support, education, and a sense of connection. They remind people that they're not the only person navigating those experiences, and they help foster understanding across the wider organisation.

Bringing our first in-person Pride event in EMEA to life was something I was particularly proud of. What stood out to me wasn't just the attendance from LGBTQ+ employees, but the number of allies who showed up to learn, listen, and show their support. That sends a powerful message. The educational sessions sparked some fantastic conversations and gave people the space to ask questions, share experiences, and deepen their understanding.

What I hope people took away from the event was a sense of belonging. Whether someone identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community or is an ally, I wanted people to leave feeling connected, supported, and reminded that inclusion isn't just something we talk about during Pride Month. It's something we build together every day.

What does it mean to work somewhere that not only celebrates Pride, but actively invests in building community and belonging throughout the year?

For me, the difference is authenticity. Anyone can put a rainbow logo on a website in June. What matters is what happens during the rest of the year.

Working somewhere that invests in employee communities, gives ERGs a genuine voice, and creates opportunities for people to connect demonstrates that inclusion isn't being treated as a campaign or a checkbox exercise. It's part of the culture. As someone who has spent much of his career in organisations where these kinds of communities either didn't exist or weren't prioritised, I don't take that for granted. Having spaces where people can share experiences, learn from one another, and feel supported makes a real difference.

When organisations create environments where people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, everyone benefits. Teams become stronger, collaboration improves, and people spend less energy worrying about whether they fit in and more energy doing their best work.

Chris's leadership shows the impact that authenticity, openness, and community can have on both individual growth and collective success. Whether he's supporting customers, developing team members, or helping strengthen our Pride community, Chris leads with a belief that people do their best work when they can show up as themselves.

As we celebrate Pride Month, we're grateful for leaders like Chris who help make 1Password a place where LGBTQ+ employees and allies can connect, contribute, and belong—not just in June, but throughout the year.