About Phil

"Isn't there a better way?"

Where Innovation Meets Common Sense

Innovation often starts with a simple question: “Isn’t there a better way?” In 1994, while most organizations were just beginning to explore the possibilities of the internet, Phil Verghis was already turning that question into reality.

Where it all began

Picture a young electrical engineer at a state university, answering the same technical questions day after day. Instead of shrugging it off as “just how things work,” Phil decided to tackle the problem head-on.

His solution? Trying to build one of the first AI-powered knowledge bases.

But what he discovered changed his entire approach: the real challenge wasn’t technology – it was people, process, and measures.

When he couldn’t find any resources about setting up a Help Desk (and trust me, he looked everywhere), Phil did what comes naturally to innovators – he created the internet’s first Help Desk FAQ.

No marketing, no promotion, just pure usefulness.

Before he knew it, it had spread to 103 countries. That same year, he launched one of the world’s first online help desks at the University of New Hampshire. And just like that, a career of turning problems into opportunities was born.

From Campus Courts to Tech Titans

At Duke University, Phil and his team pioneered one of the first web-based help desk systems, a breakthrough that would go on to win Network World’s Service Excellence Award.

Along with the Duke University Medical Center, he and his team created DUNK (Duke University Networked Knowledgebase), a web-based knowledge base that brought PC Week to do a photoshoot that involved Phil “dunking” on Coach K’s court.

Pro tip: a strategically placed stepladder can make anyone look like a basketball star.

Leading at Akamai

When Akamai Technologies came knocking in 1999, he faced his biggest challenge yet: he was asked to build a technical support operation from scratch for a rapidly growing internet infrastructure company.

Long before terms like “SaaS,” “Customer Success,” or “Swarming” became mainstream, Phil was among the pioneers of strategies that would later set the standard for modern tech support and customer success.

His work earned him the prestigious Akamai Founders Award (later called the Danny Lewin Award).

Rising to Crisis and Scaling

Then 9/11 happened. Everything changed, including the catastrophic loss of co-founder Danny Lewin who was on that first plane that was hijacked.

In response to this crisis, Phil’s role expanded dramatically. He was asked to take on Global Network, Operations and IT in addition to his Service Delivery teams.

The results spoke for themselves:

- Spearheaded a cross-functional initiative that saved $33 million annually

- Managed a network scaling to tens of billions of hits per day

- Transitioned the organization to deal with most of our customer base going from dot com pioneers to enterprises requiring mission-critical support.

- Received HDI’s Team Excellence Award, among others

A Leadership Philosophy for Real Change

Through it all, Phil developed a leadership philosophy that shaped his career:

Unite teams around clear goals, measurable outcomes, and seamless workflows—turning problem-solving into an energizing, even enjoyable, process.

His approach makes complex challenges manageable and progress feel natural, creating environments where everyone can do their best work—together.

Phil’s ability to bridge the gap between complex technology and real business results has earned him significant recognition, including:

- Twice named to Service News’ “Service 25” list

- Leadership roles as Chair of the Help Desk Institute’s Strategic Advisory Board and the TSIA Partner Advisory Board

- Thought Leader for IBM

- Advising two early-stage companies from bright idea to IPO

- Author of a well-regarded book on customer support leadership

He co-founded Klever Insight, where he and the team continually pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in service and support.

He spent a year as the inaugural Chief Customer Experience Officer at LuxCreo, a cutting-edge 3D printing medical device company, leading a full AI service transformation—from supply chain and R&D to global logistics and support. Phil doesn’t just implement AI; he inspires entire teams to embrace and scale it.

Today, Phil advises organizations such as Support Driven, TSA Net, sits on the Advisory Board of DevRev, and serves as a judge for the Association of Support Professionals’ “10 Best Web Support Sites” awards.

Building the Verghis Group Execution System

After decades leading and working with teams in high-complexity, high-velocity environments, Phil built the Verghis Group Execution System to solve a simple but critical problem:

How do you help teams gain clear insight, act decisively, and course-correct before small drifts become costly breakdowns?

Drawing on pioneering work in SaaS models, intelligent swarming, and high-velocity operations, Phil has synthesized breakthroughs in:

- Metrics

- Knowledge management

- Collaboration

- Working across silos at global scale

…creating a system that drives sustained breakthrough results.

Why This Matters

Many organizations fall into a culture of quiet survival—a set of ingrained behaviors and habits where heroic efforts and workarounds keep things moving but block real renewal.

This slowly erodes innovation, morale, and momentum.

The biggest opportunity lies in shifting from siloed functions to seamless, real-time collaboration across teams and functions—breaking down barriers to get work done faster and smarter.

This starts with identifying one critical process end to end and applying simple, practical rules that everyone can understand and follow.

By focusing on these simple rules—designed around what truly matters across:

- Customer effort

- Employee effort

- Knowledge flow

- Profitability

Teams gain clarity and alignment that help them act decisively and sustainably.

Unlocking the unseen signals—the behaviors and conversations that dashboards don’t capture—empowers managers and teams to continuously improve that process and drive real results.

Many leaders are skeptical of “new frameworks” and “big change programs.” This approach cuts through the noise by focusing on one critical process with simple, practical rules—making it easy for managers and teams to understand, adopt, and sustain real change, fast.

Over time, the team learns to own and drive this process without us. This whole approach is what Phil has found to be truly successful and sustainable.

His teams have won multiple industry awards—and his customers have won many more.