Ahmed Khan
Chicago
Summary
Transformational leader in customer service operations with a track record of scaling high-performance teams. Expertise in leveraging AI and data analytics to enhance service delivery, reduce costs, and drive customer satisfaction. Successfully aligned operational strategies with business objectives, delivering measurable improvements in KPIs and fostering a compliant, agent-centric environment.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Customer Service
Light & Wonder
06.2019 - 07.2025
- Hired by Light & Wonder to lead remote global teams across Customer Support, Payments, Risk, and Fraud for iGaming digital operations.
- Managed omnichannel support (Phone, Live Chat, Email), ensuring regulatory compliance, operational excellence, and high-impact customer experiences.
- Built and scaled a high-performing customer support organization aligned with regulatory and licensee standards, driving consistent audit compliance and boosting partner satisfaction.
- Established and optimized operational processes using AI and workforce management to improve case resolution speed by 15% and reduce average handling time (AHT) by 12%.
- Directed all facets of customer service operations, including QA, training, payments, fraud, AML, and responsible gaming - achieving a 10% reduction in operational errors and a 15% increase in team productivity.
- Implemented emerging technologies to strengthen KYC and AML compliance, reducing customer verification time by 20% and improving fraud detection accuracy.
- Leveraged data analytics and continuous improvement practices to refine KPIs, resulting in a 15% increase in Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and a 25% improvement in First Contact Resolution (FCR) within 12 months.
- Increased customer satisfaction and retention NPS score by 17%.
- Drove Operational Excellence Through Zendesk, AI, and Automation: Owned the support tooling ecosystem and automation roadmap to improve speed, consistency, deflection, and cost-to-serve while preserving an empathy-first experience.
- Championed the Member Experience Through Voice-of-the-Member Insights and Cross-Functional Influence.
Director of Operations
ONE Contact Center
07.2017 - 04.2019
- Led 200+ agents delivering 24/7/365 customer support, sales, and member services across Phone, Chat, Email, and social media, while aligning IT operations with ITIL/ITSM best practices to ensure service continuity, incident management, and operational efficiency.
- Oversaw end-to-end contact center operations, improving KPI adherence by 10% and consistently surpassing SLA targets by 15%.
- Aligned service delivery with client objectives through strategic staffing and resource optimization, increasing operational efficiency by 20%.
- Strengthened client partnerships, resulting in a 25% increase in campaign volume and the expansion of business opportunities.
- Led coaching, compliance, and performance initiatives that enhanced associate engagement by 15%, improved retention by 10%, and elevated overall service quality.
- Served as a key advisor to the CEO on operations, strategy, and organizational priorities, including training and development.
- Built, mentored, and led a high-performing operations team focused on responsiveness, accuracy, and accountability.
- Ensured execution of strategy by establishing and monitoring operational KPIs such as cost efficiency and service quality.
Senior Manager - Customer Support and Delivery
Sears Hometown & Outlet
05.2015 - 07.2017
- Managed a global team supporting 1,300 retail locations, overseeing 45 internal staff and 500 offshore BPO agents delivering chat-based sales and customer support.
- Generated over $5M+ in annual revenue through chat-based services and sales, contributing to 15% year-over-year sales growth.
- Evaluated and implemented vendor solutions that improved chat response times by 8% and increased customer engagement by 12%.
- Played a key executive role driving strategic initiatives, increasing operational efficiency by 17% and supporting business transformation.
- Developed and executed a long-term vision that surpassed CX and sales targets by 20% within the first year.
- Designed the entire inbound call center operation Hiring, training, and scaling agents and supervisors Owning KPIs, compliance, and revenue performance Creating systems that scale and beyond Maintaining call center and CRM systems in daily operations.
- Owned inbound KPIs: ASA, conversion rate, close rate, refunds.
- Build dashboards. Identified performance issues and fixed them fast.
- Continuously improve scripts, call flow, and agent effectiveness.
IT Service Desk Manager
Pekin Insurance
11.2013 - 05.2015
- Managed 24/7 technical and customer support for 4,500+ clients, overseeing reporting and analytics functions while implementing ITIL/ITSM processes for incident, problem, change, and release management to ensure timely resolution, minimize disruptions, and maintain service quality.
- Directed Tableau-based BI team delivering actionable insights that improved ROI by 15% through data-driven decisions.
- Standardized self-service solutions across digital and voice channels, increasing adoption by 20% and reducing call volume by 10%.
- Spearheaded enterprise-wide projects optimizing KPIs and processes, improving operational efficiency by 20%.
- Governed customer service processes, managing capacity and budget planning to achieve 15% cost reductions while maintaining service quality.
- Oversaw daily Service Desk operations, ensuring timely, accurate, and high-quality support for end users Manage IT asset and software lifecycle processes, including procurement, licensing compliance, and inventory control.
- Owned daily service desk operations, ensuring timely resolution of incidents and requests in accordance with defined SLAs and business expectations.
IT Operations Manager
Westmont Motors
10.2006 - 10.2013
- Led a team of 20+ technical support specialists, delivering multichannel support (Phone, Email, Live Chat) and managed technology resources including CRM platforms and knowledge management systems, while implementing ITIL/ITSM-aligned service delivery processes.
- Directed customer support, operations, and sales teams, driving a 20% increase in performance and a 15% growth in revenue.
- Developed and adjusted financial and volume-based goals, consistently exceeding company objectives by 10-25%.
- Analyzed market and franchise data to identify growth opportunities, resulting in 14% market expansion and closing performance gaps by 18%.
- Monitored and analyzed service performance metrics (e.g., ticket resolution times, SLA adherence, customer satisfaction) to identify trends and implement process improvements.
- Developed and maintained vendor relationships, negotiating and managing service contracts to ensure cost-effectiveness and reliability.
- Collaborated with leadership on continuous improvement initiatives, boosting operational efficiency by 22% and sustaining business goals.
IT Service Delivery Manager
Agentrics
05.2002 - 09.2006
- Lead, mentored, and developed a team of IT professionals, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
- Overseeing recruitment, training, and performance management.
- Participated in and leveraged global processes for anticipating customer needs and proactively addressing any pain points.
- Reported on operational metrics, KPIs, and strategic progress to IT leadership.
- Primary point of contact for escalated operational issues or incidents, coordinating resolution with internal teams or external parties.
- Responsible for the following IT processes and functions: On-boarding/off-boarding process Prioritization of time-sensitive business requests and smart decision-making to ensure minimal user impact for their regular workday.
- Ensured prompt handling of internal service desk requests, with an accurate assessment of issue severity and business impact.
- Daily ticket maintenance and management, ensuring the requester stays informed, and SLA objectives are reached.
IT Helpdesk Technical Manager
Tribune Company
04.2000 - 04.2002
- Oversee day-to-day helpdesk operations, including ticket queue management, workload distribution, and ensuring SLA adherence.
- Directly managed up IT support specialists, including coaching, performance reviews, and professional development.
- Actively worked with the IT Manager to understand the organization's overarching goals, strategic direction, and immediate priorities in order to intelligently triage, focus, and manage your own priority stack as well as team resources.
- Managed and maintained our existing Microsoft 365 environment including Azure AD (Entra ID), Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Defender for Office 365, Conditional Access policies, SSO configurations, Intune and Autopilot.
- Handled escalated issues and provided hands-on support when specialists needed assistance.
- Monitored and reported on helpdesk metrics (ticket trends, response times, resolution rates, customer satisfaction).
- Identified recurring problems and proposed process improvements or user training solutions.
IT Technical Lead
3COM
03.1996 - 03.2000
- Owned the ServiceNow platform, including ITSM and HRSD modules, ensuring configuration quality, roadmap execution, and ongoing optimization.
- Lead remediation of existing ServiceNow issues such as workflow defects, data inconsistencies, SLA logic, and catalog or knowledge base maintenance.
- Managed environment strategy, release management, testing cycles, and go/no-go decisions.
- Defined and enforced platform governance, including intake processes, standards, documentation, data quality, privacy, and change approvals.
- Partnered with Systems, Networking, Security, and HR teams to implement and maintain integrations (e.g., Okta, Google Workspace, endpoint management, HRIS, identity lifecycle, monitoring tools).
- Maintained dashboards, KPIs, audit trails, and SLA reporting for Technology leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Owned ITSM processes, including Incident, Request, Problem, Change, and Knowledge Management.
Education
Electronics Engineering - Electronics Engineering studies
Harper College
Skills
- Zendesk
- Salesforce
- VOIP Applications
- AI
- ServiceNow
- JIRA
- Tableau
- Workforce Management Tools
- Microsoft Office Suite
- ITIL/ITSM
Timeline
Director of Customer Service
Light & Wonder
06.2019 - 07.2025
Director of Operations
ONE Contact Center
07.2017 - 04.2019
Senior Manager - Customer Support and Delivery
Sears Hometown & Outlet
05.2015 - 07.2017
IT Service Desk Manager
Pekin Insurance
11.2013 - 05.2015
IT Operations Manager
Westmont Motors
10.2006 - 10.2013
IT Service Delivery Manager
Agentrics
05.2002 - 09.2006
IT Helpdesk Technical Manager
Tribune Company
04.2000 - 04.2002
IT Technical Lead
3COM
03.1996 - 03.2000
Electronics Engineering - Electronics Engineering studies
Harper College