What excites you most about the future of Celonis and process intelligence in the age of Enterprise AI?

“I’ve never wanted to operate in a massive, stagnant behemoth organization; I’ve always kept my radar on where the real market innovation is happening. What drew me to Celonis was the realization that our product is playing the most vital role in the fastest wave of innovation I’ve ever seen.

While every company today wants to be 'AI-ready,' not every company actually is. Celonis is the bridge to that readiness. We are moving into a fascinating 'agentic' era. As AI agents begin to interact with enterprise systems, they leave a digital trail. We have the world-class technology and the Process Intelligence Graph to map that trail and provide the essential context that agents need to function.

Data was the old currency; AI is the new one. We are in a fortunate position to support every industry through hundreds of use cases. My biggest excitement—and challenge—is simply deciding where to focus first because the opportunity in North America to bring in new logos and support our existing customers is massive.”

In your own words, what does “Live for Customer Value” mean?

“Winning a customer doesn't give you a permanent right to keep them. Our customers have options, so we have to wake up every day thinking more about them than ourselves. To me, 'Living for Customer Value' means being customer-first and customer-always. We can’t take it for granted that we are the right partner just because an initial investment was made. We earn that spot by building trust through delivered outcomes. It’s part of our culture to be obsessed with those results.

From a leadership perspective, I know that if our customers are educated and supported, the revenue growth will follow naturally. We have many 'hidden gem' use cases within our current accounts—customers who own our tech but don’t yet realize the full breadth of what it can do. Our job is to evangelize and educate so they can truly maximize their investment in the Celonis platform.”

What is your vision for the expansion of our North America market?

“Our strategy this year is hyper-focused. We are looking at the top of the pyramid—narrowing the focus on specific accounts so our reps can pour a high level of energy into every interaction. This is a collective effort; the entire team, from sales to delivery, must be in lockstep.

As our product capabilities evolve, we can capture more market share and effectively block out the competition. A huge part of this expansion is tied to our partnerships. We are becoming increasingly verticalized, and AI allows us to sharpen that focus even further. By going to market alongside our strategic partners and Regional Systems Integrators (RSIs), we create a force multiplier effect. Over the next few years, these ecosystems will be the primary vehicle for our growth in North America.”

How do you maintain a culture of high performance without sacrificing employee well-being? What does that balance look like on a Tuesday afternoon?

“You can’t always control the macro market, but you can control the culture you build and the people you hire. To me, a high-performance culture only works if people feel safe enough to be vulnerable and make mistakes. If you are on a mission but allowed to learn and rectify errors, you’ll stay motivated.

On a typical Tuesday, that balance looks like a team that is challenged but happy. It’s about having 1:1 conversations that move beyond just 'the numbers' and focus on development. We have an innate desire here to do incredible things, fueled by the passion of our founders.

We maintain this balance by ensuring everyone has the right ingredients: great technology, a clear market path, and a supportive group of peers. We have something special here that not enough people know about yet. My goal is to open more doors and ensure our 'agent-ready' messaging is synonymous with the category we’ve created.“

Beyond technical skills, what is the one non-negotiable trait you look for in every person you hire?

“It really comes down to two things that feed into each other: Curiosity and Work Ethic.

If you aren’t curious about a customer’s business, you won't ask the right questions to uncover their true pain points. You have to be bright and inquisitive to navigate the complexity of what we do.

The second is simple: Hard work. None of this is easy. You can have the best product in the world, but you need the work ethic to see the mission through. If you’re curious and you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll be successful at Celonis.”

Ewan Henderson

Ewan Henderson is the General Manager for North America at Celonis, where he leads all regional sales operations. With over 15 years of experience, Ewan is an empathetic leader known for building high-performing teams and driving exponential growth in nascent or underperforming markets. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for innovation and fostering an inclusive culture where people are empowered to succeed.