High-growth companies are scaling fast, expanding their products, audiences, and global reach at record pace. 

The most successful ones know that sustainable acceleration happens when they stay connected to the community that fuels it. Lose that connection, and you risk developing blind spots that slow momentum. 

Enter the Advisory Board. These groups bring trusted voices into the conversation to help shape smarter strategies and stronger connections. At Opus Agency, we often talk about viewing audiences as stakeholders—a mindset that recognizes your customers, partners, and communities as active participants in your brand’s story. Advisory boards bring that philosophy to life. 

Earlier this year, we launched our own advisory board, bringing together leaders from across the event ecosystem, including destinations, venues, suppliers, and executive consultants. 

While ours is intentionally broad, we see a massive opportunity for our clients to go deep by creating Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) that focus on their most valuable stakeholders, their customers. 

As an agency that has designed thousands of executive experiences for some of the world’s biggest brands, we know what it takes to design white-glove, high-touch engagements that drive action. And while we know the experience layer inside and out, we wanted to dig deeper into the strategy behind creating a truly successful CAB. 

We turned to  Kathleen Burke, CEO and Founder of KB Strategy Group. During her 16 years at Salesforce, Kathleen built their executive motion from the ground up as the company scaled from 3,000 to 72,000 employees. Today, she helps some of the world’s fastest-growing companies launch and nurture thriving advisory programs.

Here’s what she shared about what it really takes to build a CAB that works. 

The Challenge: When Growth Threatens Connections 

The companies that need CABs most are often the ones growing the fastest. As they scale, the risk isn’t losing customers, it’s losing connection.

These brands understand a fundamental truth: the executives around your advisory board table today could be your biggest champions tomorrow (if you earn it).

When growth outpaces connection, deals stall, innovation slows, and pipelines lose momentum. Leadership starts asking why.

Kathleen sees three common challenges:

• Keeping relationships real. At scale, it’s challenging for senior leaders to maintain a personal and meaningful connection with customers.
• Turning feedback into action. Many companies collect insights but fail to act on them, breeding cynicism.
• Avoiding performative programs. Big events and impressive rosters mean nothing if the work doesn’t drive results.

“There’s always a domino,” notes Kathleen. “One person—or team—whose hesitation can stall an entire pipeline. “In the early days of Salesforce, CIOs were deeply skeptical about moving their data to the cloud. That resistance became a real blocker until we focused on building trust and alignment with that audience. Once they were on board, everything started to move again.”

According to Forrester, the average enterprise deal involves 13 executives. That’s 13 decision-makers who need to believe in your solution, trust your roadmap, and feel heard by your leadership. Without a structured way to engage them, you’re leaving both relationships—and revenue—on the table.

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The Opportunity: Where Strategy Meets Experience 

Kathleen helps companies identify the right people, define outcomes, and build CABs that last. Opus Agency brings those programs to life, designing experiences that make every interaction intentional, exclusive, and high-value.

Together, that combination—strategic rigor meets experiential magic—creates programs that stick.

Kathleen’s advice for companies ready to begin? Don’t overthink it; just start something today.

As she puts it, “Creating a Customer Advisory Board is a long game. But you can build the muscle of bringing small groups of customers together for facilitated conversations today and grow those relationships into the foundation of your CAB. Because if you skip it, you risk losing connection with the very customers who could be your loudest advocates. That’s when innovation slows and deals stall.”

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A Framework for Success

A CAB takes time to build, usually six months or more. Here’s how to start strong.

1. Start with Purpose

Before you send an invite, get clear on your “why.” Are you trying to unblock deals, accelerate sales cycles, gather product feedback, or build brand advocates? Each goal demands a different approach.

A CAB isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a forum for authentic conversation and trust-building—where insights shape the roadmap, not revenue.

2. Find Your Executive Domino

You don’t need the biggest titles. You need the people who create change.

Look for executives who are collaborative, candid, and influential within their organization. Start small. Host a series of short, virtual sessions over 60–90 days to spot patterns and identify your rock stars.

When you’re ready to formalize, aim for around 12 members—diverse enough for perspective, small enough for connection.

3. Secure Leadership Buy-In

This one’s non-negotiable. Your leadership must be in the room.

If it’s a CMO advisory board, your CMO should attend. That presence signals commitment and gives the board a clear center of gravity. Senior sales leaders should also be involved to connect insights directly to business outcomes.

4. Design Experiences That Spark Real Conversation

“When designing executive experiences, noise is your enemy,” Kathleen shares. “I’ve literally battled noisy hallways during executive meetings—it kills focus. But the real noise is what happens when you don’t have a clear purpose or agenda. Executives can spot that lack of focus instantly, and it derails the conversation before it starts.”

At its core, a CAB meeting is a relationship-building experience. Every detail should communicate value and intent.

• Choose meaningful destinations. Pick locations that feel special yet accessible to your group—wine country in the spring, mountain retreats in the autumn, coastal cities in the summer.
• Include partners. When spouses are invited, attendance and engagement tend to increase. Shared experiences—such as wine tastings, shows, or volunteer events—make it memorable.
• Deliver white-glove hospitality. Car service. Thoughtful gifting. Staff support for every need. Small touches show respect.
• Design the space with purpose. Comfortable seating, natural light, and a smart setup (yes, even that U-shaped table) foster open dialogue and creativity.

A two-to-three-day format works best:

• Day 1: Welcome dinner
• Day 2: Full-day meeting + exclusive experience
• Day 3: Wrap-up and departures

Protect networking time—it’s often the most valuable part.

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5. Facilitate Like a Pro

Don’t assume your CEO should facilitate. They’re among peers here. Bring in a skilled moderator who can draw out quieter voices, guide the flow, and let your leaders contribute as equals.

6. Publish the Agenda Early

Connect one-on-one with members beforehand to shape the agenda around what matters most to them. Every session should feel essential—and actionable.

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7. Close the Feedback Loop

This is where many CABs fail: great input, but no action.

Establish a post-meeting process:

• Debrief internally by account and function.
• Share priorities back with board members.
• Be transparent about what’s changing—and what’s not.

If you can act, show the impact. If you can’t, explain why.

Kathleen adds: “The ultimate measure of success is simple: can you tie the actions from your CAB back to revenue? That’s what justifies the investment and keeps your program funded. When executives see their feedback driving tangible results, that’s when the magic happens.”

Because ultimately, the measure of success is simple: does this work tie back to business outcomes?

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Start Small, But Start Now

Don’t wait until you’re at enterprise scale. The best time to build a CAB is when your community still feels connected.

Start with a handful of virtual touchpoints. Build momentum. Identify your changemakers. Then transition to an in-person inaugural meeting—perhaps tied to an existing event.

If you commit, commit fully. Fund it for at least two years. Offer term-based membership and evolve as you learn.

And when someone’s no longer the right fit? Handle transitions with transparency and respect.

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When It All Comes Together

When CABs work, something powerful happens:

• Customers feel heard, not sold to.
• Leadership gains unfiltered, real-time insight.
• Members become advocates who tell your story.
• Meetings turn into communities that endure.

Kathleen’s most common feedback is: “When are we doing this again?” That’s when you know you’ve built something that matters. 

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Ready to Get Started?

Whether you’re exploring or ready to launch, Opus Agency and partners like Kathleen Burke can help you design programs that drive real business impact—and create experiences your customers will actually want to be part of.

Let’s move.

Kathleen Burke is the founder of KB Strategy Group, a consultancy that helps high-growth technology companies design executive programs that deepen trust and accelerate revenue. Over her sixteen years at Salesforce, she built the company’s global executive engagement practice, leading CEO dinners for Marc Benioff, developing the Customer Advisory Board program, and overseeing Salesforce’s presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Today, Kathleen advises CMOs and growth leaders on how to turn conversation design into a competitive advantage.