How OpenAI Built a Champion Network to Drive AI Adoption ft. Christina Meng (OpenAI)

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Most companies treat AI rollouts like software deployments. But according to Christina Meng (OpenAI), AI adoption isn’t a technology problem — it’s a human transformation challenge.

In this episode of Unchurned, Josh Schachter sits down with Christina, the leader behind the OpenAI Champion Program, to explore how OpenAI empowers the people inside organizations who are driving AI adoption from within: champions.

Christina explains how OpenAI structures its champion ecosystem with executive champions, champion leads, and internal champions, and how these groups work together to drive real AI transformation across enterprise organizations.

She also shares how she built the OpenAI Champion Program from the ground up, why many companies struggle to sustain AI usage after the initial hype, and why customer success teams need to rethink how they measure adoption.

Finally, they discuss how champion communities can become one of the most powerful engines for product adoption, customer engagement, and long-term growth in SaaS.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

1:30 - Meet Christina Meng (OpenAI)

3:05 - Christina’s Experience at Slack

4:50 - What a Champion Program actually is

7:27 - How Slack ran a 4,000-member champion community

10:00 - Who the champions are at Slack & OpenAI

11:40 - The 3 types of champions (executive, lead, internal)

12:50 - Executive champion engagement strategies

19:58 - How champion roundtables work

27:50 - What internal champions actually do

30:00 - Christina’s background and musical theatre

31:00 - A week in the life of a champion program leader

32:10 - Working with CS & product teams at OpenAI

34:20 - Measuring champion program success

37:20 - Why companies need customer education & champion programs

40:25 - How Christina uses AI and Codex in her workflow

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What You’ll Learn

* What champion programs actually are and why they matter for SaaS companies

* The difference between customer advocates and customer champions

* How OpenAI structures its Champion Network across enterprise customers

* The 3 types of champions driving AI adoption in organizations

* Why AI adoption fails when treated as a simple tech rollout

* How companies are building internal AI champion networks

* How OpenAI gathers product feedback from champions

* How to measure activation and sustained product adoption

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Where to Find Christina Meng

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-meng-78858725/

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Where to Find Josh:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/

Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/