Meet Jerry Kleva, Referential’s newest team member, pictured here with his wife and partner in adventure!

A former Air Force pilot, prior to joining Referential, Jerry worked at Fogdog Sports, an eCommerce online sporting goods company. From there he settled into the telecommunications industry, landing at Portal Software, then spending 13 years in Oracle’s communications industry group, and finally in the advocacy program at 8x8. Jerry views his past roles – such as Production Analyst, Curriculum Developer and Technical Instructor – as invaluable experiences that have all helped prepare him for his career in customer advocacy where he is now in his 16th year.

Having touched pretty much every program associated with customers over the years, Jerry shares that connecting with customers and building long-term customer relationships are his favorite parts of his job; making his current role as Customer Advocacy Consultant with Referential perfect.

One of the things Jerry enjoys most about working out of Referential's San Jose office is being surrounded by so much knowledge and experience in the advocacy field; in the past, he’s often been a “team of one” but he now enjoys being part of a vibrant team of many.

Jerry worked for a client of Referential and was impressed with the professionalism, can-do attitude and depth of knowledge across the advocacy space. The opportunity to join the Referential team was a “no brainer” for him. Since joining, Jerry loves the tight-knit, family-style feel of the company and being surrounded by team members who are always willing to jump in and help.

Jerry currently spends the majority of his time on a major Referential client, focusing on its top-tier advocacy customers. He typically works 3-4 days a week at the client’s site but still gets his “Referential time” at least once a week. He says it’s nice to have two work families and appreciates having time at both offices.

Away from work, Jerry focuses on family time with Debbie, his wife of 25 years and their two high-school daughters (pictured right) – both of whom participate in multiple sports which keeps him busy year-round. He likes astronomy and will drag neighbors out at night whether it be for a special meteor shower event or just an ISS flyby. He supports the San Jose Sharks, LSU and the Saints as well as other local bay area sports teams. He also loves to travel and just recently completed an Alaskan cruise, ticking off one of his bucket list destinations.