As we celebrate the art and science of customer experience, what better way to dive into the world of insights, innovations, and inspirations than by introducing 30 CX professionals who are shaping the space?
In honor of CX Day, we've curated a list of thought leaders, disruptors, and visionaries who are not just talking the talk but walking the walk when delivering exceptional customer experiences. Many of them are bestselling authors, podcast hosts, and independent consultants. But all of them are changing the CX world for the better.
Whether you're a seasoned CX professional or an aspiring enthusiast, we present a list of influencers poised to profoundly impact your perspective.
Bruce Temkin
Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a visionary in Experience Management (XM) and is often referred to as the "Godfather of Customer Experience." Currently leading the Qualtrics XM Institute, Bruce is actively building a global community of XM professionals pioneering significant changes in the human experience.
Bruce is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Customer Experience Professionals Association. His previous experience includes a 12-year tenure at Forrester Research, where he led various practices, including B2B, financial services, and customer experience. During that time, he also held the distinction of being the most-read analyst for 13 consecutive quarters.
Annette Franz
Annette Franz serves as the founder and Chief Experience Officer of her own consulting firm CX Journey Inc. With a certification as a Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and an extensive 30-year career, her expertise lies in helping organizations comprehend their employees and customers and pinpointing the factors influencing retention, satisfaction, engagement, and the overall experience. By collaboratively crafting improved experiences for all stakeholders, Annette's primary mission is to enhance CX.
Jeannie Walters
Jeannie Walters is a distinguished expert in customer experience and an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. With her role as a founding member of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and her status as a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association, Jeannie has addressed audiences spanning the globe, reaching tens of thousands of individuals.
Driven by her dedication to demystifying the customer experience improvement process, Jeannie has authored numerous articles and her insights have been prominently featured in publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR.
Blake Morgan
Blake's expertise has earned her recognition as one of the top 40 female keynote speakers, as acknowledged by Real Leaders Magazine. Her passion for sharing knowledge extends to her role as a guest lecturer at Columbia University and the University of California, San Diego.
In addition to being the author of two books on CX, Blake contributes regularly to publications like Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, and Hemispheres Magazine. She also hosts The Modern Customer Podcast, further establishing her as a prominent voice in the realm of customer experience.
Tom Dewitt
Tom DeWitt, Ph.D. is the founder and Academic Program Director for the Master's in Customer Experience Management degree program at Michigan State University. His professional contributions, encompassing research, teaching, and industry presentations, revolve around key areas such as consumer psychology, fostering customer-centric organizational culture, and enhancing employee engagement.
Before joining academia, Dr. Dewitt navigated through a series of roles in the hospitality industry in the USA and Asia.
Lynn Hunsaker
Lynn Hunsaker serves as the CEO of ClearAction, a customer experience consultancy. Lynn's journey in the field of customer experience began in 1991 when she chaired a task force at Sonoco Products that spanned 20 countries, to design methodologies for measuring customer satisfaction.
Lynn is widely acknowledged as a distinguished thought leader in the customer experience domain, celebrated for her diverse roles as an author, educator, transformation catalyst, ROI strategist, and innovator. Since 2022, Lynn has been the Chair Judge and Ambassador at the US Customer Experience Awards.
Steve Walker
Steve has been instrumental in guiding Walker Information through various strategic evolutions. Guided by the principle that "everyone deserves an amazing experience," the firm helps its clients to stand out and achieve superior outcomes by enhancing every facet of the experiences they deliver to their customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
Steve is also known as the co-creator and host of the widely popular podcast, The CX Leader Podcast, which has now amassed over 175 episodes and garners more than 1,000 downloads per week.
Jeanne Bliss
Jeanne Bliss is a respected advisor in leadership and customer experience and a Co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
With a career of over 35 years, Jeanne has been at the helm of organizations that successfully fostered business growth. Serving various CX roles at Lands' End, Coldwell Banker, Allstate, and Microsoft, she was instrumental in achieving remarkable retention rates exceeding ninety-eight percent. As a strategic advisor, she has lent her expertise to more than 20,000 leaders, helping them implement her proven 5-competency framework for attaining growth driven by customer-centric strategies.
Megan Burns
Megan Burns is a distinguished customer experience strategist, author, and sought-after keynote speaker. Through her own consultancy, Megan specializes in assisting Fortune 500 companies in establishing exceptional customer experience programs.
Recognized as a global authority in her domain, Megan played a pioneering role in conducting groundbreaking CX research during her tenure as Vice President at Forrester for over a decade. Her expertise has been instrumental in guiding numerous organizations to harness the power of CX, fostering loyalty, propelling growth, and securing a strategic edge in a constantly evolving business landscape.
Dan Gingiss
A globally recognized keynote speaker and business coach, Dan believes that an exceptional customer experience represents your most potent competitive edge. Throughout a 20-year career, he has held significant leadership roles at Discover and Humana.
Dan is the accomplished author of two notable books: "The Experience Maker: How To Craft Unforgettable Experiences That Your Customers Can't Wait To Share" and "Winning at Social Customer Care: How Leading Brands Craft Engaging Experiences on Social Media." Dan also co-hosts the acclaimed and award-winning Experience This! podcast.
Stacy Sherman
Over 25 years, Stacy has assumed various leadership roles at organizations like Verizon, AT&T, and Schindler Elevator. What sets Stacy apart from her peers is her ability to draw upon real-life examples and the best practices of customer service acquired through hands-on experience as both a strategist and practitioner. She also hosts a CX podcast - DoingCXRight - where she discusses a wide range of topics with her guests.
Stacy's strategic acumen extends beyond business; she is also a dedicated backgammon enthusiast who has competed internationally in the game.
Dennis Wakabayashi
Dennis Wakabayashi stands as one of the world's preeminent CX strategists, dedicated to aiding top Fortune 500 corporations in delivering exceptional experiences to their customer base.
Dennis is celebrated for his distinctive framework for transforming customer experiences, a framework that prioritizes humanity at its core. He has shared his insights in books and articles in leading publications while also serving as a guest lecturer at a number of universities.
Colin Shaw
Colin Shaw is a pioneering figure in customer experience, recognized among LinkedIn's 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers' with over 280,000 followers.
Colin co-hosts the podcast, "The Intuitive Customer," and is a prolific author with seven bestselling books on CX. Additionally, he's a keynote speaker and media commentator, frequently featured on outlets like CNN and BBC. He founded Beyond Philosophy, a CX consultancy, which has transformed customer experiences for clients like American Express and FedEx.
Kerry Bodine
Kerry is the CEO and Founder of Kerry Bodine & Co., a CX consulting firm dedicated to assisting organizations in comprehending, crafting, and effectively overseeing profitable customer journeys. Her unique blend of experience as a design practitioner and manager enables her to help clients envision and establish comprehensive end-to-end customer experiences.
Kerry is the author of Forrester's impactful report titled "The Customer Experience Ecosystem," a framework she developed to aid companies in recognizing the intricate interdependencies that shape all their interactions with customers.
Shep Hyken
Shep is a customer service and experience speaker and an international authority on customer service, customer experience and loyalty in business.
His primary emphasis centers on providing exceptional customer service, fostering customer engagement, overseeing the customer experience, and cultivating customer loyalty. Shep is a distinguished speaker inducted into the National Speakers Association's Hall of Fame and an accomplished author, with best-selling books featured in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Jim Tincher
Jim's enduring passion for customer experience, coupled with an insatiable appetite for knowledge, inspired him to establish his consultancy, Heart of the Customer, specializing in journey mapping and customer experience.
Jim is also a board member of CXPA, a CX expert, and the author of two bestsellers: "Do B2B Better" and "How Hard Is It to Be Your Customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change".
Diane Magers
Boasting more than 25 years of experience in customer experience, sales, and marketing leadership, Diane holds the position of Founder and Chief Experience Officer at Experience Catalysts, a consulting and training firm that specializes in the development and enhancement of customer and associate engagement programs.
Diane is also recognized as a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and has served as a former CEO and Emeritus Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
Chris Bryant
Chris has established a stellar reputation over two decades as an acclaimed experience creator, awards-winning trainer, and expert in fan experience. His exceptional track record is characterized by his ability to conceptualize, construct, and execute captivating and motivational programs that enhance the customer experience for renowned brands, icons, and organizations such as The Ritz-Carlton, Madison Square Garden, and the Miami Dolphins.
Chris is celebrated for his adeptness in fostering and nurturing productive collaborations with key decision-makers, executive teams, employees, clients, and stakeholders. He employs a consultative approach in both tactical and strategic execution, consistently surpassing operational objectives.
Tiffani Bova
Tiffani Bova, a Global Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, is renowned as the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book titled "The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About Growth."
Tiffani holds a distinguished place on the Thinkers50 list of the world's top management thinkers, an achievement she has earned twice. She has appeared on prominent media outlets such as MSNBC, Bloomberg, and Yahoo! Finance. Tiffani also shares her insights through publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Rotman Management Magazine.
Shawn Nason
Shawn Nason, the founder and CEO of MOFI, a boutique design firm, is a best-selling author, and a former Walt Disney Imagineer. Before establishing MOFI, Shawn held the role of Chief Experience & Transformation Officer at Healthways and served as the Chief Innovation Officer at Xavier University.
Shawn is a speaker and coach, and the author of two books, including "Kiss Your Dragons: Radical Relationships, Bold Heartsets, & Changing the World" (2021) and "The Power of YES! in Innovation" (2017). He also hosts "The Combustion Chronicles" podcast.
Bill Staikos
With more than two decades of experience, Bill currently holds the role of Senior Vice President, Executive Advisory at Medallia. In this capacity, he collaborates with clients spanning diverse industries to harness the potential of feedback, insights, and actions that drive growth, cut costs, and enhance organizational culture.
His expertise extends to customer success, strategic and consultative sales, and the establishment and leadership of high-performing teams. Bill's commitment to knowledge-sharing is evident in his role as the founder and host of "Be Customer Led," an acclaimed podcast exploring the latest trends and best practices in CX, EX, and customer-led leadership and culture.
Valerie Peck
Valerie's expertise spans customer success, customer experience management, segment-targeted marketing, demand generation, and knowledge and methodology management.
Valerie is the co-founder of SuiteCX, a multifaceted visualization methodology and toolset, now part of QuestionPro. Bringing her two decades of experience to her firm, Valerie specializes in developing strategies and executing them with precision.
Nate Brown
Nate is the Co-founder of CX Accelerator, a non-profit community that educates and connects customer experience professionals at every stage in their journey. Nate brings a wealth of experience in professional services, marketing, and sales, allowing him to make valuable connections and tackle significant challenges.
He's accomplished in authoring and spearheading client success programs, creating journey maps, implementing gamification strategies, and overseeing intricate contact centres. Nate is continuously contributing to the CX community by sharing his insights via guest appearances and social media engagement.
Emilia D'Anzica
With over 15 years of customer success expertise, Emilia is the founder and managing partner at Growth Molecules, a firm that specializes in building effective customer success programs, offering training, workshops, CSKO events, diagnostics, and others.
Emilia is also a co-author and co-founder of "Pressing ON as a Tech Mom," a book and initiative supporting women in tech. She's passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion in tech, speaking and writing on topics like creating mom-friendly tech organizations. Emilia serves as a board advisor for SaaS companies, mentors startups, holds an MBA, and boasts PMP and CSM certifications.
Carlos Espinosa
Carlos Espinosa is CEO of Clientship, the leading source of CX Technology and Advisory around the World. Carlos has a Bachelor of Laws & Economics and an MBA. His solid background was built by more than 25 years of challenging senior executive roles in strategic industries such as Transportation, Energy, and Retail Banking, as well as a recognized expertise as an advisor to innovative companies willing to design and develop successful authentic customer-centric models that make a difference.
Jeff Sheehan
Jeff Sheehan is a dedicated customer experience professional, an author in the field of CX, and an active contributor to the global CX community. His extensive experience encompasses leadership in customer strategy, customer support operations, service sales, service program and project management, as well as advisory work in digital transformation.
Throughout his career, Jeff has engaged with a diverse range of enterprise and middle-market clients across various sectors, including financial services, retail, consumer goods, and technology.
Fiona Blades
Previously serving as a Planning Director collaborating with prominent brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Fiona established MESH Experience in 2006 to address a gap in market research and assist brands in tapping into growth opportunities through Experience Driven Marketing approach. When she's not in the office, Fiona indulges in her passion for art and takes on the role of NY Event Lead for Women in Research (WiRE).
Adam Toporek
Adam Toporek is a globally renowned expert in customer service, a keynote speaker, and a frontline trainer dedicated to helping organizations achieve exceptional results by reimagining their approach to customer service. With a background in entrepreneurship, Adam possesses extensive expertise in sectors like retail, wholesale, and franchising.
Adam is the author of "Be Your Customer's Hero," the creator of the Customers That Stick blog, and the co-host of the popular "Crack the Customer Code" podcast.
Micah Solomon
Micah is a hands-on consultant specializing in customer service, a trainer and designer of training programs, a keynote speaker, and a recognized authority on customer service, company culture, and the overall customer experience.
As a bestselling author, Micah has written five books that have been translated into multiple languages and have received numerous awards. Additionally, he serves as a Senior Contributor for Forbes, where he covers topics related to customer service, the customer experience, and company culture.
Patty Soltis
Patty Soltis is a Senior Customer Experience Manager at Upwork, and a Principal Customer Experience Consultant at Kinetic Edge Consultants. With over three decades of experience in customer experience, Patty has excelled both as a goal-driven consultant and a high-achieving retail professional. She holds certifications as a CCXP and an MBA from Oakland University.
