SPEAKERS

A laser focus on super-actionable, case study driven content, keeping industry leaders informed about emerging trends and innovative solutions

2000+ ATTENDEES

250+ PRESENTERS

6 topic stages

Main Stage

Ollie Ollerton

Former UK Special Forces Soldier

As one of the first former UK Special Forces members and star of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins to talk openly to the media and reveal their identity, Ollie Ollerton has an incredible story to tell. A former Special Forces operative with the SBS, he has undertaken operations in some of the most dangerous and remote locations on the planet.

After leaving school and joining the Royal Marine Commandos, Ollie’s time in Northern Ireland and Iraq earned him a recommendation for the SAS. After joining the service's marine sister regiment, the Special Boat Service, he undertook high profile missions involving hostage rescue, counter narcotics, and counter terrorism.

When Ollie returned to the UK, after thirteen years overseas and on the frontline, he started developing a concept that would put his years of training and experience to best use and would benefit others. His Break-Point business is a leadership and development course aimed at the public and corporate sectors whilst also supporting veterans suffering the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It's a subject Ollie has spoken openly about, sharing his experiences and difficulties in adjusting to life, dealing with stress, and overcoming trauma.

Ollie is now also one of the training director/presenters of SAS: Who Dares Wins, a show in which he and other ex-Special Forces operatives recreate the SAS’s selection process with thirty recruits from the public. The show has become one of Channel 4's most popular, attracting over three million viewers per episode. Since starring in the show Ollie has also written a deeply personal account of life in and out of the military, also called Break Point, looking at the challenges he faced working to enter the Special Forces, under fire on the frontline, and coming to terms with civilian life. He has also written Battle Ready, a practical look at how to apply his training and experience to more everyday goals, risk-taking and leadership.

Nicky Haddow

Victoria’s Secret UK Head of Marketing

I am an enthusiastic Marketing Expert that is passionate about delivering integrated & impactful 360 marketing propositions & campaigns that are not only Brand & Customer focused but commercially driven & data led. With 20+ years experience in Fashion & Apparel omni channel retailing, I love developing marketing strategies that perfectly align with the overall business objectives and market relevance, whilst driving innovation and retaining brand integrity.

Livia Fekiacova

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Enterprise Marketing CRM Lead

Livia has spent the past three years at Estée Lauder Companies leading the Enterprise Marketing CRM team. In this role, she’s been working with a diverse portfolio of 17 prestige beauty brands, spearheading digital transformation while nurturing each brand’s unique identity and purpose. Her leadership has driven creativity and innovation through tech, vendors and internal CRM strategies, placing the customer at the heart of CRM campaigns.

Before her current role, Livia provided consultancy and led the strategic development of lifecycle programs, award-winning campaigns, and both national and international CRM transformation projects. Her expertise spans customer-led strategy design and execution, as well as product development. Her client portfolio includes retail, FMCG, hospitality, tech and beauty. With over 13 years of experience integrating marketing and technology, her specialization and passion lie in CRM, loyalty programs, and data-driven strategies.

Livia’s background also includes experience in sales, digital media, magazine & print advertising, direct mail, radio, and OOO advertising.

Livia holds a Master of Science in Marketing and later served as a panel member at her university, contributing to the curriculum to keep it aligned with business trends for six years. Additionally, she has been actively sponsoring children in need in Africa for the past 20 years, a cause she deeply values.

Marco Merkx

IKEA Global Customer Engagement Development Leader

Over 25 years of experience in marketing management and strategy, e-commerce , digital marketing and customer relationship management both in operational and in strategical management roles for mainly fashion, food and lifestyle consumer brands and retailers. On national and international level, in organizations varying from start-ups to multinational corporations.

My professional purpose is to support companies with transformation, innovation and development of organization design, technology and customer engagement. Always based on customer data and insights, leading to tangible results and growth. Specifically realizing customer centricity, digital transformation and omni channel proposition development are my fields of expertise. For this, my commercial and technical know-how are as much of value and importance as are my creativity and my sensitivity towards the human, cultural and organizational aspects.

Currently working for Inter IKEA Systems, the owner and developer of the IKEA concept, range and brand, as Global Customer Engagement Development Leader, working on topics as engagement, loyalty, personalization and crm in an omni channel context.

Joana de Quintanilha

Forrester VP, Principal Analyst

Joana is a VP Principal Analyst at Forrester where she serves customer experience professionals. Her areas of expertise include journey-centricity, digital customer experience, empathy, mental models, designing for emotion, and tools including journey mapping, and Agile methods. Joana also focuses on brand and leads Forrester’s coverage of journey mapping, journey analytics, and journey orchestration technologies.

Jasmin Wheeler

John Lewis Customer Experience Lead

I’m an innovative and energetic Product Lead, motivated by getting the best for the people around me – whether that’s the customers I design for or the teams I work in or lead. My expertise has been built through five years’ working in retail across shops and head office for the John Lewis Partnership, during a period of radical change.

Honest, supportive and aspirational, I enjoy working collaboratively with people to create tangible results with a clear purpose in mind. Through leadership roles on the shop floor and in experience design, I’ve developed an agility to deliver both operational success and strategic vision. I focus on the future while meeting the practical needs of today.

Last year I learned a lot from being part of John Lewis’s Restart programme, which saw the safe and successful reopening of our 38 shops following the first national Covid lockdown. My focus was to ensure we were well placed to adapt to the change in our customers’ needs, particularly those from vulnerable groups.

Progression? I really value it, for myself and the teams I lead. So I’m energised by opportunities through which I can broaden my experience and enable others to reach their full potential.

Rebecca Martin

John Lewis Senior Customer Experience Manager

Rebecca is currently a Partner & Senior Customer Experience Manager at John Lewis & Partners. Rebecca started as Propositions Manager at John Lewis in 2021 and has since grown and developed her role into the Senior Customer Experience Manager position.

Prior to that, Rebecca was at Vodafone for 7 years starting as an Internal Communications Specialist and transitioned to a Propositions Manager.

Emma Perkins

Experian Head of CX Strategy EMEA & APAC

Over the past 5 years Emma has driven the Customer Experience agenda delivering change and CX improvements across the EMEA and APAC region delivering significant increases in Relationship NPS scores year after year. Leading the CX programme across 12 countries to deliver actionable insights and improvement activities, collaborating across multiple functions and levels within the organisation. Understanding the value of CX and the impact on business outcomes has been key to success.

Emma is committed to health and wellbeing and prior to joining Experian was fortunate to work in the fitness industry combining her love of being active outside with great Customer Experiences.

Specialties:
Customer Experience and Loyalty measurement
Market development
Driving change
Customer feedback mechanisms
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Shannon Hamer

Economist Global Head of Customer Success

Shannon is Head of Customer Success at The Economist but was an early adopter of Customer Success in the UK having launched and led Customer Success globally in large organisations including RELX Group, Financial Times and Zoopla. When not doing all things Customer Success, Shannon enjoys spending time with her husband, three daughters and is an avid puzzle and wine enthusiast!

Simon Birch

Hobbycraft Customer Service Manager

I am a dedicated and results-driven business leader with a strong background in Retail Management, Customer Experience, and Customer Contact management. Throughout my career, I have consistently championed the customer voice and spearheaded improvements across various facets of business operations. My track record speaks to my ability to build and lead high-performing teams that consistently deliver exceptional results. I am committed to elevating the customer experience and driving positive change within organisations.

Alessandra Canavesi

AXA Investment Managers Head of Digital Marketing & Customer Experience

Alessandra Canavesi is an experienced international marketing and communications director with dual Italian and British citizenship, based in London. With over fifteen years in the industry, she has been leading marketing projects across globally, particularly within blue-chip financial organizations.

Currently, Alessandra is the Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments. Since joining in 2016, she has driven significant results through innovative digital initiatives and strategic collaboration, leading to record capital-raising years, increased client engagement, and improved marketing ROI.

Her previous roles include Head of Marketing at LaSalle Investment Management, Senior Manager at M&G Asset Management, and marketing positions at Investec Private Bank and HSBC Group. Alessandra holds a Master’s degree in Classics and Philosophy from the University Statale of Milan and is fluent in Italian, English, and French.

Charlotte Burridge-Taylor

Volvo Head of Training for Global Customer Care

Strategic, results-focused leader, driving commitment to excellence through learning development and delivery and expert management of teams and processes.

My motorsport background gives me a unique perspective when it comes to premium brands which I have been able to use in the classroom to really bring training programmes to life and drive forward excellent results. Experience with premium brands has also given me a clear understanding of corporate guidelines, KPI’s, processes and the importance of striving for the highest level of customer satisfaction.

Deborah Woods

Costa Coffee Contact Centre Manager

Professional, goal orientated, people manager with 20 years contact centre experience who has successfully delivered results in demanding, fast-paced, contact centre environments. With a strong track record of exceeding business metrics and who has the ability to influence people at all levels and negotiate effectively. A resourceful problem solver, who is resilient and calm with a high level of emotional intelligence. Works extremely well under pressure and trusted to manage teams effectively to achieve and exceed their key business objectives. Customer focused with a passion to deliver enhanced customer experience

Samantha Lewis-Williams

Financial Times Head of Marketing Automation

Experienced Marketing Professional - adept at leveraging customer insights and analysis to identify opportunities to increase customer engagement via multi-channel customer-facing journeys.

Dina Hassan

LinkedIn Head of Customer Success - Global Clients, Search & Staffing - EMEAL

Dina is an accomplished customer success leader, currently heading a team within LinkedIn Talent Solutions, where she works closely with global staffing businesses HQ across EMEA & LATAM. With a deep focus on aligning technology, data, and change management, she has been instrumental in driving customer outcomes that foster long-term loyalty and engagement. Over the past nine years at LinkedIn, Dina has built a reputation for creating value beyond transactions by helping customers unlock growth through personalized strategies, data-driven insights, and scalable solutions across emerging and mature makrets. Known for her ability to cultivate relationships, Dina specializes in transforming customer feedback into actionable improvements that not only reduce churn but create brand advocates. Her unique approach combines strategic thinking, leadership, and a passion for human connection, empowering organizations to enhance customer lifetime value and achieve sustained business success.

Anna Wilcox

Bupa Head of Customer Experience

Anna is an established customer experience and marketing professional with a proven track record of delivering excellent commercial performance over the 20 years of my career.
I started my career in marketing, planning and driving growth for large corporate organisations across industries such as health insurance, the motor trade, pharmacy and IT. Over the years my passion for marketing sparked an interest in customer behaviour and 6 years ago I moved into the Customer Experience profession.
I now head up the Customer Experience function at Bupa Insurance, aiming to be the world’s most customer centric healthcare organisation.
All helping to achieve our purpose of helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives and making a better world.

Chloe Rice

Shutterstock Director, Global Customer Experience

Chloe Rice is a global customer experience leader with over 15 years of industry experience in sales and customer success. Currently serving as Director of Customer Experience at Shutterstock, Chloe has scaled her approach of genuine empathy and care for customers to a global level, leading cross-functional teams and initiatives that drive customer-centric innovation across multiple regions. Driven by a commitment to elevating customer experience, Chloe combines strategic vision with hands-on leadership to foster open, collaborative environments. Her extensive expertise and multi-faceted lens through which she has viewed the customer landscape enables her to bring unique insights on scaling customer care and performance in today’s fast-paced digital economy.

Melanie Fischer

Xero Director, Customer Experience - UK & EMEA

Melanie is a CX-centric Director with 20+ years’ experience embedding cultures of continuous improvement to optimise customer acquisition, satisfaction, and retention. She is passionate about maintaining high service efficiency and quality levels by championing customer success, Voice of Customer (VoC) implementation, complaints handling, and transparent communications.

Melanie is currently the CX Director at Xero for UK & EMEA (global accounting software company) and has prior experience at retailers such as Waitrose, Post Office and Tesco.

Areas of expertise include:
- major change and transformation
- leading large business units and teams

Rebecca Gordon

Westminster City Council Head of Online Customer Experience

As Head of Online Customer Experience at Westminster City Council, Rebecca brings years of dynamic expertise in leading digital transformation within the public sector. Known for developing user-centric services that surpass expectations, they champion agile methodologies and cultivate a collaborative spirit that propels teams to new heights. Attendees will gain insights into how innovative leadership and strategic digital delivery can revolutionise public service experiences.

With a proven track record in driving impactful change, Rebecca is passionate about inspiring teams to explore new technologies and fresh approaches that elevate customer engagement and service excellence. Join this session to learn from their journey of shaping exceptional digital solutions, sparking ideas that attendees can take back to their own organisations to foster transformation and innovation.

Vanessa Milan

Cambridge University Press & Assessment Head of Voice of the Customer, Global Operations

I am a passionate Voice of the Customer lead and a natural advocate for customers. I am skilled at engaging internal stakeholders to strategically improve the customer experience across Cambridge University Press and Assessment.

I am a self-starter and multi-disciplinary person who leads the development and execution of the Voice of the Customer programme, strategy and governance for Global Customer Service, Credit Management, Royalties, the English division Channel Partners and English and Education product platforms at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

Karen Stewart

Standard Life Vulnerable Customer Centre of Excellence - Snr Consultant

Joining Standard Life in Q4 2021, Karen has previously supported customers in vulnerable circumstances throughout her career in both retail banking and energy services.

She supports colleagues in embedding Standard Life’s Principles and Standards, support with best practice, internal and external training and upskilling resources and supporting Standard Life Workplace client visits when looking at our vulnerability management.

Karen is active externally in focus groups and forums around vulnerability and is a Vulnerability Champion for the Collaboration Network.

Focused on providing good customer outcomes, Karen has a particular interest in inclusivity and accessibility for customers and colleagues and showcasing the work we do to support our members.

Having experienced vulnerability personally, Karen is passionate about working to remove barriers and helping people get on with living their lives.

Suzanne Lannin

Standard Life Senior Operations Design Manager

Suzanne has worked for Standard Life since 1997 and performed roles in customer service, customer proposition, change delivery and most recently as a Senior Operations Design Manager.

She uses high quality insight to design and deliver enhancements for customers that remove barriers and drive better customer experiences and outcomes. This is enhanced with the use of journey maps and journey performance insight. She has a deep understanding of customer experience through tools such as Voice of Customer, root cause analytics, complaints outcome testing and behavioural science which leads to customer led solutions that are performance tested.

Suzanne is passionate about delivering the best possible outcomes for her customers, supporting them to live their dreams and go into later life with dignity and enjoyment.

Maria Mattos

Renault Group Customer Experience Transformation Manager

Maria Mattos is a passionate, collaborative CX professional with extensive experience in driving commercial improvements and retailer network performance. Maria has a strong background in Business Intelligence and has worked in the automotive industry for over 10 years.

Having worked at Volkswagen Group UK, Audi UK and now Renault Group UK, Maria is experienced in deploying transformational and continuous improvement projects at a national level with a customer-first mindset.

Natalia Tatar

Fuller Smith & Turner P.L.C Group Sales and Events Manager

Group Sales and Events Manager for Fullers since 2019

17 years of experience in Hospitality Sales and Events

Worked for companies like Novus Leisure and Revolution Bars

Sales Executive Apprenticeship Level 4

Member of Institute of Sales Professionals

I am a competitive and driven individual with a proven record of developing advanced sales structures and achieving consistent, sustainable sales growth. I focus my teams on delivering exceptional guest experiences as the key to outperforming their targets.

In my current role I navigate complex business landscapes, through building a strong sales and events team concentrated on enhancing customer engagement and adapting traditional sales processes to the demands of the modern digital economy.

Outside of work, I am a highly active mum of toddler who loves travelling, and spending time with her family and friends!

Naomi Sweeting

Places for People Group Head of Research & Insight

Naomi has an extensive background in customer experience and has recently joined the Places for People team as Group Head of Research & Insight.

Andy Purcell

WeTransfer Senior Manager Martech and Systems Operations

Andy Purcell has over 15 years experience making technology and data work for marketing teams and beyond at household names such as WeTransfer and The Walt Disney Company, as well as innovative start ups such as Immersive Gamebox. An expert in all things tech stack, Andy has worked with most systems across industries as varied as video game production, government and education.

Ashutosh Pandey

Eutelsat Group VP Project Management, Quality and Process

Ashutosh is a leading Global Executive in the New Economy sectors of Space Technology, Satellites and Telecommunications.

As a Transformation and Turnaround Leader, he has successfully delivered multi-dimensional cost intensive sustainable transformations bringing in more than 1 Billion Euro financial savings globally for multiple organisations.

As a Business Process Management (BPM) leader, he successfully led enterprise wide transformation of key end-to-end processes across the organisation, thereby unlocking multi-million cash and generate value via simplification, standardization and ERP consolidation (incl Digital Transformation)

As a Quality Management leader, he led successful end-to-end assessments for International standards like ISO 9001, TL 9000, CMMI, IS 27001, IS 18001, EFQM and set up Corporate ESG and Sustainability management metrics.

He has strong expertise in leading Operations and Program management (incl Global PMO), change management and executing customer transformation using continuous improvement methodologies like Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma and Hybrid/Agile PM.

He is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (CMBB), ASQ Certified Manager for Quality & Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), Certified Process Professional (CPP), ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Certified Business Excellence Assessor (CBEA) on EFQM model, Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA), Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Fellow Chartered Manager(FCMI) from CMI UK.

Ashutosh is recognised as a cross-industry expert in Business Transformation, Operational Excellence and Lean Six Sigma and he has been a leading panellist and key speaker at multiple international forums globally since 2008.

As a trainer, he has trained 5000+ experts in various continuous improvement methodologies (lean/ kaizen/ six sigma/ design thinking/ agile).

By education, he is a Bachelor of Engineering and also holds a double MBA degree.

Laura Macleod

Virgin Money Senior Product Owner

As a collaborative leader Laura works cross functionally with engineers, designers, data scientists, business stakeholders and customers to align AI product strategies with Virgin Money’s organisational goals and regulatory requirements. Throughout their career Laura has blended a deep understanding of customer needs, digital offerings and emerging AI technologies to create user centric virtual assistants that simplify complex banking tasks, enhancing accessibility and boost customer satisfaction by leveraging data analytics and continuous improvement Laura has driven substantial enhancements in customer engagement, response accuracy and self-serve efficiency. In a world where personalisation and digital convenience are vital, Laura is dedicated to pioneering solutions that make financial services more intuitive, accessible, and future ready through the power of conversational AI.

Tim Fisher

Tapi Carpets Head of Academy

For over 18 years, Tim has led Learning & Development teams in a variety of sectors across Australasia, South Africa, and the UK. With a focus on combining technology with people-centered strategies, Tim works to build lean, high-impact teams that foster growth, enhance skills, and drive meaningful business outcomes for Tapi Carpets.

Daniel Bunton

Cleo AI Head of Customer Support

Hi there! I'm Daniel, a former actor turned customer support enthusiast, currently Head of Customer Support at Cleo AI.
Like most actors, I became a Barista and knew how to make your coffee just right. This unexpectedly led to a role selling coffee by the kilo for a roastery.
When I stepped into the SaaS universe to head up Sales for a fresh start-up, I quickly realized the need for a robust support system. So, naturally, I took up that mantle.
Being at Cleo has allowed me to build a dynamic and empathetic team of support agents spread across the globe. Together, we've scaled our operations and enhanced user experiences from Series A to Series C...and we're just getting warmed up!
A key to our success at Cleo AI has been leveraging AI to automate processes, making customer journeys smooth and enjoyable. I find the intersection of AI and customer support to be fascinating and full of potential.
While the stage isn't my daily backdrop anymore, I keep my acting skills sharp through voiceover work. This has led to a variety of roles, including a recent gig voicing the yellow M&M.

Mark Nichols

Flagstone Head of Operations

Mark has extensive experience in client success, experience and operations and is now the Director of Operations at Flagstone.

Terry Ward

Quilter Customer Insight Specialist

Terry is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) at Wealth Management company Quilter, who has over twenty years’ experience in financial services. He uses insights from customer data and customer feedback to drive product and service enhancements and to inform current and future strategic priorities.

Harriet Lack

Oxford Languages Head of Customer Success

Harriet Lack is the Head of Customer Success at Oxford Languages, bringing a decade of experience in Customer Success roles across a range of industries from Finance and Food Technology to Licensing. Harriet is renowned for her ability to build and lead Customer Success teams, driven by a passion for data-driven insights and a commitment to co-collaboration with customers.

Throughout her career, Harriet has managed customer-facing teams in both start-ups and established businesses, covering areas such as Customer Success, Service, Operations and Telesales. She specializes in establishing and growing Customer Success teams, developing effective strategies and KPIs, implementing CRMs, and leveraging data analytics to drive growth and retention.

Harriet’s expertise and dedication to customer success make her an exceptional speaker on topics related to customer success and operational excellence. Her insights and experience provide valuable perspectives for any audience looking to enhance their customer success strategies and achieve sustainable growth.

Nicola Adcock

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl) Customer Experience Lead

Nicola is a Customer Experience Leader who has 15 years of experience designing and improving services to meet the needs of their users. Her background is in public services and she understands the unique balance of customer requirement and public interest that exists within this sector.

Nicola has most recently established a customer focus approach which brings insights, experience and engagement together to provide a holistic change and improvement programme.

Nicola’s skills and expertise include; managing customer facing teams, designing services and service structures, embedding KPIs and data analytics, developing and embedding customer experience strategy, co-ordinating cross functional activities that lead to customer success.

Helen Luty

Landmark Information Group Head of Customer Experience

Helen has over 25 years’ experience in Customer Experience Leadership across a variety of both B2B and B2C businesses. As Head of Customer Experience for Landmark Information Group, Helen covers service, support and success across a variety of divisions, building and improving processes to ensure Landmark are easy to do business with, that focus on positive outcomes, that seek and learn from feedback and that look to the ever-evolving needs of our customers. Helen has a passion for making a difference, this cascades throughout the Customer Service Teams and has resulted in high engagement scores and as we all know…… engaged and happy teams mean engaged and happy customers. Outside of work, Helen loves family time and live music and if you can combine the two, even better!

Nick Mills

Landmark Information Group National Training Manager

Nick has been the National Training Manager for Landmark Geodata for 18 years, with responsibility for the planning and delivery of the varied training courses offered to clients. As a recognised expert on the Landmark Geodata products Nick develops user guides and training documentation and is key to testing of the system. With more than 25 years’ experience in creating and delivering training, Nick holds a Masters Diploma in Learning and Development and is a Gold Accredited Learning and Development Professional and Fellow of the British Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL). Outside of Landmark, Nic enjoys sports (with football and rugby league favourite topics!), theatre, music – and computer games, which he doesn’t seem to have yet grown out of!

Russell Yeates

AWS Principal Sales Specialist for Amazon Connect

Russell has been working in the contact centre industry for the past 20 years. Starting with operational contact centre management, he has transitioned into helping clients while working for some of the leading manufacturers in the industry.

In his current role at AWS, Russell helps clients in the enterprise accounts, with specific focus on the travel and hospitality, gaming and logistics companies to achieve their CX experience goals.