2027 Programme

Conference Agenda

Explore The Latest Strategies For Personalisation, Customer Insight, Measurement, Loyalty & The Future Of CX - All In One Focused Day.

08.30 Registration & Informal Networking

OPENING REMARKS

09.00 GIC Welcome & Morning Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Sharon Braude, Global Group Director Marketing Technology, Virgin Active

Mark Brayton, Branch Network Director, Nationwide Building Society

BEYOND THE AI HYPE: IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THAT DELIVERS ROI FOR CX

NEW FOR 2027

09.10 Move Beyond Experimentation To Identify Proven AI Use Cases, Scale Responsible Innovation & Deliver Measurable Efficiencies & Commercial Performance

How can organisations identify the AI use cases delivering genuine value, learn from successful implementations, and move beyond experimentation to demonstrate measurable ROI?
Leverage AI to unite customer feedback, CRM, behavioural, and operational data to generate faster, richer insight and identify emerging needs?
What governance, guardrails, and testing frameworks are needed to manage bias, reliability, and risk while giving teams the freedom to experiment and scale what works?
From reactive to proactive CX: using AI and agentic capabilities to anticipate customer needs, empower teams, and deliver more proactive experiences

Annel Duckles, Associate Director, Worldwide Commercialisation Platforms Skills Development, Bristol Myers Squibb

STOP MAKING CUSTOMERS WORK: DESIGNING SEAMLESS CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

PANEL Q&A

09.30 Connecting End-To-End Customer Journeys, Breaking Down Functional Silos & Removing Barriers To Deliver Seamless Experiences, Strengthen Loyalty & Maximise Long-Term Customer Value

Measuring the end-to-end journey: how can organisations move beyond isolated touchpoints to connect journey metrics, NPS, CSAT, and customer feedback and understand the true performance of the customer experience?
Removing friction across the journey: how can brands identify pain points, barriers, and unnecessary complexity across the customer journey and create simpler, more seamless experiences?
How can brands create seamless and relevant customer journeys from acquisition through to retention and ongoing engagement to strengthen loyalty, maximise customer lifetime value, and minimise churn and re-acquisition costs?
Customer journey ownership: how can we break down functional silos, create clear cross-functional accountability along the end-to-end journey, and ensure every team contributes to a consistent customer experience?

David Norris, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Holiday Extras

Sean Carrigan, Head of Membership & Loyalty, ATG Entertainment

Nessa O’Gorman, Director, Product Management, Expedia Group

Alex Kousiopoulos, Head of Customer Journeys, HSBC

Sean Doyle, Head of Experience, Digital Channels, NatWest Group

Amy Skinner, Head of UX, VodafoneThree

WINNING CX BUY-IN: GETTING SENIOR STAKEHOLDERS ON BOARD

FIRESIDE CHAT | NEW FOR 2027

10.00 Transform Customer Journey Insight Into Compelling Business Cases, Demonstrate Commercial & Operational Impact & Secure Senior Stakeholder Buy-In To Drive Meaningful CX Change

Mobilising your organisation: how can CX leaders bring senior stakeholders together around shared priorities, influence decision-making and turn customer insight into coordinated action across the business?
How can you move beyond individual customer journeys to understand the wider operational impact of customer pain points and build a compelling case for change?
Proving value! How can CX teams translate customer intelligence into measurable business outcomes, from improving operational efficiency and reducing cost to serve to demonstrating ROI and securing investment?

Peter Freeman, Retention Director , Eyr Holistic

10.25 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner

11.05 Morning Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

HARNESSING SMARTER DATA, INSIGHTS & ANALYTICS

11.35 Connect Fragmented Customer Data, Leverage AI & Existing Data Sources To Build Deeper Customer Understanding, Elevate Experiences & Drive Greater Value

How are leading brands using data and analytics to drive meaningful improvements in customer engagement, experience and performance?
Break down data silos! Unite CRM, customer feedback, and behavioural data to create a holistic view of the customer and uncover more actionable insights
Explore how AI can bring together and analyse diverse data sources at scale, improving the speed and accuracy of insight while keeping the focus on meaningful customer and commercial outcomes
Unlock the value of first-party data, existing partnerships and underused data sources to strengthen customer understanding without unnecessary cost or complexity

PERSONALISATION THAT PERFORMS

NEW FOR 2027

11.55 Rethink Your Personalisation Strategy, Optimise Your Channel Mix & Use Customer Data To Deliver More Relevant Experiences That

A clear view of how brands can unlock the full potential of their data to deliver genuinely personalised and relevant customer communications
What does good personalisation look like? How to move beyond open rates and clicks to understand whether personalisation is genuinely changing behaviour, driving conversion, and delivering commercial value
Right person, right message, right moment: connect customer insight, channel strategy, and content to ensure communications are relevant, timely, and consistent across the customer journey

Nick King, Market Research & Insight Director, Autotrader

CLICKS TO CONTEXT, NAVIGATION TO INTENT, EXPERIENCES TO OUTCOMES: HOW AI IS REWRITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

AA CASE STUDY

12.15 AI is fundamentally changing how customers discover information, interact with brands and get things done. As search becomes conversational and multimodal, customers can express their needs, preferences and circumstances more naturally — giving organisations richer context and enabling experiences that are increasingly relevant to the individual and the moment. At the same time, customers are moving from navigating predefined journeys to simply expressing their intent, while agentic AI is beginning to shift the expectation from being guided through an experience to having an outcome delivered. This session explores three shifts shaping the next generation of customer experience — Clicks to Context, Navigation to Intent, and Experiences to Outcomes — and what they mean for how organisations design, personalise and deliver CX in an AI-first world.

Somnath Biswas, Head of AI Products, The AA

12.35 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner

13.05 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners

13.35 Peer-To-Peer Discussion Groups

A) The Importance Of Relationships In B2B CX

Rob Jackson, Client Experience Director, JLL

B) How VoC Is Evolving With The Advent Of New Technologies & AI Web Searches

Vanessa Milan, Head of Voice of The Customer, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

14.05 Afternoon Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Philippa Cresswell, Director, Customer Experience Midlands Railway (East), East Midlands Railway

Sarah Reeder, Senior Manager- Service Strategy, Sky

THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER: TURNING INSIGHT INTO CHANGE

14.15 Capture Diverse Customer Voices, Meet Customers Where They Are & Translate Feedback Into Action To Deliver More Inclusive, Relevant & Connected Experiences

Guarantee Voice of the Customer programmes are accessible and inclusive, using the right channels and approaches to capture feedback from customers with different needs, preferences and levels of digital engagement
Leverage critical customer feedback, identify emerging needs, pain points and barriers to strengthen brand loyalty and drive commercial results
Closing the feedback loop: how can organisations turn customer insight into meaningful action and ensure customers see that their feedback is being heard and acted on?

Essack Miah, Head of Customer Relationships & Operations , The Metropolitan Police Service

REDEFINING CX: KEEPING PACE WITH EVOLVING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

PANEL Q&A

14.35 Navigate Shifting Customer Needs, Generational Expectations & Rising Demands To Deliver Relevant, Accessible & Value-Driven Experiences Across Every Touchpoint

How can businesses balance rising customer expectations around speed, convenience, and value with their own brand values and commercial priorities?
How are evolving customer expectations reshaping channel strategy, automation, and the balance between digital and human interaction?
How can brands navigate generational differences in customer expectations while delivering consistent, seamless, and accessible experiences across digital and physical channels?
AI as an assistant: leveraging AI to capture, analyse, and act on customer feedback in real time to anticipate evolving needs and continuously improve the customer experience

Somnath Biswas, Head of AI Products, The AA

Jimmy O’Sullivan, Head of Product – Customer, Client & Colleague Experience, Evri

Zack Wragg, Senior Global Digital Commerce Product Owner, Merlin Entertainments

Suzanne Duffy, Head of Customer Experience, Fussy

Naomi Rankin, Global Customer Care Manager , LUSH

Peter Freeman, Retention Director , Eyr Holistic

FROM ACQUISITION TO LOYALTY: CONVERSION, RETENTION & GROWTH

NEW FOR 2027 | DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE

15.05 Optimise The Customer Lifecycle, Connect Data & Insight & Turn Acquisition, Conversion & Retention Into Sustainable Growth

Beyond the first conversion: what does it take to turn a new customer into a loyal one? Using customer insight and engagement to understand what drives repeat purchase, reduce churn and increase lifetime value
Deep dive into loyalty and retention strategies that are genuinely reversing churn and increasing customer engagement
Measurement and metrics: move beyond individual KPIs to connect conversion, retention, churn, and customer advocacy to build a clearer picture of what is truly driving commercial performance
Connect customer data across the customer lifecycle to understand behaviour, identify retention opportunities, and deliver more relevant experiences that increase engagement and long-term loyalty

15.05 Perspective 1:

Elena Buslaeva, Head of Customer Experience, Direct Ferries

15.25 Perspective 2:

Max Holland, CRM Lead, Fanatics

Emily Cowburn, CRM Lead, Fanatics

15.45 Afternoon Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CX? ANTICIPATING THE CX OF TOMORROW

FIRESIDE CHAT | NEW FOR 2027

16.15 Look ahead at how AI, emerging technologies, and changing customer expectations will shape the future of CX, creating more personalised, proactive, and connected experiences while keeping trust and human connection at the heart.

Stefan Witteman, Client Experience Lead, HSBC Private Bank

HUMAN-LED & AI-ASSISTED CX STRATEGIES

PANEL Q&A | NEW FOR 2027

16.35 Keeping The Human At The Heart: Balancing AI Innovation With Human Connection To Deliver Trusted, Inclusive & Customer-Centric Experiences

Balancing efficiency with experience: how can organisations move beyond cost reduction and headcount savings to ensure AI delivers greater efficiency without compromising customer satisfaction or service quality?
A vital balance: where is human support most critical, particularly for vulnerable customers, and how can AI enhance these interactions without removing the empathy, reassurance and understanding customers need?
Generating seamless human-AI journeys: creating the right balance between AI-led self-service and human support, ensuring customers can move between the two and access the right support when they need it
Leverage AI to meet evolving customer expectations, address scepticism and maintain trust, authenticity and satisfaction across every touchpoint

Neal Silverstein, Head of Technology Customer Services, Specsavers

Shruti Ahuja, Head of Data & Digital Transformation, Virgin Media O2

Isobel Parker, Customer Experience Lead, Close Brothers

Matt Williams, Head of Customer Satisfaction, Bulk

Rosie Franca, Head of Customer Experience, Midlands & East of England, NatWest

THE OMNI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE: CONNECTING EVERY TOUCHPOINT

17.05 Connect Channels, Data & Customer Journeys To Deliver Consistent, Seamless & Relevant Experiences At Every Stage Of The Customer Lifecycle

Creating a truly connected experience: Move beyond individual channels to create consistent customer journeys across digital, physical and service touchpoints
What are brands doing to successfully deliver omnichannel experiences and what practical lessons can others take away and implement?
Making every touchpoint work harder: use channel performance and customer insight to identify what is working, optimise the experience and drive stronger engagement, conversion and loyalty

Jimmy O’Sullivan, Head of Product – Customer, Client & Colleague Experience, Evri

17.25 Case Study: What Customers Do, Not Just What They Say: In-Store Behaviour As A Service Tool

Sabrina Salvador, Customer Insight Head, WH Smith

17.40 Afternoon Co-Chairs’ Closing Remarks & Official Close of Conference

Philippa Cresswell, Director, Customer Experience Midlands Railway (East), East Midlands Railway

Sarah Reeder, Senior Manager- Service Strategy, Sky