This is the third in a series of podcasts with co-authors of the book Customer Experience 3. David Wales is the founder of SharedAim consultancy that helps organisations excel by putting human experience at the heart of CX strategy and practice. Prior to that David had a distinguished career in the fire service, and was its first-ever CX manager. He remains an advisor to the international humanitarian and emergency community, which in combination with his CX work, provides a unique and transferable perspective on the human experience."  Miles C. Thomas is a seasoned customer service and experience professional who believes in the importance of taking a human approach to the delivery of great service and experiences.  He has acted as the chair of judges in industry customer experience awards and has also been named as a global leader and influencer in the CX sphere by Customer Experience Magazine and My Customer Magazine among others.  Miles is the founder of Humanized CX and CX Wales. His experience in technology, service and experience combined with a degree in Psychology has provided a unique lens in humanizing the customer experience.

John Miller is the author of the million-selling QBQ! The Question Behind the Question book.  He’s also the founder of QBQ, Inc., an organizational development firm dedicated to helping people and organizations make personal accountability a core value. Through his writings, speaking, and a nationwide network of certified distributors, John has brought his message to countless organizations.  John invested a decade selling leadership and sales management training before becoming an author. His content was developed facilitating over 10,000 hours of training inside corporations from all industries. A 1980 graduate of Cornell University, John now lives in Denver, CO with his wife, Karen. They have six daughters, one son, and 12 grandchildren. 

Donna Weber is the world’s leading expert in customer onboarding. For more than two decades, she’s helped high-growth startups and established enterprises create customers for life. Donna is a recognized Customer Success thought leader, influencer, strategist, advisor, author, and speaker who gets to the heart of the matter. She is passionate about helping customers reach their goals, because when customers win, you win. High growth companies hire Donna to increase customer retention, decrease time to customer first value, increase customer lifetime value, reduce implementation time and costs, increase product usage and adoption, and scale Customer Success organizations. Her new book is Onboarding Matters: How Successful Companies Transform New Customers into Loyal Champion.

Nathan Foy is founder and CEO of Fortis, nine-time Inc. Magazine honoree as one of America’s fastest-growing companies. Fortis provides over 25,000 private, secure trips in 114 countries per year to clientele worth more than half a trillion dollars. These clients routinely rank Fortis on Gallup surveys as best in the industry. With offices in Greenville, South Carolina, and Hong Kong, Fortis offers ground transportation to more private jet owners than any other service in the world. Nathan’s first book, What Rich Clients Want (But Won’t Tell You), translates the Fortis experience into a replicable, scalable business model any service provider can recreate. Nathan lives in Greenville with wife Pam and their four children.  Learn more about Nathan, Fortis, and What Rich Clients Want at www.NathanFoy.com.

Roy Atkinson is one of the most recognized thought leaders in IT, service management, and customer experience, and serves as CEO, Clifton Butterfield, LLC, a business advisory practice. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Digital Transformation and a 2021 member of HDI’s Strategic Advisory Board. He was described by CIO Insight as a "model for the future digital leader." He is one of HDI’s “Top 25 Thought Leaders in Technical Support and Service Management for 2021.” Nextiva named him one of the "Top 50 Customer Service Experts of the Decade 2010-2020" and SurveySensum included him in its list of “Top 150 Global Customer Experience Thought Leaders and Influencers of 2020.” He was HDI's 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. He holds a masters certificate in advanced management strategy from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business.

Rick Delisi (co-author "Digital Customer Service" and Lead Research Analyst, Glia) has been researching customer service and customer experience for the past two decades. He is also the co-author of the bestselling book The Effortless Experience, and has written several pieces published in the Harvard Business Review. Prior to working in customer service he was a journalist, winning four Associated Press awards for outstanding feature reporting.

Bryan Horn is a leading customer experience turnaround expert. His foundations come from 18 years of management experience and training from the Ritz Carlton Institute, the Zappos School of WOW, and the Disney Institute. He has written two best-selling customer service books, is a contributing author for MyCustomer.com and Customer Service Manager Magazine and was deemed a “CX Superhero” by the Clientship Customer Strategy Podcast. Bryan brings a "real-world perspective" to customer experience and employee development. Through practical application, innovative approaches, and inspirational storytelling, Bryan is changing the way organizations do business with their customers and their employees.

Mark is the CEO of ARCET Global. A Leader in creating engaging content led events and Building CX Communities across the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Mark’s focus is on building more engaging Event concepts along with assisting clients on the next stage of their journey to excellence. His entire career has been centered around Customer Experience from being product manager of the TICSI standard to becoming a successful serial entrepreneur.

Lee Cockerell retired as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, a position he held for ten years. His responsibilities encompassed a diverse mix of operations, which included 20 resort hotels with over 24,000 Guest rooms, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 5 golf courses, a shopping village & nighttime entertainment complex, the ESPN Sports Complex and the ancillary operations support functions. Lee joined the Disney organization in July 1990 as Director of Food and Beverage and Quality Assurance for the Disneyland Paris hotels. Prior to joining the Walt Disney World Co., he spent seventeen years in various executive positions with the Marriott Corporation and eight years with Hilton Hotels. Lee is the best-selling author of four books on leadership, management and world class customer service: 1) Creating Magic…10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney is now available in 21 languages; 2) The Customer Rules...The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service is currently available in 15 languages; 3) Time Management Magic…How to Get More Done Every Day; and 4) Career Magic…How to Stay on Track to Achieve a Stellar Career. Lee and his wife Priscilla reside in Orlando, Florida.  Lee enjoys teaching leadership, management, and service excellence seminars, traveling, dining out and most of all spending time with his three grandchildren, Jullian, Margot, and Tristan.

The podcast delves into Sirte Pihlaja's journey as a CX expert, emphasizing the importance of diverse career backgrounds. It explores using Lego for CX innovation, virtual teams in financial services, and the impact of Lego Serious Play beyond team building. The discussion highlights the importance of genuine customer experiences, employee well-being, and adapting to evolving customer needs during the pandemic.