The Modern Customer Podcast

In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, David Kinzelman, Chief Customer Officer at United Airlines—the world's largest airline, known for its extensive international network, operational scale, and continued investment in digital innovation and customer experience—shares how the company scales CX through operations. At United, CX isn't a layer on top of the business—it's built into how the...

At CVS Health, AI is helping teams better understand and engage consumers—through stronger data and analytics. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast , Josh Weiner, Senior Vice President of Consumer Engagement & Analytics at CVS Health, breaks down what it actually takes to make AI work in healthcare. From predicting customer intent in the contact center to enabling more personalized and c...

AI can handle millions of customer conversations—but only when the right data, workflows, and systems are in place. Most companies underestimate what it actually takes to make that work. In this episode, Nalin Gupta , Founder & CEO,  Cignara  breaks down why AI in customer support isn't plug-and-play—and what's required to make it accurate and reliable at scale. We get into the foundation behind i...

AI is often deployed to improve efficiency—but its impact depends on how work is structured and delivered. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, Dean Kontul , EVP and CIO of Intelligent Automation, Contact Center, and Investment Operations at KeyBank , shares how one of the largest U.S. financial services companies is applying AI to improve customer experience. At KeyBank, AI sits alongs...

Customer experience is shifting from memorable interactions to driving customer outcomes. That's the shift behind the Transformation Economy, and it's changing how companies create value for customers. This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Joseph Pine , co-author of The Experience Economy and author of the new book The Transformation Economy, explores the next evolution of customer value—from...

At Vanguard , every investment is centered on client needs—but delivering that consistently at scale takes more than intent. In this week's episode of The Modern Customer Podcast , Matt Brancato shares how alignment across teams, disciplined listening, and AI-supported frontline decisions come together to create a more unified client experience. Trust isn't built through strategy—it's built throug...

At Bimbo Bakeries USA , customer experience comes down to one goal: making products available where and when shoppers want them. That means keeping shelves stocked across thousands of stores—every day. This week on The Modern Customer, Jeffrey Hendrix , Chief Customer Officer at Bimbo Bakeries USA , shares how the company uses its 12,000 delivery routes to keep products available at scale. Instead...

Contact centers have long been built on fragmented systems — CRM for customer data, separate platforms for calls and messaging, and AI layered on top. But that model is starting to change. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, in partnership with Salesforce, Blake Morgan speaks with Gautam Vasudev, SVP of Agentforce Contact Center at Salesforce, about the rise of the agentic contact cent...

Service economics have long depended on headcount. Scale meant higher cost, and capacity constrained performance. AI changes that. This week on The Modern Customer, Matt Price , Founder & CEO of Crescendo , explains how AI expands capacity and connects service directly to business outcomes. Instead of charging per seat or hour, Crescendo ties pricing to measurable results. When teams treat service...

New data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index reveals nearly a decade of stagnation, a narrowing gap between top and bottom performers, and rising loyalty. Together, these shifts point to one conclusion: customer experience is converging. In this week's episode of The Modern Customer , Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index, explains what this m...

Customer conversations generate value. Yet most organizations never connect that value to action. Context gets lost across channels, and next steps never connect to downstream systems. This week on The Modern Customer, Ali Tore , RingCentral's SVP & GM of Conversational AI, shares how agentic voice AI closes that gap. He outlines why organizations must move beyond isolated automation and build sys...

As restaurants scale, preserving hospitality becomes harder to sustain. This week on  The Modern Customer , Andrew Rebhun, Chief Experience Officer at CAVA , shares how the Mediterranean fast-casual brand keeps hospitality at the center while scaling to 400+ locations. The conversation breaks down how experience leadership actually works at scale—from loyalty and social listening to team training...

Great customer experience doesn't lose customers to competitors—it loses them to apathy. And it creates superfans when ownership of the experience is clear. In this episode of The Modern Customer, customer experience speaker and author Brittany Hodak explains what actually turns customers into superfans—and why tools, automation, and AI alone aren't enough. Drawing on her work with organizations l...

Customer experience leaders face a familiar tension: do we put employees first or customers first? As organizations scale and adopt AI, that question becomes operational. In this special takeover episode of The Modern Customer Podcast , Jacob Morgan shares insights from The 8 Laws of Employee Experience , based on research with more than 100 CHROs. He explains why CX and EX operate as one system—a...

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, you'll hear why winning with AI doesn't start with an AI strategy. In this episode, Peter Czimback —former VP of Experience Innovation at Aramark —shares a business-first approach to transformation that begins with experience, outcomes, and human capability, with AI supporting execution underneath. The conversation explores how leaders can move beyond AI e...

As digital products become the primary customer interface, delays in bug diagnosis and resolution now directly affect the customer experience. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, Matt Rubright, Chief Customer Officer at Jam, explains how Jam fits into the bug-reporting and support workflow by capturing technical context as issues are reported. That shared context helps support and engi...

In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast , Krista Phillips, Chief Customer and Transformation Officer at M&T Bank , explains how a Fortune 500 bank turns half a million customer signals into CX execution. The conversation explores how structure, governance, analytics, and AI help move customer insight from feedback into action—while balancing digital growth with trust and prioritizing relati...

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Sven Gierlinger breaks down what CX leadership really looks like at scale. As SVP and Chief Experience Officer at  Northwell Health , Sven leads experience across one of the largest health systems in the country—bringing hospitality principles, cultural leadership, and practical technology into healthcare. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to learn what modern...

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Will Heywood , Chief Customer Officer of DHL Supply Chain North America, shares how the world's largest contract logistics provider applies AI where execution actually matters—inside warehouses, delivery networks, and daily workflows. Will breaks down his first 90 days as CCO, including owning growth targets and clarifying how customer experience is create...

Kidney care is one of the most complex—and overlooked—patient experiences in healthcare. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, we explore how CX-aligned leadership can reduce friction and improve outcomes for people facing advanced kidney disease. Strive Health's Chief Customer Officer, Evelyn Goodfriend, shares what patient experience looks like up close, why traditional care models fal...

How is one of the largest health systems in Texas using AI to transform patient experience? This episode of The Modern Customer Podcast explores how Memorial Hermann Health System is applying AI, predictive analytics, and digital tools to redesign care for millions of patients across Houston. The conversation features Alex Greengold, Chief Consumer Experience Officer at Memorial Hermann, who bring...

The Hershey Company is transforming faster than ever—proving how CX and AI can modernize a 130-year-old brand at scale. This week on The Modern Customer Podcast , Tiffany Menyhart — Chief Customer Officer at The Hershey Company — shares how her team is reshaping customer experience across physical retail, e-commerce, and the rapidly expanding on-demand ecosystem. Hershey's results speak for themse...

AI is reshaping how companies build and scale customer relationships. In this episode of The Modern Customer podcast, learn how to use AI to strengthen customer trust, speed up execution, and prepare for voice-driven and multimodal CX. Nicholas Thorne , co-author of Me, My Customer, and AI , breaks down practical strategies for modern leaders. Nicholas is also the co-founder of Audos , and a partn...

This week on The Modern Customer podcast,  Michael Gerrish , Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas , shares the strategy that transformed their organization. The key? Aligning Marketing and Experience to accelerate growth. Michael outlines how the unified CMXO role is responsible for making sure the brand's promises match the actual customer experience, driving...

This week on The Modern Customer podcast, Valarie Vest, EVP and Chief Experience Officer at Cambridge Investment Research , shares a strategic view of the transformative power of AI and its profound impact on the CXO role. As Cambridge's first CXO, Valarie highlights the crucial importance of a people-first approach amid rapid technological advancements. This episode delivers invaluable, practical...