Speaking From Experience by Cortico-X

What if the secret to unstoppable growth wasn't better technology, but better fandom? In this episode of Speaking From Experience, host Sujay Saha sits down with Dane Mathews, Global Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Taco Bell, to explore how brands create defensible growth by turning customers into passionate fans. Dane shares how Taco Bell operationalizes fan-led experience activism across...

Welcome to Speaking From Experience with Len Devanna. In this episode, we are joined by Todd Unger, Chief Experience Officer at the American Medical Association and author of The 10-Second Customer Journey. Todd discusses how his team was named best CX team of the year and shares his insights on CX as an orchestration layer that drives growth through seamless integration of marketing, product, and...

In this episode of Speaking From Experience, hosted by Len Devanna. Perry Philipp, Chief Data Officer of Entain, chats with Len about how data, AI, and trust drive one of the world’s largest gaming brands. Perry shares insights on leading data initiatives in a highly regulated, 24/7 global environment—where player safety and responsible play are key. He discusses how his team supports regulatory c...

Welcome to Speaking From Experience, hosted by Len Devana, where we explore the stories and insights behind great experiences. In this latest episode, I sit down with Nicolas Rodet, a trailblazer in digital transformation with nearly three decades of leadership at some of the most innovative organizations worldwide. Nicolas shares a compelling perspective on how the landscape of digital transforma...

Join Len Devanna, Founder of Cortico-X, on the latest episode of Speaking From Experience as I sit down with visionary automotive designer Derek Jenkins. Derek has led the creation of iconic vehicles for brands like Mazda, Audi, Volkswagen, and now Lucid Motors, where he's redefining the future of sustainable mobility. In this episode, Derek shares the inspiring stories behind his most persona...

Discover the transformative insights from industry leaders on how people-centric strategies drive sustainable growth and innovation. In this episode of Speaking From Experience, Len Devanna sits down with Jeff Marks, COO at Munich Re Specialty Insurance, to explore how cross-industry experience shapes leadership and how organizations can embed human-centered design into their transformation journe...

On this episode of Speaking from Experience, host Len Devanna, sits down with Marc Sirkin, CEO of Third Door Media, a company recently acquired by Semrush. Marc shares his incredible journey through the waves of digital transformation, from the early internet days to the AI-powered marketing landscape of today. With decades of leadership in strategy, innovation, and enterprise transformation, Marc...

Over December, we will be bringing you a selection of our favorite episodes from 2024. This week, it's our conversation with entrepreneur Ron Holt...Some industries have conditioned us to have almost unreasonably high expectations, and some industries have conditioned us to have unusually low expectations. The moving industry sits firmly in the latter category. Ron Holt thinks that's not good enou...

Over December, we will be bringing you a selection of our favorite episodes from 2024. First up, the inimitable Don Peppers....You don’t need a management consultant to tell you that customer experience is important in 2024.  It was not always the case. In fact, before the CRM revolution of the early 90’s, experience was a word seldom heard in boardrooms. In this very special episode, host Will Ki...

We’ve all heard that old cliché, "It gets me from A to B." For a long period of time, that was good enough in the eyes of many drivers. How times have changed. The car industry is at the intersection of a range of disruptive forces: environmental sustainability, the rise of digital and AI, and the brand purpose era (to name a few).There are few industries that are changing as rapidly, and as funda...

This episode was recorded on the morning after the 2024 US election. Historians may just have a few things to say about it in years to come. One reflection will no doubt be on the impact of images and videos on the campaign. Whilst we’ve had several social media elections now, this was perhaps the first one where social media was combined with the power of AI to deliver visual content. The results...

Over the previous decades, technology has made it easier to understand and connect with other people, whether through social media, digital adoption, or with the increasing use of AI. At the same time, human interactions have become more polarized, with growing levels of political and social conflict. We are at a critical juncture in world history. The combination of technology and interconnectivi...

The role of carer is an underappreciated and yet essential part of our social fabric. Looking after young children or elderly parents can be a full-time job. So what happens when a carer needs to do both at the same time. This Herculean task is what faces the sandwich generation: a group of middle-aged adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children. How can businesses do more...

Community banks are in the midst of an existential moment. Their traditional strengths have been undermined by the rise of digital banking. And the reality is that they have less money to spend on digital capabilities than their bigger competitors. KeyBank is bucking the trend, and it is doing so by taking a community ethos and applying it to the digital age. To chat about the KeyBank story, Will...

About 40% of Americans will get cancer in their lifetime. We all know someone who has lost their life to this awful disease. Given its prevalence, and its devastating impact, you’d think the healthcare system would do everything it possibly could to ease the burden on patients. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, navigating complex cancer treatment can be a nightmare for people who are al...

The world wants to regulate AI, but does not quite know how. There is disagreement over what is to be policed, how and by whom. We are seeing considerable differences in approach emerge across the US, Europe, and Asia. For businesses, this is a confusing picture. How can they harness the benefits of AI, whilst staying inside blurry regulatory and ethical guardrails? To answer that question, Will i...

For decades, executives have struggled to maintain control over their organizations’ strategic direction due to a limited understanding of emerging technologies. This has often resulted in ceding significant influence to tech partners, both internal and external. However, the AI revolution presents a unique opportunity. Unlike previous technological shifts, business leaders recognize how behind th...

Despite America spending enormous amounts on healthcare, shocking health disparities still remain across racial, culture, gender, and socio-economic lines. The not-for-profit health system Providence provides a ray of hope. Providence is using human-centered design to put patients at the heart of their health equity agenda. To discuss the Providence story, Will is joined by Providence VP Lin MacMa...

It feels like AI can now write anything for us and create anything for us. In some respects it’s exciting, but it’s also scary, and it raises a depressing question: will AI kill creativity? There are few people better placed to answer that question than Polish-American artist Agnieszka Pilat. Agnieszka is the Silicon Valley elite’s favorite artist. Intelligencer magazine has called her the court p...

There are some problems that feel like they are just too big to solve. African poverty has long fallen into this category. But try telling that to the "Cheetah Generation.” The “Cheetah Generation” are a new cohort of dynamic African entrepreneurs and professionals identified by Ghanaian economist George Ayittey, who are creating local pathways for change that will shape the future of African pros...

When it comes to emerging technologies, businesses think a lot about commercial and operational tactics, but often forget to consider the cultural changes that new technology will bring, and the responsibility for guiding those cultural shifts in a positive direction. We may be making this mistake with AI – there are a lot more reports on how your business can use ChatGPT than there are reflection...

Some industries have conditioned us to have almost unreasonably high expectations, and some industries have conditioned us to have unusually low expectations. The moving industry sits firmly in the latter category. Ron Holt thinks that's not good enough, and he's doing something about it. Ron is one of America’s most interesting and successful entrepreneurs. He scaled his first business, ‘Two Maid...

Everyone knows the US healthcare system is broken. That shouldn't be an excuse for healthcare providers to not do everything in their power to improve the lives of their patients and their caregivers. To explore how to build trust in a broken healthcare system, Will is joined by Robyn Gilson, VP at Acquis Cortico-X, and Jeff Logan, VP of Patient and Market Experience at Providence, and winner of '...

In some respects, it's never been more difficult to be a banker. You have to navigate historically low customer trust, increasing regulatory complexity, an uncertain macroeconomic environment, and a customer journey that is arguably more difficult to get right than in any other industry. At the same time, the opportunities in banking have never been more exciting. The converging forces of digital...

You don’t need a management consultant to tell you that customer experience is important in 2024.  It was not always the case. In fact, before the CRM revolution of the early 90’s, experience was a word seldom heard in boardrooms. In this very special episode, host Will Kingston is joined by the man who is widely credited with launching that revolution, Don Peppers. Don’s first book, ‘The One to O...