Eslam Afifi

The CX Algorithm

Business EN ↓ 6 episodes

Customer Experience isn’t accidental — it’s designed. The CX Algorithm explores how people, data, and technology come together to create experiences that drive trust, loyalty, and growth. Hosted by Dr Eslam Afifi, each episode features conversations with global leaders across CX, data, AI, digital transformation, and leadership — focusing on real problems, real decisions, and what actually works beyond hype.

Author

Eslam Afifi

Episodes

Channels Are Delivery Mechanisms. Journeys Are the Product. 18.05.2026 22:14

Most organisations have a channel strategy. Very few have a journey strategy. And that gap — invisible from the inside, painfully obvious from the outside — is quietly undermining customer experience in banking, telecoms, retail, and beyond. In this episode of The CX Algorithm, Dr Eslam Afifi sits down with Oleksandr (Sasha) Zablotskyi, Head of Digital Channels at Openbank (Santander), to challeng...

Everything Is an Optimisation Problem — Including Your CX Strategy 04.05.2026 29:13

Everything Is an Optimisation Problem — Including Your CX Strategy With Mohamed Soliman, Regional VP at Energy Exemplar What if the same algorithm running thousand-node energy grids is the one quietly running every customer experience strategy too — whether we name it that way or not? In this episode, Dr. Eslam Afifi sits down with Mohamed Soliman — the strategist behind Energy Exemplar's scal...

The three pillars of unbeatable CX ease, authenticity, and trust 06.04.2026 27:51

Episode Description What does it actually take to build customer relationships that last — not just satisfy, but genuinely endure? In this episode, Dr Eslam Afifi sits down with Kate Calling, founder of World Journeys, a bespoke luxury travel agency that has thrived for over 20 years through the internet boom, the rise of online booking platforms, and now the emergence of agentic AI. Kate unpacks...

Beyond the AI Hype: The Human-Centred Blueprint for Modern CX Leadership 16.02.2026 35:29

AI is moving faster than most decision cycles — and leadership has never been more complex. In this episode of The CX Algorithm Podcast , Dr. Eslam Afifi is joined by Ana Herranz , executive & HR coach and co-founder of Game Changers for People and Talent , to unpack what leadership needs to become in the AI era: not more technical… but more human. Ana introduces a practical “inner algorithm”...

Back to the Middle: AI Agents and the Re-Intermediation of Customer Experience 02.02.2026 31:01

In this episode of The CX Algorithm Podcast , Dr Eslam Afifi is joined by David Carro Estrade Head of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) at Samsung Electronics Iberia to explore a quiet but profound shift in customer experience: the return of intermediaries. For years, organisations worked to remove friction and get closer to customers. Today, AI agents are re-entering the middle — shaping decisions, filter...

Beyond the Hype: AI, Attention, and Why Augmentation — Not Automation — Creates Real Value 12.01.2026 32:37

AI is everywhere — but real value remains elusive. In this episode of The CX Algorithm Podcast , Dr Eslam Afifi is joined by Kiron Ravindran , Professor and Department Chair of Information Systems and Technology at IE Business School , to cut through the noise and examine what’s actually working — and what isn’t — in today’s AI-driven organisations. Together, they explore why so many AI initiative...