The CX Iconoclast

In this episode of The CX Iconoclast , Richard Owen hosts Bill Staikos, a CX and EX leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations move beyond dashboards and into delivering tangible business outcomes. Drawing on his unique perspective from both the vendor and buyer sides of the industry, Bill discusses why too many companies are still stuck in outdated models of customer exper...

In this episode of The CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen sits down with Joe MacLeod – author, speaker, and self-proclaimed “Head of Endineering” – to explore one of the most overlooked parts of customer experience: the ending. Drawing on insights from his books and decades of experience, Joe explains why most companies obsess over creating desire and delivering products, yet neglect the final stage of t...

In this episode of the CX Iconoclast podcast, Richard Owen speaks with Tey Bannerman, a McKinsey partner focused on deploying AI in large enterprises to improve customer retention and growth. Bannerman emphasizes that AI should solve real human and business problems rather than just serve as a technological novelty. He critiques the reflexive use of AI for cost-cutting and job elimination, urging...

What if your KPIs could talk back—and guide your business forward? In this episode, Richard Owen and Brian Curry of OCX Cognition, and MIT’s Michael Schrage explore how AI is transforming not just customer experience metrics, but the very nature of leadership and organizational capability. They suggest why so many companies stick with legacy KPIs despite major shifts in tech, and how conversationa...

What happens when leading-edge academic research meets real-world customer dynamics? In this episode, OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen welcomes Chris Forman, Professor of Strategy, Innovation, and Technology at Cornell’s Dyson School, to discuss how technology adoption, data integration, and organizational readiness shape B2B outcomes. Together, they clarify the critical differences between collecti...

In this episode of CX Iconoclast , OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen sits down with Murli Buluswar, Head of Analytics at Citi’s U.S. Personal Bank, to explore how AI is reshaping customer insight and experience at enterprise scale. Murli shares his journey from early interest in behavioral science and analytics to leading cutting-edge initiatives that bring such innovation to life. From sharing intel...

In this episode of CX Iconoclast , Richard Owen sits down with Dean Eckles, MIT professor and former Facebook data scientist, to explore the real-world dynamics of misinformation—and what actually works to stop it. Eckles shares insights from his landmark research showing that correcting false content on social media doesn’t always reduce misinformation. In fact, it can sometimes make things worse...

In this CX Iconoclast episode, Richard Owen speaks with Bruce Temkin, a pioneering figure in customer experience, about his new initiative: Humanity at Scale . Temkin explains that despite decades of progress in CX and EX, many leaders still perceive a trade-off between focusing on people and achieving business results. His goal is to eliminate this false dichotomy by helping leaders understand th...

If you have never heard of the Department of Disruptive Capabilities, this is the place to be! In this episode, OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen sits down with MIT Senior Lecturer and renowned efficiency expert Steve Spear to explore what makes the world’s most innovative organizations tick. Drawing on his experience with Toyota, the U.S. Navy, and Fortune 500 leaders, Steve unpacks the mechanics of...

In this episode of CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen sits down with Professor Moira Clark, Director of the Henley Centre for Customer Management at Henley Business School. Moira brings sharp insight from two decades of research into what drives customer loyalty, profitability, and organizational performance. Together, they discuss the evolving role of AI in customer experience—from hyper-personalization...

In this episode, Richard Owen is joined by Felipe Bayón, newly-appointed CEO of GeoPark and former CEO of Ecopetrol, as well as Mauricio Duarte, a leading CX strategist in Latin America, to explore the evolving role of customer experience in the region. Felipe shares firsthand insights into navigating uncertainty, resilience, and digital transformation in Latin America’s complex business landscape...

Richard Owen hosts a conversation on the future of the telecommunications industry with Marc Anné, Chair of the World Communication Awards judging panel, and Harry Baldock, Editor of Total Telecom. The discussion covers key industry trends, including the rise of 5G, the growing dominance of hyperscalers, and the challenge of telcos transforming into technology companies. They address the persisten...

In this podcast, Richard Owen and Brian Curry tackle the provocative question, “Is NPS dead?” While acknowledging the clickbait nature of the question, they argue that the traditional Net Promoter Score (NPS) program has become outdated—not because the metric itself is useless, but because the way companies implement it has failed to evolve. Surveys, once the backbone of customer experience (CX) p...

OCX Cognition founder Richard Owen hosts Simon Lyons in this latest conversion. Simon has had a long and varied career working in marketing, brand management, and strategic development across a variety of industries, including power generation, drinks, and even the Scottish Football Association. Richard and Simon discuss the challenges and opportunities in modern marketing, particularly as organiz...

In this first of a series of two podcasts, Mauricio Duarte, CEO of Opinat, interviews Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, about the evolution of customer experience (CX) and the future of AI as a way of improving customer retention and growth. Richard shares his own CX journey, starting at Dell Computer, where he recognized customer experience as a key differentiator. He later joined Satmetrix as...

In the second podcast of this two-part series, Mauricio Duarte and Richard Owen go deeper into the transformative role of AI in customer experience (CX). Richard highlights AI as a generational shift, resembling the advent of the internet in its ability to transform our work, and discusses its potential to revolutionize CX measurement and personalization. He emphasizes that while AI can enhance co...

In this episode, Richard Owen speaks with Joe Pine and Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois about Starbucks’ journey of rediscovering its core identity as a "third place" — a welcoming environment between work and home. They explore how Starbucks' focus on retail efficiency and loss of employee-customer connection led to its decline, while highlighting the brand’s unique strengths that competit...

In this special 8-minute episode, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, shares highlights from 2024's CX Iconoclast podcast series, showcasing how top companies are embracing customer-centric transformation to drive retention and loyalty. Featured Guests: Simon Paris (Finastra): Explores how open finance shifts focus from products to personalized customer journeys. Chris Bishop (Conga): Explain...

In this 7-minute highlight reel, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, explores how AI and predictive analytics are transforming B2B customer experience by providing actionable insights, improving operational efficiency, and personalizing customer engagement.   Featured Guests:   Chris Bishop (Conga) : Shares how predictive analytics moves businesses from reactive problem-solving to proactive growth...

2024 was a great year for the CX iconoclast due to the amazing guests we had. In this recap, we look at the topic of operational resilience and flexibility, especially in supply chains. Discover how leading experts Chris Gopal and Kevin O'Meara are reshaping supply chain strategies to prioritize resilience and flexibility in response to today's complex challenges. From balancing risk and...

2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we had. One of the topics that came up was the nature of technology-driven CX enhancements. As you might imagine, technology, especially automation and AI driven support tools, has enabled companies to offer streamlined, consistent, and highly proactive customer experience. In this 'Best of' episode of The CX Icono...

2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we were able to host. It may be no surprise to you that one of the topics that came up repeatedly was the value of long term customer relationships. Long term CLV and customer retention are now vital metrics in B2B success, focusing on relationship management beyond the immediate sale. What makes long-term customer relations...

Richard Owen and Amir Hartman explore the challenges companies face in adopting AI, particularly the high failure rates of AI projects. Owen compares the current AI landscape to previous technological waves, where early excitement led companies to invest in sandbox projects with little return. These projects are often ill-conceived or difficult to scale, resulting in wasted resources. Hartman agre...

Richard Owen and Jean-Christophe Barland discussed the complexities facing the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in relation to healthcare delivery and the aging population. Barland emphasized the diversity among physicians in terms of their engagement with new technologies and their competence, which can lead to varying patient outcomes. A more data-driven, scientific approach could help addr...

In the latest CX Iconoclast conversation, Michel Claassens and Richard Owen dive into AkzoNobel's journey of digital transformation, demonstrating how a traditional paint company is innovating and continuing to grow in a rapidly changing landscape. Claassens shares insights on how AkzoNobel strategically targets specific business units to harness digital initiatives, driving both revenue grow...