As flight disruptions soared, Spirit Airlines faced a tough reality: outsourced contact centres can’t flex fast enough when guests need immediate answers. So they flipped the model, designing self-service not just for guests, but for agents too.

In this session, Vanessa Hardy-Bowen, Director of Guest Care & Contact Center at Spirit Airlines, will explain how Spirit used contact centre feedback, pilot testing, and vendor partnerships to offload repetitive work, simplify training, and free up agents for more complex, rewarding interactions. You’ll hear how their strategy reduced volume and improved CSAT while supporting BPO teams through the shift with communication and collaboration.

Attendees will learn:

• How automation was rolled out with empathy, flexibility, and feedback from agents
• Why shifting low-effort tasks to self-service improved morale and made BPOs more effective
• What it really takes to evolve contact centres when most of your team sits outside your walls

Vanessa Hardy-Bowen

Director of Guest Care & Contact Centers
Spirit Airlines

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In the rush to modernize contact centers, it can be easy to forget the humans behind the headsets. During this session, we’re discussing putting agents back at the centre of transformation and exploring what happens when you treat them not just as users of tech, but as co-creators of it.

You’ll hear from Courtnie Bergler, Director of Scheduling Innovation Contact Center at Mayo Clinic, who is working at the frontline of CX transformation, piloting new tools and platforms designed to ease agent workload, reduce burnout, and connect staff to more meaningful customer conversations. From automating outbound calls to building peer-led change management strategies, Courtnie will share insights from a rollout journey that prioritized agent voice at every step.

You’ll also learn how and why Mayo Clinic took a unified CCaaS approach while navigating the realities of cross-functional buy-in and the messy middle of innovation.

Attendees will learn:

• How to pilot automation without losing agent trust or momentum
• Why peer visibility, pacing control, and WIIFM comms made the biggest difference in change adoption
• What it really takes to modernize legacy contact centers

Courtnie Garteski Bergler

Director, Scheduling Innovation Contact Center
Mayo Clinic

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Exceptional CX starts long before the first interaction—It begins with leadership, culture, and how you treat your people. In this fireside chat, Barry Jacobson veteran CX leader turned entrepreneur, shares powerful lessons from a 40-year career rooted in service, storytelling, and insights behind Disney’s and other iconic companies’ enduring magic. Discover why his “people-first philosophy” isn’t just a philosophy, it’s a proven formula for profitability and brand identity.

Through real-world examples and practical frameworks, this session will explore how purpose-driven leadership and consistent coaching can transform your contact center into a hub of excellence with happy employees. Learn how to align leadership, empower employees, and instil pride into every customer interaction, because when employees feel valued and supported, your customers will, too.

Attendees will learn:

• The four-part formula for service success: People + Purpose + Place + Pride = Profit
• How to align leadership and culture to create consistent, high-quality experiences at scale
• Actionable techniques and takeaways from Barry's playbook—like the G.U.E.S.T. approach—that you can bring to your contact center tomorrow

Barry Jacobson

Former Disney Exec. & Consultant
Barry Jacobson Consulting

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