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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For many contact center leaders, legacy platforms are starting to show their age, with limited flexibility and disconnected data sources holding CX teams back from delivering the best possible customer service over several connected channels. Paired with an increase in hybrid working in the last few years and the case for modernizing and migrating to the cloud is clear. In fact, 37 percent of CX practitioners reported seeing an increase in profits after implementing a cloud contact center solution, according to CX Network’s latest research.

Cloud contact center solutions are helping organizations meet increased demands on contact centers, consolidating data and integrating with other platforms seamlessly and without the need for an overhaul of the entire tech stack.

In this session, we will examine the case for migrating to the cloud and look at how teams are approaching the process, including overcoming common roadblocks such as data security concerns, change management and compliance.

Attendees will learn:

• When and why to make the move: Identifying the right time to transition and how to build a case for change that resonates across the business.
• Real-world migration lessons: How organisations have navigated challenges like integrating legacy systems, managing risk, and supporting agents through change.
• What comes next: How cloud infrastructure enables future-facing capabilities—from AI-powered workflows to seamless omnichannel engagement

Contact centers sit on a goldmine of data, from customer conversations, complaints, sentiment signals and agent performance metrics. Extracting meaningful insight from this data, however, can still be a struggle, with siloed data and legacy systems getting in the way of progress.

In this session, we will explore how AI-powered analytics can change the game and allow teams to tap into the power of contact center data to identify common pain points along customer journeys, predict customer issues and demand and support real-time decision-making. We will also address the practical side of AI-powered analytics, explaining what it take to implement the tools you need and make your insights useable.

Attendees will learn:

• Getting past the data deluge: How to identify the right data points, avoid “dashboard overload,” and focus on metrics that drive outcomes.
• Use cases that make an impact: Real-world examples of AI analytics improving service quality, agent coaching, and operational efficiency.
• Bringing your team along: Strategies for embedding AI insights into workflows, building trust in the data, and supporting adoption across roles.

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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