CX under pressure: New tech, new threats, new mandate
How CX Leaders can carve a new niche in an ever-more challenging operating environment
 

August 18, 2026 | Free CX Network Webinar Series
Dan Gingiss

Dan Gingiss

Chief experience maker The Experience Maker, LLC

Dan Gingiss is an international keynote speaker and customer experience expert with a dynamic and engaging speaking style that has captivated hundreds of audiences around the globe. Believing that a remarkable customer experience is the best competitive advantage, Dan shares insights from his 20-year professional career that included leadership positions at McDonald's, Discover, and Humana. As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), which fewer than 600 speakers worldwide have achieved, his speaking engagements are enriched by real world examples, actionable strategies, and a whole lot of fun! Dan is the author of three books, including The Experience Maker, which was ranked by Book Authority as one of the top customer experience books all time, and its second edition, Becoming The Experience Maker. He earned a B.A. in psychology and communications from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Dan is also a licensed bartender, a pinball wizard, and he once delivered a pizza to Michael Jordan.

Day One

9:00 AM CX under pressure: New tech, new threats, new mandate

As a new generation of CX technology promises to deliver frictionless, hyper-efficient experiences, the specialists who have dedicated their careers to exceptional customer outcomes are finding themselves increasingly frozen out of the conversation.

In fact, whether by design or through restructure, many major organizations no longer have a senior executive assigned to advocate for the customer, or own outcomes and relationships at the highest level.

Those who are still able to do this work describe mounting pressure: to deliver more with less, to justify the cost of technologies that remain expensive and experimental, and to prove their value not annually or quarterly, but daily.

The timing is less than ideal. As consumers turn to their AI assistants to discover new brands, products and services, discoverability and relevance are dependent on having an undisputable public track record for superior CX. Operational excellence, outstanding reviews, and coherent, unconflicted knowledge are now the currency of success. 

CX Network's editor-in-chief, Melanie Mingas, will host an engaging panel tackling how CX can thrive in an operating environment where business growth is the north star, but the route to it often bypasses the customer. Crucially, the panel will address the question on everybody's mind: Where does CX go from here?

The discussion will cover:

  • How CX practitioners can confront emerging threats posed by new tech, global economic pressures and changing job roles.
  • The challenges of maintaining relevance as AI transforms the operating environment for organizations and customers.
  • The new job roles emerging, and the skills practitioners will need in future.
  • Where the opportunities for career development and recognition lie moving forward.