What separates organizations that truly deliver on their customer promise from those that merely talk about customer centricity? In this episode of The Customer-Driven Leader, Dr. James Killian sits down with Maura Howley, SVP of Employee & Customer Experience at Ipsos, to explore why customer experience remains one of leadership's greatest challenges. Together, they unpack the persistent gap between brand promises and customer reality, the often-misunderstood relationship between employee and customer experience, and how leaders can turn customer insights into meaningful organizational action. They'll also examine the evolving role of AI in customer interactions, discuss the leadership behaviors required to build genuinely customer-driven cultures, and share practical lessons from decades of experience helping organizations transform insight into business results. Whether you're a CX practitioner, business leader, or executive navigating AI-driven change, you'll leave with actionable ideas for creating experiences that customers—and employees—remember.

Most leaders spend their careers chasing growth.

Few stop to ask what kind of culture they're creating along the way.

In this conversation, Rudy Karsan and I discuss building Kenexa from startup to public company, balancing customers and employees, the promise and peril of AI, and why the future belongs to leaders who can create both performance and joy in employees and customers alike.

James welcomes Dr. Alexis Fink — one of the leading voices in people analytics, workforce strategy, and organizational measurement. With leadership experience spanning Meta, Intel, and Microsoft, Alexis has spent her career helping organizations better understand the intersection of talent, business performance, and human behavior.

In this episode, we explore a question many leaders are struggling with right now:

How do we leverage analytics, AI, and measurement without losing the humanity behind employee and customer experience?

We’ll dive into:
• The future of people analytics and AI in leadership
• Why organizations become what they measure
• The hidden risks of over-engineering work
• How employee experience shapes customer outcomes
• What truly human-centered leadership looks like in a data-driven world

This is a thoughtful and timely conversation for leaders navigating the evolving relationship between technology, talent, culture, and customer experience.

Bart Fanelli is the CEO and Co-founder of Skillibrium and a seasoned GTM leader with 25+ years in tech. Bart is best known for helping scale Splunk from ~$60M to ~$1.5B and driving growth at OutSystems from ~$100M to ~$300M. Bart is a co-author of The Success Cadence and an executive advisor focused on building predictable, high-performing revenue organizations through alignment, discipline, and scalable operating rhythms. In this episode, Bart and James discuss what it really takes to build high-performance teams without losing the customer. And what happens when Customer-Driven Leadership meets “hire for will, coach for skill" in today's AI-hyped, rapidly changing world of work?

James welcomes Tony Loyd to the Customer-Driven Leader Podcast. Tony is an author, speaker, and executive coach who helps business leaders build endurance in a world of constant change. A former Fortune 500 executive with companies like John Deere, Diversey, Medtronic, and Buffalo Wild Wings, he has led teams through uncertainty and understands the strain leaders feel when expectations rise and change is constant. Over time, he saw that most leaders weren’t failing. They were fatigued.

Tony’s perspective is shaped by his own endurance journey. After cancer surgery reduced his lung capacity by 25 percent, he learned how to perform, recover, and keep going with less. That experience reshaped how he understands leadership.
He developed the Endurance Leadership Framework, a practical, research-backed approach that teaches leaders to regulate emotion, clarify purpose, adapt to change, connect with others, and maintain momentum. As the founder of Culture Shift Advisors and a TEDx speaker, Tony helps leaders build cultures that stay calm, clear, and aligned so they can make confident decisions and last. 

James welcomes Dr. Ben Granger, author of A Leader Worth Following, who serves as Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics. James and Ben discuss his new book and how leadership drives the ultimate business outcomes we hope to achieve in Experience Management (XM). His research has been published and featured in major academic and media outlets, including ABC News, Business Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fast Company, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Don't miss this one!

In this episode of the Customer-Driven Leader, James welcomes industry veteran Erik Vogel, Founder of VistaXM. Erik and James will discuss the current state of XM, industry challenges, and why technology (albeit critical) is only part of delivering a solid XM program. Erik will share his expertise on why CX-as-a-Service is the right approach to helping companies activate their technology and deliver meaningful, measurable, and lasting value XM programs.

James welcomes XM Global Collaborative Founder Dr. Tom DeWitt. In this episode we discuss the globalization of experience management, challenges and solutions with a cultural twist!

Most leaders are still trying to fit everyone into a single management style: but fairness isn't about treating everyone the same. It’s about meeting people where they are for real impact. Gig workers value autonomy and clear feedback, while full-timers need growth and belonging. 

Success starts with differentiated communication, trauma-informed flexibility, and recognition that looks different for each group. Smart technology bridges the gap and makes inclusion seamless.

Ready to manage the shift to a blended workforce with confidence and compassion? James welcomes psychotherapist Roxanne Derhodge to talk it out!

Tamar Cohen is a workplace and employee experience strategist with over two decades of global leadership in employee engagement, customer experience, and organizational transformation. As Founder of HaloEffect, she helps mid-sized and enterprise organizations connect workforce and workplace insights to build cultures of trust, productivity, and loyalty. Tamar is recognized for her ability to translate complex people data and behavioral science into actionable strategies that drive measurable business outcomes. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Tamar has led executive sessions, keynotes, and workshops for leaders across industries—including financial services, healthcare, and technology—on topics such as AI’s role in the future of work, employee listening, and culture transformation. Her perspective blends research-backed insights with practical strategies, making her a trusted voice on how organizations can create meaningful employee experiences that unlock growth.