Post by Alex Mead

Far too many people still cling to the belief that “CX is everyone’s job” or that CX ownership sits with the CEO. Both ideas are well intentioned. Both are also completely wrong. Yes, a CEO must champion a customer centric culture. But culture is not strategy. And advocacy is not ownership. There is a reason every serious organisation has • a CTO or CIO setting technology strategy • a CHRO or CPO setting people strategy • a CMO setting marketing and brand strategy Which is exactly why organisations also need the right sort of CX Leader setting the customer experience strategy. Unfortunately, many brands have responded by creating Chief Customer Officer or CX leadership roles filled by people with little or no background in customer service, service operations, or experience management. Worse still, these same leaders are now being asked to deploy GenAI and even Agentic AI into customer service environments without a grounded understanding of • what customers actually need in moments of service • how demand, effort, and resolution really work • or how automation, AI and humans should combine to deliver outcomes The result AI deployed to look progressive, not to solve customer problems. The right CX leader is different. They can go toe to toe with CTOs, CHROs, CMOs and even the CEO to represent • the real needs of customers • the operational reality of service teams • and the trade offs required to deliver outcomes at scale Not as a facilitator. Not as a passenger. But as a peer. Crucially, they also understand that great service outcomes are impossible unless employees are given the right environment to succeed at every point of interaction. That means the right information, the right tools, real empowerment and genuine motivation to do the right thing for the customer. I posted recently how the right CX leadership hire should be one of the most important senior executives and, with my dreadful 2026 service experiences still not improving, I will reiterate why. What is actually now needed is a CX leader who can design and deliver real service experiences across every channel, every situation and every stage of the customer lifecycle. That requires deep, practical understanding of customer service, contact centres, operations, and the technology that actually makes life easier for customers and teams. CCaaS, CRM, WFO, automation, AI and GenAI. Modern CX leadership is not about insight. It is about outcomes. And until CX leadership reconnects with service delivery and operational reality, we will keep hiring people who can describe customer problems beautifully but have no idea how to fix them. If your CX leader cannot challenge the C suite, they are not leading CX. They are observing it. Let’s please finally wake up and change how approach delivering the service experiences our customers need. #cx #ai #talent #hiring #leadership