PODCAST · business
CX Files
by Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan
CX Files features your hosts, CX industry analysts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, speaking each week to leading analysts, thinkers, and practitioners focused on managing the Customer Experience (CX). In each episode Mark and Peter talk to their guests about the future of CX, the important trends, and what customers really expect from brands today.
Episodes
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Victor Manzanera - Scale Edge Group - Beyond FTEs – The Road to Outcome-Based BPO Pricing
CX Files Episode 435: Beyond FTEs – The Road to Outcome-Based BPO Pricing Guest: Victor Manzanera, Founder and Principal Analyst, Scale Edge Group – Oslo, Norway Everyone in the BPO industry is talking about outcome-based pricing, but how do we actually move away from charging for headcount and...
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Peter Ryan - Ten Years of BPO: What Changed, What Didn't, and What Comes Next
This week, the CX Files turns the tables on co-host Peter Ryan. Ryan Strategic Advisory has just celebrated its tenth anniversary, so Mark Hillary interviews Peter about what he has learned from a decade of advising BPOs, enterprise buyers, governments, and CX leaders around the world. Peter…
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Victor Botto - TP - Why Kenya Is Ready for the Global CX Stage
In episode 433 of the CX Files, Mark Hillary talks to Victor Botto, Vice President for Business Development for Sub-Saharan Africa at TP, about why Kenya deserves far more attention as a global CX and BPO location. Victor explains why Kenya's opportunity goes well beyond lower-cost customer...
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Brian Riback - CMSWire 2025 Contributor of the Year - Beyond AI Visibility: How Brands Build Trust
Brian Riback is the CMSWire 2025 Contributor of the Year. Brian is a strategic leader with over 20 years of experience as a CRM and retention specialist. He ias based in New Jersey, USA. In June 2026, Brian published a detailed article exploring how brands can build trust in the era of AI...
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Jeton Aliu - Olymp BPO - Why Kosovo Is Emerging as a CX Hotspot
In this episode of the CX Files, Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan look at the changing European nearshore landscape before Peter talks to Jeton Aliu, Founder and CEO of Olymp BPO in Pristina, Kosovo. Jeton explains why Kosovo is becoming an increasingly important CX and BPO delivery location. He...
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Matt Fry - eClerx - Culture Is 50/50: Why Clients Can't Blame the BPO
In this episode of CX Files, Mark Hillary talks to Matt Fry, SVP for AI, CX and Digital Transformation at eClerx and publisher of The CX Marketplace, about why culture cannot simply be outsourced. Inspired by Matt's Substack article Culture Cannot Be Outsourced, the conversation explores why...
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Andrew Kokes - Pivot AI Global - If AI Can't Find You, Your Buyers Won't Either
Peter Ryan talks to Andrew Kokes, Chief Marketing Advisor at Pivot AI Global, about how AI is fundamentally changing B2B marketing and sales. As buyers increasingly use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI platforms to research suppliers and build shortlists, traditional search engine visibility…
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CX Files Is On A Summer Vacation
CX Files will return on September 3, 2026. Enjoy the summer! Mark & Peter
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Simma Kularatna - Interact - LinkedIn Has Lost the Plot - Can the CX Community Fix It?
LinkedIn Has Lost the Plot — Can the CX Community Fix It? LinkedIn was once the essential networking platform for business professionals, but today it can feel overwhelmed by sponsored posts, algorithmic recommendations, automated sales messages and bland AI-generated content. Even genuine…
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Jim Farnsworth - HiOctayne - Restoring Investor Confidence In BPO
Jim Farnsworth is Founder and CEO of HiOctayne. He is based in Denver, Colorado. Jim has a long history as a senior leader within and advisor to multiple BPOs and CX experts. He is therefore well placed to comment on why the publicly traded BPOs have seen their share price collapse - and what can...
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BONUS: Mark Hillary - If AI Can't See You, Buyers Won't Either: The New Rules of B2B Sales
If AI Can't See You, Buyers Won't Either: The New Rules of B2B Sales In this special bonus episode of CX Files, Peter Ryan turns the microphone on his co-host Mark Hillary to discuss Mark's latest book, If AI Can't See You, You Don't Exist: How B2B Sales Changed Forever. Mark explains how AI...
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Jessica Pleffken and Ana Marvulle - P&M Marketing - No One Outsources to a Company They've Never Heard Of
Jessica Pleffken is the founder and CEO of Pleffken & Marvulle Marketing. Ana Marvulle is co-founder and managing partner. Jessica and Ana both have a long history working inside CX and BPO companies and now their specialist marketing company advises companies working in the CX environment. Both...
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Tugs and Adrian Smith - ATAC Global CX - Proof, Not Promises: Certifying the Remote Contact Center Agent
Peter Ryan speaks with Tugs Smith and Adrian Smith, co-founders of ATAC Global CX in Oshawa, Ontario, about the launch of the Certified Remote Service Agent certification. The discussion explores why remote contact center work now needs a trusted global standard, how agents can prove they are…
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Muhammad Yahya Patel - Huntress - Cybersecurity Is Now a CX Problem
Your contact center may be one of the most valuable targets in the enterprise supply chain. Peter Ryan speaks with Muhammad Yahya Patel, Cybersecurity Advisor at Huntress, about why cybersecurity has become a critical issue for CX leaders, contact centers, and BPO providers. He is based in...
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Donald Berryman - ProfectusCX - The Future For The Enterprise-BPO Relationship
Donald Berryman is the Founder & Managing Director at ProfectusCX. He is based in Florida, USA. Don writes a LinkedIn newsletter called The CX Advisor Perspective. He recently published several newsletters focused on how the enterprise to BPO relationship needs to develop - to bridge new AI...
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Lara Klick - Klick Advisors - Why Patient Feedback Rarely Leads to Better Care
Lara Klick is the Founder and President of Klick Advisors LLC. She is based in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Klick Advisors is a trust-centered consulting practice that helps healthcare leaders and teams navigate high-stakes moments with clarity, empathy, and courage. Lara heard our episode from March...
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Guillaume Luccisano - Yuma AI - The Great CX Reset: Why BPOs May Need a New Business Model
The BPO Industry Isn't Dying. But It May Need to Reinvent Itself Faster Than Anyone Expected. Yuma AI CEO Guillaume Luccisano argues that customer experience providers must evolve from labor arbitrage specialists into AI orchestrators and systems integrators—or risk becoming irrelevant. For…
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David Rickard - Everest Group - Elevate Ethiopia
David Rickard is a partner at Everest Group. He is based in the UK. David recently visited Ethiopia for the Elevate Africa event. In this conversation with Peter Ryan David gives his take on Ethiopia and Africa more generally for CX and BPO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwrickard/...
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CXOutsourcers 2026 - Voices From The Conference
The annual CXOutsourcers Mindshare event took place in Ottawa, Canada, earlier in May 2026 (May 18-20). Peter Ryan took a microphone onto the conference floor to capture ideas and comments from the delegates in Canada for this CX-focused event. https://cxoutsourcers.com/ In this episode of CX…
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Jonas Berggren - Transcom - What Makes Customers Love A Brand?
What makes a customer love a brand? It is a simple question, but it quickly becomes complicated. People often reach for the obvious examples. Apple customers lining up overnight for the latest iPhone. Harry Potter fans queuing in costume outside bookshops. Lego fans who pass their love of the…
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Stephanie Reeves Millner - Designing CX For Sales and Revenue
Stephanie Reeves Millner is a Global EVP at TP. She is based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It is worth noting from the start of this podcast episode that Stephanie is talking in a personal capacity in this interview. CX and BPO processes are usually seen as a cost to most businesses. Stephanie argues...
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Andrew Hall - Ethenta - Enterprise Agentic AI Transformation
Andrew Hall is the founder and CEO of Ethenta. He is based in Portugal. The "DREAM" service from Ethenta is a strategic framework designed to help organizations transition from traditional hierarchies to intelligent, agentic networks. It is aimed at enabling "+65% Productivity" through…
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Nathan Muniz - 247Secretary.com - Raw, unpolished BPO content outperforms glossy marketing
Nathan Muniz is the founder and owner of 247Secretary.com. The business is based in Florida, USA, but has contact center operations in the Philippines. Nathan talked to Mark Hillary from the floor of his contact center on his approach to telling the world about his business. He walks the floor…
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Gary Slade - TP - Why Stability Is the New Battleground in BPO
Gary Slade is the Chief Commerical Officer at TP EMEA. He has many years of BPO and CX experience and he previously led the UK/Ireland operation at TP as CEO. In this conversation with Mark Hillary, Gary is talking about BPO stability and how this is becoming an important new measurement that...
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Sarah Leff - Interact CC - Why the Eastern Cape Could Be South Africa's Next CX Powerhouse
*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:2f2f632a-46c8-4445-8b38-333795a0ae69-2" data-testid= "conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> In this episode of CX Files, Peter Ryan…
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Chris Chance - CCI Global - Africa Rising For CX
Chris Chance is the Senior Vice President for East Africa at CCI Global. He is based between Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. CCI Global is headquartered in the UAR, but has extensive operations across Africa - they aim to be the largest and most respected BPO in Africa through a combination of...
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Steve Sullivan - Channel Doctors - How Do We Manage Customer Rage?
Steve Sullivan is the founder of Channel Doctors. He is based in Bournemouth in the UK. Channel Doctors is a specialist advisory company focused on CX, contact centers, and especially issues such as data protection and GDPR. Peter Ryan called Steve after seeing a LinkedIn post on managing…
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Melanie Disse - Melanie Disse Consulting - Acting on Customer Feedback
Melanie Disse is the Principal Consultant and Tech Adviser to Melanie Disse Consulting. Melanie Disse Consulting is a CX & VoC consulting firm helping businesses leverage CX as a key competitive differentiator to drive business performance through understanding customer experiences. Melanie is...
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Gareth Bray - Premier CX - Why Customers Prefer WhatsApp
Gareth Bray is Business Development Director and WhatsApp Guru at Premier CX. He is based in Odiham, Hampshire, UK. Over 100 billion WhatsApp messages are sent daily by users - that's more than a million messages on the platform every second. Between 1 to 3 billion of these daily messages is a...
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CCW Berlin 2026 - Feedback Direct From The Floor
CCW 2026 took place at the end of February 2026 in Berlin. Peter Ryan was there on the conference floor. He took a microphone and tried to capture several comments and ideas from the delegates - what was the conference about and what were the key themes that people in CX are focused on in 2026?...
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Michel Stevens - CXM Academy - How Can We Improve CX Events?
Michel Stevens is Course Director at the CXM Academy. He is also a managing partner at goCX. He is based in Antwerp, Belbium. The CXM Academy aims to build training for the real world - interactive and culturally relevant. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Michel talks about CX events. Why…
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Roger Barlow - LATAM Translations - AI Has Changed Translation Into Interpretation
Roger Barlow is Director of LATAM Translations. He is based in São Paulo, Brazil. Roger is British and has lived in Brazil since 1998. Since 2001 he has focused on helping Brazilian companies engage with a global audience. This involves a significant amount of translation from and to Portuguese....
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Michael Gray - Spacial Working - Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay
Michael Gray is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Spacial Working. He is based in London, UK. Spacial Working is focused on helping companies to create a flexible work environment that embraces both working from home and working in offices. The aim is to create a flexible arrangement…
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Jacqui Turner - Turner Corner - CX For Vulnerable Customers
Jacqui Turner founded the Turner Corner Leadership Academy. She is based at Great Malvern, which is close to Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK. The academy is focused on customer service training, leadership programmes and coaching interventions. Training followed by coaching with Jacqui's team has...
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Rob Joubert - Boomerang BPO - Building CX Success Over 20 Years
Rob Joubert is the founder and CEO of Boomerang BPO. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa. 2025 was the 20th anniversary year for Boomerang, so at the end of the year Peter Ryan called Rob to talk about BPO and CX trends and what it takes to build a successful BPO operation from the ground up.…
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TUI & Transcom On Building A Best In Europe Partnership
Last November, Leigh Hopwood, CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association), was on the CX Files talking about the 25th anniversary of the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs). https://cxfiles.libsyn.com/cxfiles/leigh-hopwood-ccma-25-years-of-the-ecccsas At…
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CX Files 400 - Live in London
This special live episode was recorded on January 21, 2026 live in London, UK. This is the 400th episode of the podcast. Lian Rowlands quizzed Peter and Mark about the origin of CX Files and what they plan for the future of the podcast... Thanks to everyone who attended the live event in London...
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Happy New Year From The CX Files!
Happy New Year for 2026 from Peter and Mark at the CX Files podcast. We asked our listeners to send some thoughts about 2025 and the year ahead... If you listen to this episode you will hear messages from the Netherlands, Philippines, UK, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Brazil... that's…
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CX Files 400 Live In London! Get Your Free Ticket Now!
Celebrate CX Files Episode 400 — Join Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan Live in London for an Exclusive Networking Event! CX Files Episode 400 Live in London – January 21, 2026 Join Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, co-hosts of the CX Files podcast, for a special live networking event in London as they...
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Discussion: CX In 2026 - The Predictions
In this special episode of the CX Files, we are looking to the end of 2025 and into 2026. Peter Ryan called Paul Smith and David Rickard - two expert advisers on CX and BPO - to talk about what just happened in 2025 and their top predictions for CX in 2026. --- Paul Smith Principal Consultant,...
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Nick Jiwa - CustomerServ - We Need To Focus On People In CX
Nick Jiwa is the founder and president of CustomerServ. He is based in Houston, Texas, USA. In this episode Nick talks to Peter Ryan about the importance of people in CX - in particular in BPOs. He asks why people have always been central to the customer experience, but now it sounds like…
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Leigh Hopwood - CCMA - 25 Years Of The ECCCSAs
Leigh Hopwood is CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association) and Chair of the European Customer Contact Alliance. She is based in London, UK. Peter Ryan called Leigh to talk about the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs), which celebrate their 25th anniversary...
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Gerry Brown - The Customer Lifeguard - CX Is Changing Fast
Gerry Brown is known as the customer lifeguard. His ambition is to save the world from poor customer service. Gerry is Canadian and based in the south of the UK. Gerry has written a book titled 'When a customer wins, nobody loses.' He has a podcast and he is a regular speaker and adviser…
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Paul O'Hara - TP - AI Won't End BPO - It'll Supercharge It
Paul O'Hara is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at TP EMEA. He is based in the Tyneside area of North-East England. Paul recently published an article on Customer Think magazine titled "AI Won't End BPO - It'll Supercharge It." Mark called Paul to ask Paul about the article....
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Elona Ymeri - Assist Digital - Albania & The Value Of Smaller BPO Locations
Elona Ymeri is the service delivery manager at Assist Digital. She is based in Tirana, Albania. Elona spoke to Mark Hillary about the role of smaller BPO destinations. What can they offer that is harder to find from the big locations? Is the continued influence of AI and other automation…
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Joanne Morrison - Outmarket - Modern Marketing For CX Brands
Joanne Morrison is the founder of Outmarket. She is based in Toronto, Canada. Outmarket is a specialist marketing agency that is focused on BPO and CX companies. Telling potential customers about your services has always been important, but as BPO gets more complex, more international, and AI...
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Miguel Familia - Wise BPO - A CX Visionary In the Dominican Republic
Miguel Familia is the CEO and co-founder of Wise BPO. He is based between the Dominican Republic and St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Miguel has a long history in CX, but one year ago he decided to create a new BPO brand - serving clients from the Dominican Republic. Peter called Miguel to learn…
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Discussion: CX In Georgia 🇬🇪
This week we have a group of CX and BPO experts who recently visited Georgia. This nation of 3.6m people is positioned on the Black Sea, at the intersection of Europe and Asia, and is working hard to position itself as an attractive destination for CX and BPO sourcing. Peter Ryan talked to people...
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Traci Freeman - Connecting Africa For Global Business Services
Traci Freeman holds a number of roles, including as the managing member of Believe Consulting, but in this conversation we focused on her role as a partner of the Africa Federation of GBS Associations. This federation is aimed at unlocking Africa's potential in the BPO, CX and ITO sectors....
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Kwame Agyei - Appoynt - From Accra with Service: How Ghana Is Powering SMB CX
Kwame Agyei is the founder and CEO of Appoynt. He is based in London, UK with operations in Ghana. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Kwame tells the story of how and why he founded Appoynt during the Covid pandemic and the opportunity for more businesses to work with partners in Ghana....
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
CX Files features your hosts, CX industry analysts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, speaking each week to leading analysts, thinkers, and practitioners focused on managing the Customer Experience (CX). In each episode Mark and Peter talk to their guests about the future of CX, the important trends, and what customers really expect from brands today.
HOSTED BY
Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does CX Files have?
CX Files currently has 441 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is CX Files about?
CX Files features your hosts, CX industry analysts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, speaking each week to leading analysts, thinkers, and practitioners focused on managing the Customer Experience (CX). In each episode Mark and Peter talk to their guests about the future of CX, the important trends, and...
How often does CX Files release new episodes?
CX Files publishes regularly with 441 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to CX Files?
You can listen to CX Files on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts CX Files?
CX Files is created and hosted by Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan.
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