Top 15 Chief Experience Officers to Follow in 2026
The chief experience officers you follow shape how you think about CX. The best ones share real insights on customer strategy, team leadership, and building experiences that actually drive retention. I've curated this list so you can cut through the noise and focus on the voices worth your attention.
Top 15 Chief Experience Officers
Below are profiles of the best chief experience officers, covering who they are and the impact they’ve made in this space.
Liz Centoni
Liz Centoni is Cisco’s executive vice president and chief customer experience officer, following more than two decades in engineering, strategy, applications, and senior leadership at Cisco.
Centoni leads Cisco’s customer experience organization…
Liz Centoni is Cisco’s executive vice president and chief customer experience officer, following more than two decades in engineering, strategy, applications, and senior leadership at Cisco.
Centoni leads Cisco’s customer experience organization and has helped shape its strategy around AI, applications, and customer success. Her background connects technical innovation with the work of turning complex enterprise technology into stronger customer outcomes.
Brent Stevenson
Brent Stevenson is chief experience officer at IntouchCX, where his work sits at the intersection of customer operations, service delivery, technology, and large-scale experience design.
Stevenson helps shape IntouchCX’s approach to hybrid…
Brent Stevenson is chief experience officer at IntouchCX, where his work sits at the intersection of customer operations, service delivery, technology, and large-scale experience design.
Stevenson helps shape IntouchCX’s approach to hybrid customer experience, including how AI and human support can work together without losing brand voice or creating new friction. His work connects operating-model decisions with the quality of everyday customer interactions.
Julie Kennedy Oehlert
Julie Kennedy Oehlert is chief experience and brand officer at ECU Health, drawing on decades across nursing, health system administration, operations, culture, innovation, and patient care.
Oehlert’s remit spans patient and team-member…
Julie Kennedy Oehlert is chief experience and brand officer at ECU Health, drawing on decades across nursing, health system administration, operations, culture, innovation, and patient care.
Oehlert’s remit spans patient and team-member experience, workforce well-being, communications, marketing, digital, social, and public relations. Her work connects organizational culture and brand with compassionate, human-centered care.
Tina Bennett
Tina Bennett is chief experience officer at Yale New Haven Health, where she leads enterprise patient and family experience strategy after more than two decades working across the health system.
Her portfolio…
Tina Bennett is chief experience officer at Yale New Haven Health, where she leads enterprise patient and family experience strategy after more than two decades working across the health system.
Her portfolio connects patient relations, volunteer services, spiritual care, and language services with broader culture transformation. Bennett emphasizes accountability, compassion, and employee empowerment as practical levers for improving trust, safety, and the patient experience.
Vibha Sarin Prabhakar
Vibha Sarin Prabhakar is chief growth and experience officer at IGEN, bringing more than two decades across customer experience, operations, strategy, transformation, and brand leadership.
Prabhakar’s remit at IGEN spans growth, customer…
Vibha Sarin Prabhakar is chief growth and experience officer at IGEN, bringing more than two decades across customer experience, operations, strategy, transformation, and brand leadership.
Prabhakar’s remit at IGEN spans growth, customer experience, business transformation, strategy, operations, and brand. Her earlier SAMIL role covered customer service, engagement, retention, branding, and marketing, giving her experience across both customer-facing execution and enterprise change.
Adrian Brady-Cesana
Adrian Brady-Cesana is founder and chief experience officer of CXChronicles, where he combines consulting, publishing, podcasting, and advisory work around customer and employee experience.
Brady-Cesana developed the Four CX Pillars—Team, Tools, Process,…
Adrian Brady-Cesana is founder and chief experience officer of CXChronicles, where he combines consulting, publishing, podcasting, and advisory work around customer and employee experience.
Brady-Cesana developed the Four CX Pillars—Team, Tools, Process, and Feedback—as a practical framework for building and scaling customer-focused organizations. Through The CXChronicles Podcast and advisory work, he explores how CX, customer success, AI, and operations connect to retention and growth.
Lesley Wilson
Lesley Wilson is chief experience officer at UC San Diego Health, where she leads experience transformation for patients, guests, and team members and oversees patient-facing operations.
Wilson uses patient feedback, service design,…
Lesley Wilson is chief experience officer at UC San Diego Health, where she leads experience transformation for patients, guests, and team members and oversees patient-facing operations.
Wilson uses patient feedback, service design, training, and process improvement to shape experience goals across the health system. With more than 25 years in service excellence, she connects operational execution with a more consistent, human-centered care experience.
Pierre Pham
Pierre Pham is chief experience officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, bringing healthcare experience leadership together with an earlier 18-year career in hotel and hospitality operations.
Pham leads patient and family experience,…
Pierre Pham is chief experience officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, bringing healthcare experience leadership together with an earlier 18-year career in hotel and hospitality operations.
Pham leads patient and family experience, patient relations, volunteer services, and service-excellence programs at Elmhurst. Drawing on hospitality and Six Sigma experience, he turns patient-centered care concepts into practical behaviors, training, and systems across a complex public hospital.
Kendal Harris
Kendal Harris is chief experience officer at Desert Financial Credit Union, bringing nearly three decades of credit union experience to member experience, operations, and transformation.
Harris leads member-experience strategy across branches, the…
Kendal Harris is chief experience officer at Desert Financial Credit Union, bringing nearly three decades of credit union experience to member experience, operations, and transformation.
Harris leads member-experience strategy across branches, the contact center, and digital transformation. Her approach aligns people, processes, and technology around empathetic service, operational effectiveness, and consistent interactions that support stronger member relationships.
Sean Agustin
Sean Agustin is chief experience officer at America’s Credit Union, bringing more than 19 years in commercial banking and financial services to enterprise experience and operations leadership.
Agustin leads experience strategy across…
Sean Agustin is chief experience officer at America’s Credit Union, bringing more than 19 years in commercial banking and financial services to enterprise experience and operations leadership.
Agustin leads experience strategy across operations, sales, marketing, and service delivery, aligning people, process, and performance across member-facing channels. His remit centers on making interactions simpler and more consistent while building trust and supporting growth.
Alfredo Chang
Alfredo Chang is chief experience officer at ApartmentSEO, bringing more than 20 years of multifamily operations experience across Greystar, Lennar, and Blackstone to client experience.
Chang applies an operator’s perspective to client…
Alfredo Chang is chief experience officer at ApartmentSEO, bringing more than 20 years of multifamily operations experience across Greystar, Lennar, and Blackstone to client experience.
Chang applies an operator’s perspective to client relationships, connecting strategy, empathy, data, and service delivery. At ApartmentSEO, he focuses on turning client interactions into durable partnerships and improving touchpoints from onboarding through ongoing optimization.
Mike Urrutia
Mike Urrutia is executive vice president and chief experience officer at GM Financial, where a career of more than three decades spans dealer services, operations, sales, credit, and funding.
Urrutia’s long operating…
Mike Urrutia is executive vice president and chief experience officer at GM Financial, where a career of more than three decades spans dealer services, operations, sales, credit, and funding.
Urrutia’s long operating background gives his experience remit a cross-functional foundation. After leading dealer-services operations and support, he moved into the CXO role, bringing knowledge of dealer and customer processes to GM Financial’s broader experience strategy.
Tara Brady
Tara Brady is senior vice president and chief experience officer at Provident Bank, where she leads customer experience and marketing strategy after more than 20 years working across CX and banking.
Brady’s…
Tara Brady is senior vice president and chief experience officer at Provident Bank, where she leads customer experience and marketing strategy after more than 20 years working across CX and banking.
Brady’s role brings customer experience, employee experience, communications, and brand into closer alignment. She focuses on coordinated, customer-centric engagement across the bank, using cross-functional collaboration to make interactions more consistent and support growth.
Ross Talbert
Ross Talbert is chief experience officer at Campus Federal Credit Union, bringing more than 17 years in member experience, operations, lending, payments, marketing, and strategic growth.
Talbert leads member-experience strategy, branch operations,…
Ross Talbert is chief experience officer at Campus Federal Credit Union, bringing more than 17 years in member experience, operations, lending, payments, marketing, and strategic growth.
Talbert leads member-experience strategy, branch operations, call-center services, sales culture, and relationship management. His background across credit union strategy and operations positions experience as both a service discipline and a driver of employee engagement and sustainable growth.
Scott Mulkins
Scott Mulkins is chief experience officer at Rogue Credit Union, where he moved into the executive role after leading analytics, business intelligence, enterprise risk, and operational work.
Mulkins oversees digital experience, marketing,…
Scott Mulkins is chief experience officer at Rogue Credit Union, where he moved into the executive role after leading analytics, business intelligence, enterprise risk, and operational work.
Mulkins oversees digital experience, marketing, facilities, branches, and member service centers. His data-driven background shapes an end-to-end approach that connects insight, delivery channels, and human service to create more cohesive member experiences.
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
Continue Reading for Free
Create a free account to finish this article, plus get ongoing access to timely insights and practical resources.
Have an account? Log In
I looked for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives, delivering notable results, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking, teaching, and contributing to the broader customer experience field.
What’s Next?
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest CX insights—including how-to guides, strategies, and resources from top experts in the CX field.
