20 Best Keynote Customer Experience Speakers To Book For Your Conference in 2026
Finding the right CX speaker for your next event isn't just about filling a keynote slot—it's about bringing your team practical strategies they can use. The best customer experience speakers don’t just inspire, they deliver actionable insights on the challenges you're actually facing. They understand your world: the tech stack decisions, the staffing constraints, the balance between automation and human touch, and the constant pressure to improve metrics while controlling costs.
I've researched speakers who consistently deliver value to CX leaders like you, through practical playbooks, hard-won lessons, and a network you can tap. Whether you're planning a conference, looking for professional development opportunities, or need fresh perspectives, this list will help you find voices that resonate with your team's real needs.
The Top Customer Experience Speakers in 2026
Jeanne Bliss
You’ll know Jeanne Bliss as a customer experience advisor and keynote speaker with 35+ years leading this work, including serving as Chief Customer Officer at Lands’ End, Coldwell Banker, Allstate, and Microsoft.
…You’ll know Jeanne Bliss as a customer experience advisor and keynote speaker with 35+ years leading this work, including serving as Chief Customer Officer at Lands’ End, Coldwell Banker, Allstate, and Microsoft. She co-founded the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and built the Five Competencies framework, which she’s used to coach 20,000+ leaders on customer‑driven growth. If you’re choosing speakers for your team, expect a “Make Mom Proud” approach that puts trust and humanity at the center of decisions and ties actions to business results. She’s also the author of Would You Do That To Your Mother? and Chief Customer Officer 2.0.
Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken is the Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations and a National Speakers Association Hall of Fame keynote speaker on customer service and experience. He’s a New York Times and Wall
…Shep Hyken is the Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations and a National Speakers Association Hall of Fame keynote speaker on customer service and experience. He’s a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books and 3,000+ articles, with 30+ years working with 1,200+ organizations. If you’re booking a CX speaker, expect practical ideas on building a customer‑focused culture, improving service, and supporting employee experience. His take: make CX a core value, not a tactic, and use research‑backed, plain‑spoken lessons you can apply to your work.
Jay Baer
You know Jay Baer as a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and New York Times best-selling author who focuses on customer experience, marketing, and business growth. He’s founded six multi-million dollar companies,
…You know Jay Baer as a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and New York Times best-selling author who focuses on customer experience, marketing, and business growth. He’s founded six multi-million dollar companies, built the Convince & Convert digital strategy firm, and advised 700+ brands, including 40 in the Fortune 500. If you’re a CX exec, you’ll appreciate his stance that speed, clarity, and kindness drive loyalty—and his talks turn that into practical moves you can use. He also co-founded The Tequila Report, giving him a fresh consumer lens he brings into experience design.
Jeannie Walters
Jeannie Walters is the CEO of Experience Investigators, an award-winning customer experience expert and international keynote speaker with CCXP and CSP credentials and 20+ years in CX strategy. She focuses on customer
…Jeannie Walters is the CEO of Experience Investigators, an award-winning customer experience expert and international keynote speaker with CCXP and CSP credentials and 20+ years in CX strategy. She focuses on customer journey mapping, CX leadership training, and practical ways to “Create Fewer Ruined Days for Your Customers,” and her LinkedIn Learning courses have reached more than 500,000 learners. If you’re a CX exec, you’ll get clear, practical guidance and a collaborative approach that helps your teams connect daily decisions to customer outcomes. She champions a proactive, enterprise-wide CX practice built on a clear vision, cultural alignment, and measurable progress.
Kerry Bodine
If you lead CX, you’ll know Kerry Bodine. She’s the founder and CEO of Bodine & Co. and co-author of Outside In, with nearly two decades helping organizations design better human experiences
…If you lead CX, you’ll know Kerry Bodine. She’s the founder and CEO of Bodine & Co. and co-author of Outside In, with nearly two decades helping organizations design better human experiences in the age of AI. She spent seven years at Forrester as a vice president and principal analyst, leading research on CX design and innovation and creating the customer experience ecosystem framework. She believes loyalty from customers and employees drives profits, and her talks focus on human-centered design, journey mapping, and practical ways to grow revenue and cut cost to serve that you can put to work with your team.
John DiJulius
John DiJulius is the founder and Chief Revolution Officer of The DiJulius Group and a customer and employee experience keynote speaker with over 25 years in the field. He’s written six books,
…John DiJulius is the founder and Chief Revolution Officer of The DiJulius Group and a customer and employee experience keynote speaker with over 25 years in the field. He’s written six books, including Secret Service and The Employee Experience Revolution, and he also owns John Robert’s Spas and founded the nonprofit Believe in Dreams. CX leaders value his focus on clear service standards, leadership behaviors, and intentional culture, shaped by work with brands like Starbucks, Chick‑fil‑A, and The Ritz‑Carlton. His style is practical and system‑focused, pushing you to design repeatable experiences and invest in employee experience to drive customer outcomes.
Tiffani Bova
You’ll know Tiffani Bova as Chief Strategy and Research Officer at The Futurum Group, a two-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author (Growth IQ; The Experience Mindset), and former Chief Growth Evangelist at
…You’ll know Tiffani Bova as Chief Strategy and Research Officer at The Futurum Group, a two-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author (Growth IQ; The Experience Mindset), and former Chief Growth Evangelist at Salesforce. She brings nearly 30 years across sales, marketing, and customer service, has delivered 1,000+ keynotes worldwide, and is a Thinkers50 Top 50 Business Thinker for six consecutive years. If you lead CX, you’ll appreciate her clear stance that you can’t improve customer experience without improving employee experience—and her talks focus on aligning EX and CX to drive growth. She’s worked with companies like Microsoft and IBM and keeps advice practical for your team.
Chip Bell
Chip Bell is a customer loyalty and service innovation expert and keynote speaker, ranked by Global Gurus among the top 12 customer experience speakers for 11 straight years. He pioneered what’s now
…Chip Bell is a customer loyalty and service innovation expert and keynote speaker, ranked by Global Gurus among the top 12 customer experience speakers for 11 straight years. He pioneered what’s now called customer journey mapping in the 1980s and advises Fortune 100 companies on innovative service and customer‑centric strategies. If you lead CX, you’ll appreciate his stance: favor “value‑unique” ingenuity over value‑added extras, and equip your team to create breakthrough products, services, and solutions. He’s the author of best‑selling books including Inside Your Customer’s Imagination (Axiom Business Book Award, 2021) and has written 700+ columns on customer experience.
Scott McKain
Scott McKain is a customer experience and distinction expert, bestselling author, and Hall of Fame speaker who teaches organizations how to create the Ultimate Customer Experience and stand out. He’s delivered 2,000+
…Scott McKain is a customer experience and distinction expert, bestselling author, and Hall of Fame speaker who teaches organizations how to create the Ultimate Customer Experience and stand out. He’s delivered 2,000+ presentations in 36 countries; serves as Corporate Educator in Residence at High Point University; and earned the National Speakers Association’s 2024 Cavett Award, with inductions into both the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame and the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame. If you lead CX, you’ll get a clear point of view: emotional engagement and relationships beat a mere sale, and distinction is the strategy. Expect practical frameworks and memorable stories (yes, he once played a villain in a Werner Herzog film) you can use with your team.
Dan Gingiss
Dan Gingiss is the founder and CEO of The Experience Maker LLC and has 20+ years of customer experience leadership at companies like McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana. He’s a Certified Speaking Professional
…Dan Gingiss is the founder and CEO of The Experience Maker LLC and has 20+ years of customer experience leadership at companies like McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana. He’s a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an honor earned by fewer than 20% of speakers globally, and author of the expanded second edition of “Becoming The Experience Maker,” which introduces his proven WISER framework for creating shareable customer experiences. What sets Dan apart is his focus on practical, low-cost strategies that any team can implement immediately—he believes remarkable experiences don’t require massive budgets, just intentional design and consistency.
Steven Van Belleghem
Steven Van Belleghem is an international keynote speaker, author, and entrepreneur focused on customer experience in a digital/AI-driven world. He’s written six bestselling books—his latest, A Diamond in the Rough, was recommended
…Steven Van Belleghem is an international keynote speaker, author, and entrepreneur focused on customer experience in a digital/AI-driven world. He’s written six bestselling books—his latest, A Diamond in the Rough, was recommended by Forbes as the #1 must-read business book for 2024—and he teaches part-time at Vlerick Business School while guest lecturing at London Business School. He’s worked with brands you know (Disney, Mastercard, Mercedes, Booking.com, Heineken, Salesforce), co-founded the nexxworks inspiration agency, and invests in CX ventures like Hello Customer and IO Digital. CX leaders value his straightforward stance: combine common sense, new tech, and an empathic human touch, play the long game, and take social responsibility.
Blake Morgan
Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist dubbed “The Queen of CX” by Meta and author of three books including “The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership.” She’s taught at Columbia University, Rutgers
…Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist dubbed “The Queen of CX” by Meta and author of three books including “The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership.” She’s taught at Columbia University, Rutgers Executive MBA program, and UC San Diego, and hosts The Modern Customer Podcast reaching audiences worldwide. Blake’s strength is connecting technology trends to human-centered experiences—she doesn’t just talk about AI and digital transformation, she shows you how to use these tools to make customers’ lives genuinely easier and build loyalty that drives revenue.
Ron Kaufman
Ron Kaufman is a keynote speaker and service culture expert, and the New York Times bestselling author of Uplifting Service. He helps you build a service-driven organization, with work spanning clients like
…Ron Kaufman is a keynote speaker and service culture expert, and the New York Times bestselling author of Uplifting Service. He helps you build a service-driven organization, with work spanning clients like Singapore Airlines, Changi Airport Group, and Microsoft. He moved to Singapore in 1990 to develop a national service quality program and teaches a values-first approach—listen, care, and create more value so others thrive. If you lead CX, you’ll appreciate his focus on practical habits that lift your team and your customers.
Annette Franz
Annette Franz is the founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc. with 30+ years of customer experience expertise, beginning her career at J.D. Power and Associates in 1992. She’s a Certified Customer
…Annette Franz is the founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc. with 30+ years of customer experience expertise, beginning her career at J.D. Power and Associates in 1992. She’s a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), former Board Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and author of books including “Built to Win” and “Customer Understanding.” Annette cuts through CX buzzwords with a refreshingly direct approach—she champions culture transformation as the foundation for everything else, arguing that you can’t fix your customer experience until you fix your company culture and employee experience first.
Denise Lee Yohn
Denise Lee Yohn is a brand leadership expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author who focuses on connecting brand and culture to drive customer experience. She’s written What Great Brands Do and FUSION,
…Denise Lee Yohn is a brand leadership expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author who focuses on connecting brand and culture to drive customer experience. She’s written What Great Brands Do and FUSION, contributes to Harvard Business Review and Forbes, and brings 20+ years working with brands like Facebook, Lexus, NFL, Burger King, and Unilever. You’ll value how she pushes you to build experiences from the inside out—operationalizing your brand so employees and systems deliver what you promise.
Joey Coleman
Joey Coleman is an award-winning speaker and author of the Wall Street Journal #2 bestseller “Never Lose a Customer Again,” which introduces his proprietary First 100 Days® methodology. With an eclectic background
…Joey Coleman is an award-winning speaker and author of the Wall Street Journal #2 bestseller “Never Lose a Customer Again,” which introduces his proprietary First 100 Days® methodology. With an eclectic background spanning roles at the CIA, White House, and as a trial attorney before founding Design Symphony, Joey has consulted with organizations from NASA to Zappos. His contrarian insight challenges the industry’s acquisition obsession—he proves that 20-70% of new customers churn within 100 days because companies neglect them post-sale, and he provides an eight-phase framework for turning that critical window into lifetime loyalty.
Bruce Temkin
Bruce Temkin is a customer experience and experience management leader, co-founder and chair emeritus of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and former global head of the Qualtrics XM Institute. He previously led
…Bruce Temkin is a customer experience and experience management leader, co-founder and chair emeritus of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and former global head of the Qualtrics XM Institute. He previously led CX research at Forrester and ran Temkin Group; his work focuses on human‑centric leadership and culture change in customer and employee experience. If you’re booking a CX speaker, expect practical, research‑grounded advice you can put to work; he earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Customer Experience Awards in 2024 and is now building Humanity@Scale. Often called the “Godfather of Customer Experience,” he’ll push you to focus on changing behaviors across your organization, not just tracking metrics.
Matthew Dixon
Matthew Dixon is Chief Product and Research Officer at Tethr and bestselling author of multiple influential books including “The Challenger Sale” and “The Effortless Experience.” With a Ph.D. from the University of
…Matthew Dixon is Chief Product and Research Officer at Tethr and bestselling author of multiple influential books including “The Challenger Sale” and “The Effortless Experience.” With a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and extensive research at CEB (now Gartner), he’s built his reputation on data-driven insights that challenge conventional wisdom. Matt’s counterintuitive finding transformed customer service strategy—his research with tens of thousands of respondents proved that “delighting” customers is wildly overrated, and that reducing customer effort drives far more loyalty than trying to “wow” them with over-the-top service experiences.
Brian Solis
Brian Solis is Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and a digital anthropologist who studies how technology changes business and society. With nearly 30 years of experience and eight best-selling books, he
…Brian Solis is Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and a digital anthropologist who studies how technology changes business and society. With nearly 30 years of experience and eight best-selling books, he focuses on customer experience, digital transformation, and leadership. If you lead CX, you’ll value how he links experience design to growth and pushes teams to rethink legacy journeys. He’ll challenge you to start with human needs, then build AI and systems around them.
David Avrin
David Avrin is a customer experience keynote speaker, consultant, and author who shows you how to make your company “Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With.” A CSP and Global Speaking Fellow, he’s
…David Avrin is a customer experience keynote speaker, consultant, and author who shows you how to make your company “Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With.” A CSP and Global Speaking Fellow, he’s spoken across North America and in 28 countries, pushing teams to cut steps, speed things up, and remove hassle. If you run CX, you’ll hear a clear stance: being good isn’t enough—your policies must be easier than your competitors’ in industries like financial services, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and automotive. He’s written seven books, including Why Customers Leave, The Morning Huddle, and Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With.
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