International speaker Kevin D. Wright has a unique take on leadership during times of change. With an inspiring, moving and motivating approach, he stimulates both business and personal growth in leaders. In this engaging keynote session you'll learn how to ignite attitudes to retain your top talent and help them deliver a world-class experience to your customers.

Karin Hurt.  Author and international keynote speaker Karin Hurt inspires transformational change.Recently named on Inc’s list of 100 Great Leadership Speakers and American Management Association’s 50 Leaders to Watch, Karin Hurt helps leaders from around the world achieve breakthrough results without losing their souls.Karin has over two decades of experience in customer service, sales, and human resources. She’s the award-winning author of: Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results-Without Losing Your Soul, Overcoming an Imperfect Boss, Courageous Cultures (Harper Collins 2020), and Glowstone Peak - a book for readers of all ages about courage, influence, and hope.A former Verizon Wireless executive, Karin transformed customer...

Angela Conti, Head of Consumer Payments at TD Bank, is on a mission to advance women in leadership. Join her as she shares her inspiring personal and professional story, from teen mom to top leadership, and her journey in unlocking the power of partnership. From her passion for customer experience to her desire to provide the best for her family, Angela’s trajectory in work and life is guided by three principles: Commitment, Confidence and Compassion. Her story will offer actionable insights on how to advance women leaders and unlock the power of partnership, whether it’s in your own career, or as an advocate and ally.

Jiquanda Nelson, Concentrix.  As a global organization empowering many of the world’s best brands across six continents and 40 countries, Concentrix is focused on its most powerful resource: its people. By leveraging diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, employee and community engagement and a wellbeing culture, organizations are able to invest in employees who want to win. In this session, participants will hear how igniting employee experience drives engagement, creating emotional connections with customers that build unbreakable brand loyalty.Speaker:  Jiquanda Nelson is passionate about connecting people with opportunities at work and in their community. As senior director of Community and Culture at Concentrix, a $5B customer and technology engagement...

 Jon Irwin & Carin Falconer, RingRing and its parent company Amazon, share an obsession over customers and work backwards from the customer experience in every aspect of support delivery. Ring refers to customers as neighbors and its mission is Keeping Neighborhoods Safe. This session will feature Jon Irwin, Chief Neighbor Experience Officer and Carin Falconer, Head of Global Customer Support as they share how Ring stays true to this obsession. Hear about Ring’s exciting history and the evolution of this customer obsessed approach as it manifests in product evolution, support strategies and innovative technology all focused on the Neighbor Experience. Learn how Ring has grown with a focus on the voice of the neighbor and enterprise-wide continuous improvement to...

Josh Bercu, USTelecomUSTelecom leads the Industry Traceback Group, or ITG, the official FCC-designated group responsible for actively tracing and identifying the source of illegal robocalls. Josh Bercu, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at USTelecom, will explain how the traceback process works, the impact it is having in stopping illegal robocalls, and its efforts to ensure the protection of enterprises.Speakers:     Josh Bercu is Vice President, Policy & Advocacy at USTelecom – The Broadband Association. Josh leads the association’s initiatives to stop illegal robocalls. Before joining USTelecom, Josh was a partner at Wilkinson Baker Knauer, LLP, a boutique telecommunications law firm based in Washington, D.C. Josh played a leading role in the...

Lois C. Greisman, FTC.  An update on FTC regulatory enforcement efforts affecting CX.Speaker:   Lois C. Greisman heads the Division of Marketing Practices in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Under Ms. Greisman’s management, Marketing Practices leads the FTC’s law enforcement initiatives tackling telemarketing fraud (including Do Not Call/Robocall enforcement), fraudulent business and investment opportunity schemes (including multilevel marketing), mail fraud (including sweepstakes and lotteries), illegal spam, and Internet frauds (including technical support scams). Ms. Greisman also directs the FTC’s work to curb fraud in connection with different payment systems. Before joining Marketing Practices, Ms. Greisman headed the Division of...

Jonjie Sena, Neustar;  Rebekah Johnson, Numeracle;  Jim Dalton, TransNexus; Dean Garfinkel, Quality Voice & Data; Karl Koster, Noble SystemsJonjie Sena is Senior Director of Product Marketing at Neustar and is responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy for Neustar’s portfolio of trusted communications solutions.   Jonjie has over two decades of experience in driving the development and launch of innovative solutions for communications service providers and enterprises around the world. Prior to joining Neustar, Jonjie held senior positions at TEOCO, Ventraq and ACE*COMM. Jonjie has a BS CompSci from the University of the Philippines and a MS CompSci from the State University of New York.Rebekah Johnson, Founder and CEO of...

Nick Whisler, MacMurray & Shuster.  John Hayward, Sitel.  Jon Irwin, Ring.  Updates on CCPA, GDPR and case law.Nick Whisler is a Partner at Mac Murray & Shuster LLP. He focuses his practice on helping clients understand and comply with federal and state telemarketing, advertising, privacy, and other consumer protection laws and regulations. Nick works with a wide range of businesses – from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies – to identify and mitigate regulatory risks. This includes the creation and implementation of compliance programs, conducting regulatory audits and resolving complex compliance issues. In particular, he brings a significant depth of experience related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and has written and presented extensively on...

Isaac Shloss, Grupo NGN. Karl Koster, Noble Systems.  Michele Shuster, Mac Murray & Shuster.Speakers:  Isaac Shloss is an Information Technology specialist with more than 20 years’ experience – almost exclusively focused on the Contact Center industry. The majority of his carrier has been spent managing the IT departments for large BPOs, including a top 10 US teleservices provider where he built the technological and telecommunications architecture needed to expand the small, regionally based company to a large, multinational enterprise. Isaac was an early pioneer and administrator of the contact center platform now known as NGNCloudComm, and he is now a part of the manufacturer’s executive management team in the role of Chief Technology Officer. At Grupo...

Michele Shuster, Mac Murray & Shuster;  Eric Troutman, Squire Patton Boggs LLP;  Lauri Mazzuchetti, Kelley DryeMichele Shuster is a founding partner of Mac Murray & Shuster, where she brings extensive experience in working with clients of all sizes involved in highly regulated industries. She has established a solid record of representing clients in consumer protection matters before state attorneys general, the FTC, and FCC, in addition to conducting regulatory compliance audits and providing counsel on advertising and privacy issues.Eric Troutman, Squire Patton Boggs LLP, is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has...

Linda Vandeloop, AT&T;  Stacy Graham, Inteliquent;  Kevin G. Rupy, Wiley Rein; Josh Stevens, Mac Murray & ShusterAlthough it has been in existence for several years, the USTelecom Industry Traceback Group has come to the foreground since its appointment as the FCC’s official traceback consortium. Increasing numbers of voice service providers are receiving traceback requests and struggling to figure out best practices for response. Attendees will walk away from this panel with a better understanding of ITG’s role in the telecommunications ecosystem, how the traceback process works, and strategies to be prepared for responding to traceback requests.Speakers:  Linda Vandeloop has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Linda...

Henry Hayter, Neustar92% of enterprises say that the voice channel is critical to meeting customer service goals. But the rise of robocalls and fraud by phone has destroyed trust in this vital communication channel. As anti-robocalling regulations progress and carriers deploy STIR/SHAKEN call authentication measures to protect consumers from call spoofing, enterprises must evolve call-blocking prevention strategies and execution, and seek to transform the call experience. Join Henry Hayter, Principal, Product Management as he presents best practices enterprises can deploy to optimize contact operations, increase call performance and protect their brand by restoring trust in outbound calls, including: Mitigating and remediating blocked and tagged calls Ensuring their calls...

Steve Walsh, Procurrence.  Javier Limones, Grupo NGN.  Dave Bukovinsky, CSG.  Did the pandemic cause a flurry of technological innovation? Do we now have better ways to deploy WFH? Implement self-service? Implement AI? Hear an expert view on the new landscape of technological innovation. This session will focus on view of the view of what’s possible as inspired by what was necessary. Speakers:  Steve Walsh is the CEO of Procurrence, a technology marketplace focused on small & medium businesses. Steve is an entrepreneur and angel investor with a 20+ year background working as an executive for some of the largest technology and media companies like Comcast & Cox Communications. Javier Limones is the Founder and CEO of Grupo...

Chris Drake, iconectiv.  Voice calls, text messages and chatbots have made the business-to-consumer engagement more accessible, robust and efficient. Now, however, with consumer confidence in communications declining and billions lost each year to fraud through spam, scams and spoofs, legitimate businesses must protect their revenue, reputation and bottom-line.As the critical foundation of trust in communications is eroding, RCS, as a new technology has the opportunity to get it right — right from the start. By building in verification and authentication capabilities, RCS can drive consumer trust in rich business messaging content. Once consumers have trust in an accessible RCS, it will be become an increasingly valuable customer-engagement platform for businesses.Join us for an...

Ashish Nagar, Level AISelf-service tools and bots are helpful in reducing traffic load, but your customers value the knowledge, timeliness and warmth of a human agent. How can CS teams strike a balance? We'll explore the cutting edge of AI technologies and discuss the ROI of augmenting agents versus replacing them. Great session for those looking for a quick primer on AI in contact centers or looking to get deep in giving superpowers to agents with AI.Session focus:- Knowledge management for Omnichannel fast paced contact centers: Latest approaches for information search and knowledge rendering in real time for agents- Quality Assurance and training: Increase QA coverage from 1-2% to 100% while supercharging the feedback loop for agentsSpeaker:  Ashish Nagar is the...

Kerry Edwards, Weight Watchers.  We faced so many challenges trying to provide enough staff to interact with customers during Covid-19. Challenges with lock-downs and WFH created staffing gaps resulting in inconvenience and frustration at the consumer level. Hear how companies adopted or improved their self-service strategies during this time to address these gaps and create new efficiencies. Learn how automation reduced the reliance on live agents and how it has reshaped the way that CX professionals will plan for the future. Speaker:  Kerry Edwards is the Senior Director of Business Technology for WW International, Inc. (formerly Weight Watchers), where she leads the company's strategy and implementation of technology to support business operations...

Chris Crosby, Xaqt

Brett Brosseau, Noble Gaming SolutionsSpeakers:   Brett Brosseau helps guide product vision and strategic sales for the employee engagement platform. Brett’s experience includes a unique high-stakes journey, which began with building a high-end island resort and ended with the creation of a revolutionary solution for agent engagement and his transformation into one of the world’s leading experts on Gamification.Jared Gorton, Manager - Business Applications, Wyndham Destinations

Jim Iyoob, Etech. Shawndra Tobias, Etech.  Erica Kelly, Verizon.Etech's workshop is focused on how the analysis of agent performance and their coaching and development are crucial to designing the customer experience (CX) architecture.Key Insights:- Why organizations should focus on agent performance for a better CX- How agent performance impacts overall contact center performance and CX- The significance of agent training and development to increase CX- Leverage agent performance data to enhance personalized customer interactions- Using agent insights to build out chatbots to be more effectiveSpeakers:  Jim Iyoob, Etech Global ServicesJim Iyoob is the Chief Customer Officer for Etech Global Services. He has responsibility for Etech’s strategy, marketing, business...

Chris Radanovic & Brian Donnelly, LivePerson.  If there were ever a time for brands to create a thorough and cohesive bot strategy, it’s now. According to Accenture, there has been a 41% increase in consumer interaction with virtual assistants, and 74% of those people expect to continue this changed behavior. With this shift, customers are going to have a sense across industries of which bot experiences are helpful and satisfying and which leave them confused and frustrated. During this session, we’ll share a blueprint for creating a thoughtful bot and AI strategy specific to your brand — from identifying areas ripe for automation, to striking the right balance between bot and human agent support, to continually tuning and refining your automation strategy for optimal...

Aakrit Vaish, HaptikIn this session, the speaker will share his insights on the “full-stack” Conversational AI solution - a package of industry vertical-specific AI models, pre-built chatbot templates & smart skills, and out-of-the-box system integrations. He will discuss the benefits of such a strategy, in terms of better end customer experience given the tighter integration of the intelligent AI engine with systems, as well as quicker time-to-market instead of having to build everything ground-up.Speaker:  Aakrit Vaish is the Co-Founder & CEO of Haptik, one of the world’s largest conversational AI companies. Aakrit started the company in 2013 and lead it to a successful strategic investment with Reliance Industries in 2019 in a $100 million transaction....

Ronna Caras, Caras Training.  Recently, many companies have experienced a dramatic shift to a fully virtual workforce. This change from a primarily premise-based worker to a home-based worker has left companies scrambling to deploy technology and operational solutions. The training required to keep this workforce and its leaders educated, motivated and skilled will need to be custom-tailored to meet the demands this new work environment.If you are responsible for training anyone, you need a plan now.Learn how businesses are using Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT), Self-Paced eLearning, and Recorded Webinars to replace on-site events so you can make rapid decisions that get excellent results. Join contact center training expert Ronna Caras for a play-by-play guide to virtual...

Pete Jones, Grypp Corp.  The impact of Coronavirus has turned contact centers upside down, and sent companies and agents scrabbling to be able to provide acceptable levels of service from home. But is this enough? Can we do more? How can companies make sure home working agents are effective and provide service levels and sales performance they can be proud of? From across the Pond, learn how Pete Jones is helping contact centers fight back, by using technology to turn the crisis into an opportunity, bringing visual interaction to calls, creating a brand new & unique multi-sensory experience, making it fun for agents, WOWing customers, and strengthening connections between them both. Also, check in with Pete on how he, Boris and the UK are weathering the second wave and getting...

Jeff Kahne, Firefly Consulting.  Contact centers are constantly looking at ways to improve their performance. We’ve sliced and diced the data. We’ve tweaked queues, routes, staffing/scheduling to find that seated agent sweet spot. But yet – we still get feedback that something is amiss.Sometimes the right idea can seem to work for the business while actually working to the detriment of the customer, client, or member. Taking a step back and putting yourself in the position of the customer often reveals unintentional blind spots and excess process steps. This is where a Customer Journey Map comes in.In this presentation, I will use a real, relatable case study to demonstrate the immediate impact that customer journey mapping can deliver. Using examples from work done at...

How can outbound call centers be more competitive and boost ROI in a rapidly changing and increasingly regulated industry? Learn about the three key areas that improve performance and profitability at lead generation call centers. Get in-the-field perspectives on understanding and improving: Lead Efficiency, Agent Efficiency, and Manager Efficiency.Speakers:  Heather Griffin is SVP of Inside Sales for Momentum Solar, the largest privately held residential solar company in the nation. She is a tech savvy efficiency expert in call center telephony, who has successfully launched 30+ sales and call center start ups. Heather has extensive experience both consulting and managing medium and large-sized call center operations ranging from 50 to 600 agents, including multi-state call...

Dan Plashkes, S&P Data.  Doug Gilbert, Sutherland.  Ricardo Parodi, Marriott.  Maureen Martin, Weight Watchers.Many companies had to initiate, accelerate or amplify their Work From Home (WFH) strategy during Covid-19. This session will highlight some of the learnings from this deployment and focus on best practices for a successful WFH model. Discussion points to include: • Challenges and Surprises• Variation by Geography• Ensuring Privacy and Data Security• Agent Engagement, Coaching and Performance Management• Attendance and Gamification• Emerging TechnologyPanelists:   Dan Plashkes, CEO S&P DataDan Plashkes is a serial tech entrepreneur who has founded or co-founded 7 startups. 5 of...

Lisa DeFalco, TPG.  With all of the market’s focus on automation, documentation, compliance and rigidness, did we forget about humanity? We seek to foster consumer protection but in our greatest efforts, we find ourselves building obstacles preventing us from communicating naturally as we are built to do. So, how do we move forward to ensure the quality of communication is more than a checklist of actions? Consider this session a little Dr. Brene Brown wisdom, supported with TPG’s multi-million industry researched data points, coming together to share how we can scale empathy and interpersonal skills that our Voice of Customer data points are begging for, and drive business outcomes to levels greater than the past. Speaker:  Lisa DeFalco,...

Lori Fentem, Ring.  Corey Conklin, Shutterfly.  Jeff Myers, Sirius XM.  Nick Jiwa, CustomerServThis panel of leaders who oversee large scale domestic and international outsourcing will share their insights on how they have navigated BPO Partner relationships during a volatile 2020 and the lessons learned that will influence the Next Normal. Our panelists will host an interactive session sharing how their BPO Partnerships evolved across an array of situations including Work from Home and Brick and Mortar during a global pandemic. Hear how these companies had to pivot to ensure customers were serviced, teams were kept safe, culture was reinforced and volume was managed across a myriad of government regulations and local challenges. Learn about the financial and...

Paula Kennedy-Garcia, Concentrix.  In this session, we'll explore the concept of leveraging the knowledge of the crowd while allowing the brand to pay only for the support that satisfies your customers. How can you tap into the expertise of the customers who know you best and are passionate about your brand and your products and turn these people into trusted brand ambassadors and offer customer support at scale and in any language?We'll explore how the Gig economy allows you to access skilled brand advocates on demand and real-time while you:• Pay only for satisfied customers• Reduce operating costs• Remove the barriers of languageSpeaker:  Paula Kennedy-Garcia is Vice President at Concentrix and has led some of the most successfully...

Bruce Belifore, BenchmarkPortal.  With many employees being WFH and no ability to travel to outsourcers, companies had to implement new virtual strategies in every level of business operations ranging from new hire onboarding, virtual training, vendor selection, and performance management. This session will highlight best virtual practices to ensure business growth during challenging times.Speaker:  Bruce Belfiore is CEO and Senior Research Executive of BenchmarkPortal, custodian of the world’s largest database of contact center metrics, which provides benchmarking, certification, training and consulting services to the contact center sector. Bruce hosts the monthly online radio show CallTalk™, which discusses hot-button issues with industry experts and...

Brad Nichols, Dun & Bradstreet.  In some cases, companies were not able to deploy a WFH strategy in light of Covid. Hear from experts who had to navigate supporting customers while facing challenges with staffing their contact center. How do you ensure the calls are answered when the staff cannot get to work? What survival strategies were deployed to rescue service levels?Brad Nichols, Dun & Bradstreet, is a Customer Service/Experience and Operational management executive with significant international leadership experience across all aspects of B2B Customer Service, financial information delivery and insurance services. A world-class problem solver and inspirational change agent, Brad has diverse capabilities, an empowerment-based style, and results-driven...

Julie Casteel, Ibex.  Frank Pettinato, Avantive Solutions.  Jeremy Jepperson, Everise.  BPOs faced a unique set of Covid-19 challenges as they had to protect their employees and support their clients. Their revenue went down and their cost of doing business went up but they still were charged with delivering an outstanding customer experience. Hear BPO leaders describe their strategies for protecting employee safety, navigating ever-changing government regulations, and providing staff for their client’s programs all in the face of severe financial pressure. Hear how BPOs navigated quarantines and curfews, social distancing and capacity planning, implemented safety measures, and audit requirements and still made sure performance metrics were...

Michael Lamm, Corporate Advisory Solutions.  This session will focus on how companies in the industry are being valued in the market today, what types of buyers are out in the market and how has “work at home” impacted buyer’s interest in this market. We will touch on these topics along with some of the key technological changes that are impacting the contact center industry too.Speaker:  Michael Lamm co-founded the U.S.-Israel Business Exchange (US-IBEX) in Washington, DC, when he was a college student. This public/private initiative, whose network grew to over 3,000 businesses, was established out of the Embassy of Israel to accelerate the market entry and facilitate financing of Israeli technology companies in the U.S. Through this early experience, Michael’s...

Kristyn Emenecker.  The world has changed rapidly already, so what will the next twelve months bring? A return to the way things used to be, or an entirely new normal? Join this session to discuss predictions for the contact center of 2021, and learn about five emerging communication and workforce technologies you’ve likely never heard of, but are going to be exactly what you need to navigate the this new age. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but with the right preparation and tools, this can be just the time to soar over the competition. It won’t be easy, but if there’s one thing we know how to do in the contact center, it’s answer the call.Speaker:  Kristyn Emenecker is passionate about all things customer, Kristyn has been a leading voice in the CX...

Stephanie Millner & Maria Netto Campos, Teleperformance.  Focusing on issues such as channel mix, mobile app adoption, contact rates, and consumption patterns, the Teleperformance CX Lab analysis reveals insights that helps us prepare for what comes next for CX. It is the first time in human history that we have 5 generations living, working, and now, having to quarantine simultaneously. What will be the impact of the pandemic on these 5 generations when it comes to customer behavior and customer service? In this session Teleperformance CX Lab experts will share survey data but more importantly will discuss implications, insights and what this means for you.Speakers:Marina Netto Campos is Global Head of CX Lab & Strategic Sales Support for Teleperformance Group....

Meet some of PACE's valued sponsors and learn more about the ACX-Virtual Gamification contest taking place throughout the event.   Don't forget to sign up for your attendee profile here so you can enter to win prizes!Sponsors:  CallerID ReputationWithout question, the proliferation of robocalls, scam calls, and phone fraud has steadily eroded trust in the voice network, a key channel for critical business-to-consumer communications. Carriers, analytics, and data companies have introduced a slew of new solutions to restore trust in communications by combatting unwanted calls, authenticating legitimate calls, and providing advanced caller identification solutions. Lawmakers, regulators, and industry representatives have stepped up to protect consumers with...

Join PACE Chair, Lori Fentem as she kicks off ACX-Virtual 2020!

Join the PACE Board of Directors & Management Team as we recognize our 2020 award winners! Thank you to our sponsors:

Putting it all together.