We’re celebrating the fifth anniversary of our CX50! In collaboration with Cognizant Digital Experience and Marketing Week, this prestigious list honours the 50 leading lights transforming the customer experience market in the UK. Read on for a brief profile of five winners, and download the full report at the bottom.
1. Delivering diversity and inclusion
After nearly a decade of working in the media industry for ITV and The Guardian in a range of marketing and digital roles, Sonia Sudhakar is coming into people’s homes even more directly, recently joining Royal Mail.
Having consistently filled roles that align marketing tightly to commercial aims, Sudhakar is clearly focused on making a difference in each business she joins. This is also clear in her passions as she champions diversity and inclusion, in recognition of the proven positive contribution a diverse staff and leadership team can bring to the bottom line.
2. Reduce Corporate Carbon Footprint
Jobling joined NatWest Group from Centrica in 2020, with a vision to “help our customers and champion their potential”, leading the banking group’s marketing so it focuses on not only brand health but also its purpose.
It’s a case of ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’ for Jobling, mirrored in NatWest’s own creative platform, ‘Tomorrow begins today’. Her message is encouraging customers and the wider community to take positive steps in taking charge of their own happiness and welfare — both environmental and financial.
3. Modifying Boots for the digital realm
Richard Corbridge was promoted to CIO in August 2020, and is now responsible for delivering technology for more than 50,000 team members and 2,500 stores.
Alongside challenges to working with customers in a new hybrid digital/physical world, Corbridge has also reassessed how he leads his team. He relates that first impressions count when “ricocheting across the online atmosphere”, and that while digital tools may exist to make working more time-efficient, they are not necessarily always effective.
4. Bringing worldwide cuisines to British homes
Having first been tasked with helping customers get to grips with the subscription meal box concept, Greene then began establishing it as a stand-out brand, working with the likes of Joe Wicks, as others started to crowd the market. Now she is managing its transition into a post-pandemic environment, moving from home comforts to discovering world cuisine.
Greene is also credited with key leadership qualities. She was recognised with a citation by Blossom Capital’s International Women’s Day campaign in 2021, which stated that she “always goes the extra mile when it comes to caring for her team and employees”.
5. Getting the UK in financial shape
Arshad had been Santander’s chief customer and innovation officer for nearly two years, guiding the bank through the worst of the pandemic and helping customers get control of their cash with launches such as the My Money Manager tool, which uses AI to help them analyse their spending habits.
Now, Interactive Investor, marketed as the “most user-friendly” platform for private investors, is looking to tap into Arshad’s extensive experience — which spans not just financial services, but also healthcare, telecoms and retail — to help spearhead the company’s growth plans.
Download the full CX50 2022 list here.
