Speaker Lineup Unveiled for 2019 PACE Annual Convention & Expo
Indianapolis, IN (February 13, 2019) – The Professional Association for Customer Engagement (PACE) is excited to announce its jam-packed speaker lineup and agenda for its Annual Convention & Expo (ACX’19). Industry leaders from Amazon, Google, Uber, Hulu, LegalZoom, USAA, Verizon, Comcast, Shutterfly, Ring, AXA and more, will converge March 31 – April 3 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio.
ACX’19 kicks off at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 31 with a welcome reception. From the pre-show tournaments, Expo Hall and evening receptions, there are many opportunities to network and engage with leaders in the contact center industry.
PACE ACX’19 Keynote Speakers
Jeanne Bliss, President of CustomerBliss will present the keynote address on Monday at 9:30 a.m. Bliss pioneered the role of the Chief Customer Officer, holding the first ever CCO role for more than 20 years at Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker and Allstate Corporations. Reporting to each company’s CEO, she helps move the customer to the strategic agenda, creating transformational changes to each brands’ customer experience. She has driven achievement of 95 percent loyalty rates, improving customer experiences across 50,000-person organizations. In her current role, she guides the C-Suite and Chief Customer Officers around the world on how to earn business growth through customer experience. Her clients include: AAA, Johnson & Johnson, Brooks Brothers, Bombardier Aerospace, and Kaiser Permanente. Bliss is the author of three best-selling books, and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association.
Chris Malone, Founder and Managing Partner of Fidelum Partners, will present the keynote address on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Malone has more than 25 years of professional experience, holding senior marketing positions at leading organizations such as Choice Hotels, ARAMARK, Coca-Cola, the National Basketball Association, and Procter & Gamble. As Chief Marketing Officer of Choice Hotels, one of the largest hotel companies in the world, Malone led the company’s 800-person global consumer marketing, worldwide travel industry sales, e-commerce and reservations organization. Malone is also co-author of the award-winning book, The HUMAN Brand: How We Relate to People, Products & Companies. He is also a frequent guest and contributor to CNBC, FOX Business, Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Journal Live, Forbes and Businessweek.
PACE ACX’19 General Sessions
AMAZON - Innovating on Behalf of Customers
Presenter: Les O’Reilly, Director of Americas Customer Service Outsourcing at Amazon
In this session, participants will hear about the latest Amazon innovations in customer service that have come to fruition because of the company's dedication to active listening and engagement with its customer base. The session will also cover a variety of mechanisms that Amazon Customer Service uses in their mission to be the world's most customer-centric company.
GOOGLE & INFINITY - How Google + Infinity Collaboratively Partner to Innovate Multiple Programs
Presenters: Infinity CEO/Founder Tom Leidigh; Google Head of Customer Onboarding Jordan Sorkin; Infinity President Jay Davey
This session will discuss Google’s overall philosophy on choosing the right vendor partner and how they ended up partnering with an innovator, like Infinity, to launch a series of successful programs together.
In addition to the keynote presentations, general sessions and networking activities, ACX’19 will highlight a wide variety of educational breakout sessions. These sessions will focus on the areas of operations, customer experience, compliance and innovative technology. Below is the lineup of break-out session presenters:
ACX’19 kicks off at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 31 with a welcome reception. From the pre-show tournaments, Expo Hall and evening receptions, there are many opportunities to network and engage with leaders in the contact center industry.
PACE ACX’19 Keynote Speakers


PACE ACX’19 General Sessions
AMAZON - Innovating on Behalf of Customers
Presenter: Les O’Reilly, Director of Americas Customer Service Outsourcing at Amazon
In this session, participants will hear about the latest Amazon innovations in customer service that have come to fruition because of the company's dedication to active listening and engagement with its customer base. The session will also cover a variety of mechanisms that Amazon Customer Service uses in their mission to be the world's most customer-centric company.
GOOGLE & INFINITY - How Google + Infinity Collaboratively Partner to Innovate Multiple Programs
Presenters: Infinity CEO/Founder Tom Leidigh; Google Head of Customer Onboarding Jordan Sorkin; Infinity President Jay Davey
This session will discuss Google’s overall philosophy on choosing the right vendor partner and how they ended up partnering with an innovator, like Infinity, to launch a series of successful programs together.
In addition to the keynote presentations, general sessions and networking activities, ACX’19 will highlight a wide variety of educational breakout sessions. These sessions will focus on the areas of operations, customer experience, compliance and innovative technology. Below is the lineup of break-out session presenters:
Milan Batinich Director of Business Development at A.W. Companies Mick Bennett VP, Governance, Ethics, and Compliance at iPacesetters Lara Brooks VP Strategy & Operations at DailyPay Keith Buell Senior Counsel/Director, Federal Government Affairs, Sprint Rebecca Carr Director at WW Christophe Castan Head of Artificial Intelligence-Digital Transformation, AXA Corey Conklin VP, Customer Experience at Shutterfly Cary Cusumano Principal Client Partner, Customer Experience Design, Verizon Mike Dershowitz CEO at Rethink Staffing Carmit DiAndrea VP Portfolio Market Strategy at Verint Sam Falletta CEO at Incept Lori Fentem Head of Call Center Growth & Strategy at Ring Otto Foerster Executive Vice President at NEA Insurance Brian Gatti Program Manager, Operational Excellence at Ring Todd Hixson Capacity Manager at Hulu Reid Houser Head of Global Compliance at Sitel Jim Iyoob Chief Customer Officer at Etech Lavinia Kennedy Senior Product Manager at Transaction Network Services Michael Kinoti Engineering Manager at Uber |
Chrystal Kral Sr. Operations Manager, Community Support at Ring Mai Le Engineering Leader at Uber Michelle Lopez Senior Director of Corporate Learning at LegalZoom Diane Magers CEO at Customer Experience Professionals Association Nancy Munro CEO at Verbal Transactions Bryan Naas Director of Enablement at Lessonly Ian O'Donnell COO & EVP, Business Development at Praxidia Frank Pettinato CEO at iPacesetters Amanda Pienta Neighbor Advocate Supervisor at Ring Alfredo Redondo CEO at Altitude Software Mitch Roth Partner at Roth Jackson Brandon Sailors Head of Financial Services, Customer Communication Management at CSG Craig Seebach VP Portfolio Market at Verint Yvette Segura Vice President & General Manager at USAA Jonjie Sena Product Marketing at Neustar John Stanovcak Sales Director, Customer Communications Management,CSG Colin Taylor CEO & CCO at The Taylor Reach Group Jim Tyrrell Senior Director of Product Marketing at Transaction Network Services Chris Wallace Co-Founder & President at InnerView |
“PACE events are a great avenue for business resource development,” said PACE National Board Chair Lori Fentem. “This year’s convention is our largest one yet and promises to be inspiring, educational, and engaging for all who attend.”
About PACE
Founded in 1988, PACE is the only non-profit trade association dedicated exclusively to the advancement of companies that engage with customers via the contact center. The Association promotes its members’ ability to provide outstanding customer service and sales solutions delivered via omni-channel communication including voice, email, chat, text and social media. In addition, PACE provides up-to-date and ongoing compliance education and accreditation for its members. From its National Convention and Washington Summit to its Regional Chapter events, PACE provides tools and opportunities to allow businesses to stay engaged through effective and efficient networking opportunities.