Best Markhillary Podcasts (2026)

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Happy New Year From The CX Files! 15:31

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1h ago15:31

15:31

Happy New Year for 2026 from Peter and Mark at the CX Files podcast. We asked our listeners to send some thoughts about 2025 and the year ahead... If you listen to this episode you will hear messages from the Netherlands, Philippines, UK, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Brazil... that's North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and A…

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CX Files 400 Live In London! Get Your Free Ticket Now! 5:20

14d ago5:20

5:20

Celebrate CX Files Episode 400 — Join Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan Live in London for an Exclusive Networking Event! CX Files Episode 400 Live in London – January 21, 2026 Join Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, co-hosts of the CX Files podcast, for a special live networking event in London as they celebrate the show's 400th episode! This informal evening…

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Discussion: CX In 2026 - The Predictions 33:34

23d ago33:34

33:34

In this special episode of the CX Files, we are looking to the end of 2025 and into 2026. Peter Ryan called Paul Smith and David Rickard - two expert advisers on CX and BPO - to talk about what just happened in 2025 and their top predictions for CX in 2026. --- Paul Smith Principal Consultant, Quinn Growth Advisers Salt Lake City, Utah, USA https:/…

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Nick Jiwa - CustomerServ - We Need To Focus On People In CX 29:44

30d ago29:44

29:44

Nick Jiwa is the founder and president of CustomerServ. He is based in Houston, Texas, USA. In this episode Nick talks to Peter Ryan about the importance of people in CX - in particular in BPOs. He asks why people have always been central to the customer experience, but now it sounds like everyone is just focused on AI and automation? It's time to …

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Leigh Hopwood - CCMA - 25 Years Of The ECCCSAs 34:44

1M ago34:44

34:44

Leigh Hopwood is CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association) and Chair of the European Customer Contact Alliance. She is based in London, UK. Peter Ryan called Leigh to talk about the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs), which celebrate their 25th anniversary on November 25th, 2025. It sounds like an Iron Maide…

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Gerry Brown - The Customer Lifeguard - CX Is Changing Fast 34:07

2M ago34:07

34:07

Gerry Brown is known as the customer lifeguard. His ambition is to save the world from poor customer service. Gerry is Canadian and based in the south of the UK. Gerry has written a book titled 'When a customer wins, nobody loses.' He has a podcast and he is a regular speaker and adviser, regularly hosting CX workshops. Mark called Gerry to ask abo…

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Paul O'Hara - TP - AI Won't End BPO - It'll Supercharge It 21:10

2M ago21:10

21:10

Paul O'Hara is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at TP EMEA. He is based in the Tyneside area of North-East England. Paul recently published an article on Customer Think magazine titled "AI Won't End BPO - It'll Supercharge It." Mark called Paul to ask Paul about the article. What was Paul trying to say? How does he believe that …

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Elona Ymeri - Assist Digital - Albania & The Value Of Smaller BPO Locations 31:31

2M ago31:31

31:31

Elona Ymeri is the service delivery manager at Assist Digital. She is based in Tirana, Albania. Elona spoke to Mark Hillary about the role of smaller BPO destinations. What can they offer that is harder to find from the big locations? Is the continued influence of AI and other automation technology reducing the need to consider working in locations…

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Joanne Morrison - Outmarket - Modern Marketing For CX Brands 30:45

2M ago30:45

30:45

Joanne Morrison is the founder of Outmarket. She is based in Toronto, Canada. Outmarket is a specialist marketing agency that is focused on BPO and CX companies. Telling potential customers about your services has always been important, but as BPO gets more complex, more international, and AI changes how marketing can function, it is more important…

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Miguel Familia - Wise BPO - A CX Visionary In the Dominican Republic 35:17

3M ago35:17

35:17

Miguel Familia is the CEO and co-founder of Wise BPO. He is based between the Dominican Republic and St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Miguel has a long history in CX, but one year ago he decided to create a new BPO brand - serving clients from the Dominican Republic. Peter called Miguel to learn about his story of creating a new CX brand, his backgrou…

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Discussion: CX In Georgia 🇬🇪 36:53

3M ago36:53

36:53

This week we have a group of CX and BPO experts who recently visited Georgia. This nation of 3.6m people is positioned on the Black Sea, at the intersection of Europe and Asia, and is working hard to position itself as an attractive destination for CX and BPO sourcing. Peter Ryan talked to people who travelled with him to visit Georgia this year to…

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Traci Freeman - Connecting Africa For Global Business Services 33:12

3M ago33:12

33:12

Traci Freeman holds a number of roles, including as the managing member of Believe Consulting, but in this conversation we focused on her role as a partner of the Africa Federation of GBS Associations. This federation is aimed at unlocking Africa's potential in the BPO, CX and ITO sectors. Enhancing Africa's standing as a hub for innovation, knowle…

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Kwame Agyei - Appoynt - From Accra with Service: How Ghana Is Powering SMB CX 26:20

3M ago26:20

26:20

Kwame Agyei is the founder and CEO of Appoynt. He is based in London, UK with operations in Ghana. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Kwame tells the story of how and why he founded Appoynt during the Covid pandemic and the opportunity for more businesses to work with partners in Ghana. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwame-agyei-b3ab1333/ https://w…

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Enea Dervishi - Simetrix Solutions - Is The Albania BPO Wave About To Break? 15:55

4M ago15:55

15:55

Enea Dervishi is the Operations Director at Simetrix Solutions. He is based in Durres, Albania. Last month, Enea published an article in Customer Think titled "From Beaches To Business: Is Albania's BPO Wave About To Break?" The article kicked off a fevered discussion on LinkedIn because it did not focus on the usual BPO regional comparisons - how …

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Remembering Gareth Pritchard 28:47

4M ago28:47

28:47

In this special episode of the CX Files, Peter and Mark join with David Rumble, Rod Jones, and Traci Freeman to remember how the late Gareth Pritchard influenced and helped to shape the BPO/CX/GBS industry in South Africa. We discussed how Gareth was instrumental in making South Africa a leading location for this industry and what his legacy may be…

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David Powers - Rooter Hero - The Three-Faced AI God In CX 26:37

4M ago26:37

26:37

David Powers is the VP of CX at Rooter Hero. He is based in Los Angeles, CA. David is also a published author and the host of the CX Riot Radio podcast. This conversation between Mark Hillary and David came about because of a recent CX Riot Radio epsisode titled 'The Three-Faced AI God' where David talked about his experience of using AI in the con…

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Cheryl Paarwater - Enerlytics & Call Lab BPO - How Does AI Affect Marginalized Communities? 34:13

4M ago34:13

34:13

Cheryl Paarwater is the Managing Director at Enerlytics & Call Lab BPO. She is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Cheryl has championed CX in South Africa for many years and is a board member of BPESA - the trade promotion agency for business process service companies in South Africa. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Cheryl explores how BPO and…

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Kathy Juve - Concentrix - Flashback To The First Month Of Covid 25:21

4M ago25:21

25:21

This is the final Covid flashback where CX Files has looked back at the early days of the 2020 pandemic throughout August 2025. This interview was originally broadcast on May 15, 2020 - about a month into the pandemic and lockdowns. At the time Kathy Juve was the EVP, Customer Experience Technology & Insights Division, at Concentrix. She is now EVP…

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Dave Rizzo - TP - Flashback To The First Week Of The Covid Crisis 7:01

5M ago7:01

7:01

SUMMER SPECIAL - COVID FLASHBACK Covid-19 was five long years ago. In a series of short summer specials, CX Files is bringing you some memories of what was going on at a very chaotic time for the industry. During the early days of the pandemic, CX Files went from weekly to daily and captured many important observations on how the CX industry was co…

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John Devlin - Ascensos - Flashback To Day One Of The 2020 Covid Lockdowns 12:10

5M ago12:10

12:10

SUMMER SPECIAL - COVID FLASHBACK Covid-19 was five long years ago. In a series of short summer specials, CX Files is bringing you some memories of what was going on at a very chaotic time for the industry. During the early days of the pandemic, CX Files went from weekly to daily and captured many important observations on how the CX industry was co…

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Dave D'Arcy - Laughing Leadership - The Recurring "Groundhog Day" Issues In CX 29:20

5M ago29:20

29:20

Dave D'Arcy is the founder of Laughing Leadership. He is based in Tring, close to London in the UK. Laughing Leadership was created to guide business leaders to build the environment to nurture and develop happy engaged employees. The solution is not in bean bags, slides, fruit on Friday or free tea and coffee. It is in culture. And culture is a by…

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Amanda Quinn - Quinn Growth Advisors - BPOs Must Specialize or Die Trying 32:21

5M ago32:21

32:21

Amanda Quinn is the Founder and Principal of Quinn Growth Advisors. She is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. In this conversation with Peter Ryan, Amanda talks about her work advising BPOs on how to build growth and develop a sales pipeline. Amanda advises focusing on deep expertise and specialization, rather than claiming to offer every singl…

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Mike Ortegon - Yoummday - How Travel Is Taking Off 24:12

5M ago24:12

24:12

Mike Ortegon is a customer solutions director at Yoummday. He is an American based in London and he has a focus on the global travel industry - with a long track record of leadership roles in travel companies. Mark Hillary called Mike to talk about travel. How has it recovered since the pandemic? What trends are travel companies seeing that are new…

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Jon Florence - Xima Software - AI In The Contact Center 32:41

6M ago32:41

32:41

Jon Florence is the SVP of Industry Solutions at Xima Software. He is based in South Jordan, Utah. Xima is a contact center software company that is focused on AI solutions. Peter Ryan called Jon to discuss AI in CX. Beyond the hype, how can companies managing their own CX and BPOs all benefit from the use of AI in the contact center? What are the …

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Thomas Oronti - Advensus - From Beaches to BPO: How the Dominican Republic Became a CX Star 30:31

6M ago30:31

30:31

Thomas Oronti is the CEO at Advensus. He is based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The CX Files has explored many different nearshore options in the Caribbean region, but has never explored the Dominican Republic before and yet this location has the advantage of being able to easily offer customer support in English, Spanish, and French - than…