Farzad Aref is the CEO of Farlinium, a leading customer experience consulting firm. With over 20 years of experience in the field, Farzad has developed a deep understanding of customer-centric strategies and emerging technologies. He has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies, guiding them in their journey to become customer-obsessed organizations. Farzad’s expertise lies in leveraging customer feedback and conversations to drive actionable insights and improve overall customer experience. His visionary approach has earned him recognition as a thought leader in the industry. Farzad is a proven leader with a successful track record of transforming organizations and delivering impactful results. He is a certified CX practitioner. 

Kyle Groff is the Head of Presales Consulting, AMR at Qualtrics, where he leads a team of industry practitioners who bring expertise in customer and employee experience to consultative engagements. With a deep background in customer experience strategy, Kyle has worked with major global brands, including Google, Amazon, and JPMC, to drive impactful outcomes. His leadership spans CX program design, journey mapping, and aligning clients with industry best practices to achieve success across omni-channel platforms.

Sean Holcombe is the SVP of Global Strategic Engagements at Qualtrics, with over 12 years of experience in the Experience Management space. As an executive advisor and client partner, Sean has worked with some of the world’s largest companies across industries like Financial Services, Technology, and Hospitality. In his role, he helps executive teams develop long-term, innovative strategies for enhancing experience delivery across operations. Sean is driven by solving tough challenges and fostering improvements both in business and life.

Jon Levenhagen ​is a visionary leader at the intersection of Experience Management (XM) and contact center innovation. With over 25 years of experience, Jon has expertly navigated customer analytics, VoC unstructured data, and call center operations to drive strategic transformations. Known for his thought leadership, Jon leverages emerging technologies to elevate customer experiences, using data-driven storytelling to prompt action. He has shared insights at ICMI, Clarabridge, Gartner, and Frost & Sullivan events.

John Draz is the Vice President of Member Experience Insights at UnitedHealthcare, a leading healthcare organization. With a strong dedication to customer experience, John is passionate about enhancing the experiences of the members they serve. With extensive experience in the field, he has a deep understanding of customer-centric strategies and data-driven insights. John’s expertise lies in driving member loyalty and engagement through innovative CX programs and initiatives.

Jen Jones is the Senior Director of Customer Insights at Centene.  In this role, she is responsible for their Experience Research, Insights, and Measurement program. This includes aggregating customer experience and interaction data, establishing a consistent and standardized measurement program, developing listening posts to monitor critical touch points that have the greatest influence on key customer outcomes, and creating sustainable methods to deliver actionable insights to key decision makers.  Jen has over 20 years of Customer Experience leadership experience and has used her empathy and passion for customer needs to build CX practices at Fortune 500 companies in 4 different industries throughout her career.

Angie Bloyer is the Manager of Business Analytics at American Family Insurance, a leading insurance provider. With a wealth of management experience, Angie brings expertise in customer experience, insight generation, process improvement, and Voice of Customer analytics. She leads the strategic development and implementation of speech analytics to drive business insights across all contact centers and targeted support departments across the American Family brand as well as enterprise operating companies.

Cara Fields is a transformational leader in customer experience and operations, currently serving as Head of Global Customer Experience & Technology at Zoetis. With a rich background spanning IT, marketing, communications, and corporate governance, she brings a holistic approach to customer perspectives. Cara has successfully driven commercial transformation initiatives across the healthcare and animal health industries, leveraging digital tools and insights to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency.

Alejandra Martinez is a seasoned leader in experience management and omnichannel excellence, currently serving as Sr. Director of Commercial Strategy & Insights at Virgin Voyages. With more than 20 years of tourism and hospitality experience -- the last six spent at Virgin Voyages -- including previous leadership roles at Booking.com and Paramount Hospitality Management, Alejandra brings deep expertise in driving commercial insights, enhancing customer journeys, and implementing training and quality assurance programs. Her focus on seamless, data-driven strategies has helped elevate brand experiences across industries.

Nicole Stowe-Podvin is the Customer Experience Manager at Polaris Industries. Within this role she stood up the CXM division within Polaris, creating systems, tools, and processes to enhance and measure the overall experience for Polaris Off Road Vehicle customers. Critical to the success of the CXM team is having enhanced analytical capabilities to monitor the multiple Voice of Customer touchpoints across the Shop, Buy, Ride, Own customer journey with Polaris and their dealership network.

Jacob Fenton is the Vice President of Customer Experience and Insights at StockX, the world’s first stock market for things. With over 15 years of experience in e-commerce, crowdfunding, software, and IoT, Jacob is passionate about creating exceptional products and experiences for customers. He drives global go-to-market strategies, optimizes customer experience through promotional strategies and growth initiatives, and leads the global merchandising efforts across all verticals. As a certified customer experience professional (CXPA) and product marketing leader (PMA), Jacob has a proven track record of launching innovative products and services, and enhancing customer value and satisfaction.

Join us at the Horizons CX Summit to hear from more exciting speakers. These experts bring years of experience across multiple industries, focusing on customer-centric strategies and innovative solutions. Learn how leaders are driving real change in customer experience through actionable insights and measurable results. Stay tuned for more speaker announcements that will inspire, engage, and provide valuable takeaways for your business..

Orlando Hernandez is a captivating magician and the MC for our event, known for his mesmerizing performances that blend illusion with engagement. With over 20 years of experience in magic, Orlando has amazed audiences across various stages. His unique ability to connect with audiences through both his magical talent and charismatic presence makes him the perfect host for any occasion.

DJ Sneek is a dynamic and versatile DJ known for bringing energy and excitement to every event. With a passion for mixing diverse genres, DJ Sneek keeps the crowd engaged and the party going. Whether it's spinning at clubs, festivals, or private events, his unique style and infectious beats create an unforgettable experience for everyone on the dance floor.