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 for the 2020s? Are travel companies becoming more proactive in their approach to the customer experience? Why are some people around the world protesting that there is too much tourism now?

Mike talked about all these issues and explored how the customer experience is integral to ensuring that customers enjoy their travel and also want to remain loyal to the hotel/airline/travel agency they are using...

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeortegon/

https://www.yoummday.com/

SUMMARY

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the evolving travel industry with Mike Ortegon, a customer solutions director at Yoummday. They explore the impact of anti-tourism protests, the rise of multi-generational travel, and the shift from reactive to proactive customer service. Ortegon highlights the importance of automation, local experiences, and inclusivity, noting that 50% of travelers now take more than one trip annually. He also emphasizes the need for travel companies to balance technology with human touch, especially for Gen Z, and to address accessibility challenges for travelers with mobility issues. The conversation underscores the industry's focus on enhancing customer experiences and adapting to changing travel behaviors.

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 genuine and practical use cases that move the dial and which claims are just hype?

What can you really do with AI today?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-florence-67019a79/

https://ximasoftware.com/

SUMMARY:

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan introduce Jon Florence, SVP of Industry Solutions at Xima Software. Jon explains his role in integrating AI into customer experience solutions. They delve into the hype cycle of AI, comparing it to the VoIP boom, and emphasize the importance of understanding business needs before implementing AI. Jon advises starting with simple AI tools like speech analytics and messaging bots, and stresses the need for certified integrations. He also highlights the importance of testing AI capabilities and ensuring long-term vendor stability to avoid future consolidation issues.

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 - thanks to Haiti also sharing the island of Hispaniola.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wgpE2LoSLp9tu6TX6

Peter Ryan talked to Thomas about the growing importance of the DR in the nearshore CX and BPO sector and how Advensus strongly focuses on the role of the agent in any CX strategy.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-oronti-67777a12/

https://advensus.com/

SUMMARY:

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the Dominican Republic's growing importance in the BPO and CX sectors. Thomas Oronti, CEO of Advensus, highlights the DR's unique trilingual labor pool, strong English proficiency, and robust connectivity. Advensus has grown from 100 to over 5,500 seats in 19 years, offering services like translation, collections, and customer service. The DR's stability, political reliability, and cost-effectiveness make it a premier nearshore destination. Oronti emphasizes the need for better English training programs and the potential for servicing Spanish, French, and English markets. The DR's success is attributed to its flexible workforce and strategic location.

PANEL: In Face of Stagnating Favorability Ratings, What’s Next for South African Offshore CX?

When Ryan Strategic Advisory published the most favorable offshore location study last May, South Africa had dropped to third position, compared to more recently topping the poll.

This survey features feedback from over 800 CX decision-makers and is potentially the largest survey that explores where CX leaders will consider operations.

https://ryanadvisory.com/india-is-the-most-favored-offshore-cx-delivery-point-in-2025/

India and the Philippines are now the most popular destinations, but have these giant destinations just reasserted their postiion or is something going wrong in South Africa?

South Africa is still in the top three destinations, but is this slip from the top position a significant change or a blip?

Peter Ryan called together a group of three experts to talk about the change in favorability and what is next for BPO and CX in South Africa...

Lian Rowlands

Owner and Principal Consultant at Tayma Solutions

Liverpool, UK

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lian-rowlands-a26119/

Steve Weston

Founder of ApexCX

Baltimore, MD, USA

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-weston-1843152/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/apexcx-customer-experience-support-services/

Mark Essey

CEO Custom Connect South Africa

Durban, South Africa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markessey/

https://www.customconnect.com/

Summary:

In the CX Files podcast episode from July 3, 2025, hosts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the recent Ryan Strategic Advisory survey on CX technology and global services, which ranked offshore destinations for favorability. India ranked first, the Philippines second, and South Africa tied for third with Poland. The conversation features experts Lian Rowlands, Steve Weston, and Mark Essey, who discuss South Africa's decline in favorability rankings despite maintaining a strong delivery system. They highlight the need for South Africa to reinvent its value proposition, focusing on data security, compliance, and advanced technology to regain its top position. The discussion emphasizes the importance of government support, industry cooperation, and forward-thinking strategies to enhance South Africa's BPO sector.

Pete Jones is the founder and CEO of Grypp. He is based in the UK between London and Birmingham.

Grypp is a visual platform that aims to help contact centers and the agents working within them see what their customers can see.

This can be a transformative technology for many support environments and it is low cost and proven - in contrast to many of the AI projects we have covered recently on the podcast.

Mark Hillary called Pete to get an ouline of the various ways in which a visual approach to CX can transform how the support process works and how this also creates opportunities for managing fraud and identity.

As the conversation suggests: we need humans In CX so why are we restraining them by not allowing them to see what the customer can see?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-jones-gryppcorp/

https://grypp.io/about-us/

Summary:

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the evolution of visual customer experience (CX) with Pete Jones, CEO of Grypp. They highlight how visual CX, which allows agents to see customer issues in real-time, can reduce communication inefficiencies and enhance customer service. Jones shares that one in five enterprises now use visual CX, and Grypp has released 20 new innovations in the past two years. They also explore the potential of visual CX in fraud prevention and its integration with AI to improve customer interactions and operational efficiency. Jones emphasizes the importance of immediate value and the potential for significant cost savings and improved customer satisfaction.

Nicola Collister and Jerry Briggs talk to Peter Ryan about AI in CX

We have talked many times on this podcast about AI and the hype aound what it can do for CX designers and managers. But what can it really do? We are being flooded with AI-themed ideas on LinkedIn daily, but it is also clear that many AI projects are failing (Gartner says that 85% of AI projects are failing at present).

In this episode Peter Ryan aims to do some myth-busting. Where is AI in CX today? What are the real use cases and where is the hype?

Peter talked to two CX leaders - in the UK and US - to discuss their thoughts on the realities of using AI in CX today...

This episode features the guests:

Nicola Collister

CEO and Founder of Custerian - based in Bowden, near Manchester UK

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-collister-7b34ba2/

https://www.custerian.com/chat-to-us

Jerry Briggs

CEO and Owner of ApexCX - based in Washington DC, USA

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerryhbriggs/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/apexcx-customer-experience-support-services/

Interview led by Peter Ryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-ryan-montreal/

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Summary

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the hype cycle surrounding AI in customer experience (CX) with guests Nicola Collister and Jerry Briggs. They highlight the disparity between AI adoption in the US and China, noting that many US companies are still in the hype phase, while Chinese companies are using AI for practical applications.

The conversation emphasizes the need for strategic AI implementation aligned with business goals, rather than just adopting AI for the sake of innovation. They also discuss the importance of understanding AI's limitations and potential negative impacts on both customers and employees. The guests stress the need for clear communication and realistic expectations from AI vendors and consultants.

Owen Campbell is the operations director at Kura. He is based in Glasgow, Scotland.

Kura is a BPO based in the UK, but also with operations in South Africa. They have a number of clients from various regulated industries and Owen talked to Mark Hillary about the differences between a client that has complete control over all their services and a client from a more regulated environment.

What needs to be considered when working to design CX for a regulated industry?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-campbell-a4602b173/

https://www.wearekura.com/

SUMMARY

Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the complexities of customer experience (CX) in regulated industries with Owen Campbell, Operations Director at Kura, a BPO focused on culture and people development. Campbell highlights Kura's work with heavily regulated sectors like healthcare, utilities, and financial services, emphasizing the importance of compliance and agent training. He notes that while innovation may take longer in regulated environments, it is still possible. Campbell also discusses Kura's strategic planning sessions, the importance of data security, and the shift towards outcome-based models for advisors. He predicts increased use of AI and automated compliance in the coming years.

David Neale is the Founder and CEO of GBPO Solutions. He is based in the UK.

David has experience as a buyer of BPO services and as a representative of BPOs. With this insight he decided that one of the missing ingredients in the BPO sales process is transparency - how does anyone know that what a BPO says about their services is really true?

David founded GBPO Solutions to provide accreditation to BPOs, so if they do make claims about their capabilities then they can point to the accreditation to show that their claims can be verified.

David talked to Mark Hillary about why he started GBPO Solutions and why he explored this idea of transparency rather than measuring processes and delivery capabilities...

David also publishes the popular David's Diaries podcast - focused on the biography of his guests. You can find both Mark and Peter in the back catalogue - both interviewed in 2024.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-neale-08b80011b/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/gbpo-solutions/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/davids-diaries/id1766136430

Mark and Peter on David's Diaries

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-hillary/id1766136430?i=1000668074006

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-ryan/id1766136430?i=1000668073926

Podcast Summary

In this episode, David Neale introduces his new venture, GBPO Solutions, and discusses a novel approach to BPO accreditation. Unlike traditional certifications focused on operational standards (like ISO or HIPAA), David’s accreditation model emphasizes truthfulness, transparency, and independent validation of how BPOs present themselves to the market.

David Neale's accreditation model for BPOs aims to inject much-needed transparency and accountability into a market still relying on legacy procurement methods. By focusing on honesty over hype, GBPO Solutions wants to reshape the buyer-supplier dynamic in outsourcing for the better.