#860: Resident Expert: Bill Staikos on the CX landscape in 2026


The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® | Listen on: Apple | Spotify | YouTube 

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As a leader, you often spend so much time on the strategies and tactics that keep your brand growing that it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the background with the platforms and the companies behind them.

That’s why I’m always glad to talk with our guest today, who is both focused on the business of CX as well as the business behind CX and the SaaS platforms driving so many customer experiences. I’m excited to talk again with our Resident Expert on the CX and MarTech platform landscape.

We talked right at the beginning of 2026 as a look back at last year. Now that we’ve had a quarter behind us in 2026, it’s time to talk about how this year is shaping up and what we can expect in the months ahead.

To help me discuss these topics, I’d like to welcome, Bill Staikos, Founder at Be Customer Led.

About Bill Staikos

Bill Staikos is a senior customer experience executive with over 20 years of leadership across financial services, consulting, and technology. He has held senior roles at American Express, Freddie Mac, JP Morgan, and BNY Mellon, where he led global initiatives to transform client and employee experiences. A former SVP at Medallia, Bill helped organizations turn insights into measurable outcomes.

Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice and one of the Top 50 Global CX Influencers, Bill is also the founder of the Be Customer-Led podcast and is now preparing to launch The Multimodal Experience. Known for his pragmatic, impact-driven approach, Bill advises leading brands, including Apple, Bank of America, Marriott, and T-Mobile, on connecting customer experience to business growth.

Bill Staikos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billstaikos/

Resources

Be Customer Led: https://becustomerled.com/

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