Meet the Winners
The Collaboration Award
In recognition of the women who value collaboration over competition and bring people together to achieve great things. Whether uniting colleagues across different functions, bridging silos, or fostering partnerships beyond their own teams, these women demonstrate the power of cross-functional collaboration to deliver exceptional outcomes and drive meaningful change.
Winner!
Rhea Ebanks-Simpson
Senior User Researcher, Westminster City Council
Rhea is a Senior User Researcher at Westminster City Council. Alongside her work in the Council, she is a PhD candidate exploring the employment rights of care workers in the UK. Her focus areas are service transformations, digital design and experience, and strategic recommendations. She is passionate about harnessing her research expertise to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Highly Commended!
Sarah Andrews
Founder & Principal Consultant, Cupola CX
Sarah has spent the last 20 years helping businesses take better care of their customers. She’s worked with hospitals, private equity-backed companies, & municipalities, making sure the experience they deliver keeps people coming back.
She spent 11 years in patient experience. Four years in private equity, leading customer experience.
Now, she runs Cupola CX, a consulting firm that helps businesses improve how they serve their customers. She focuses on making the experience better for both customers & employees—driving loyalty & revenue.
Sarah lives in South Bend with her husband & 3 teenage sons.
The Culture Award
Celebrating women who have fostered a positive organisational culture, prioritising inclusivity, psychological safety, and employee well-being. These women have created environments where people feel empowered to thrive and do their best work. Because as we know, EX greatly impacts CX.
Winner!
Susanna Baqué
Senior Director Global Customer Experience, SCIEX
A senior global Customer Experience leader at SCIEX, a Danaher Company, since 2014. With 25+ years in Life Sciences, she has lead teams in sales, technical support, Market Development, and CX. She holds a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry and began her career as a researcher and professor at the University of Barcelona. Passionate about customer-centricity, she leads global teams to enhance CX and drive growth. She champions Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Susanna combines expertise in CX, a commitment to DE&I, and a genuine desire to help others to succeed, empowering them and driving meaningful impact.
Highly Commended!
Dr. Hui Wu-Curtis
Director, Customer Service, SmartRent
Dr. Hui Wu-Curtis is an executive who specializes in contact center operations. She has over 20 years of experience in leadership roles across multiple industries including hospitality, utilities, healthcare, financial services, technology, and telecommunications. Hui is a forward-thinking innovator and thought leader for customer experience and has worked with organizations to transform their customer service, sales, and technical support teams. She has published CX articles, a speaker, and participated in numerous industry webinars and podcasts.
The Inclusion Award
In recognition of the women who champion intersectional diversity, equity, and inclusion. These women have thought beyond the boundaries of their own identity and advocated for the rights of those who are marginalised. They inspire others through activism, going beyond lip service to take action and create a better world.
Winner!
Stine Marsal
CEO & Founder, Experience Management Consult & InklusioNordic
Stine Marsal is a sociologist and inclusion strategist specialising in customer and employee experience. As former Nordic Director of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, she helped over 500 companies improve accessibility. Today, she leads InklusioNordic, a platform for inclusive training and community learning, co-created with NGOs. Stine combines lived experience with strategic insight to help organisations unlock business value by removing hidden barriers and designing for diversity.
Highly Commended!
Lara Husselbee
Head of Learning Experience and Research, Macquarie Group
Lara Husselbee [she/her] is an enthusiastic CX Leader and facilitator who is driven by the belief that a little bit of empathy can go a long way. Over a 15-year career, in sectors like Financial Services, Health, Tech, Gov, Hospitality and Not-For-Profit, her consulting practice uses HCD, CX, Design Thinking, Agile and Learning Development methodologies to help brands uplift and deliver exceptional and inclusive customer and employee experiences.
Her expertise has seen her make impactful contributions to brands across the globe, including India, the US, South Africa, Iceland, the UK, and across Australia.
The Innovation Award
This is for women who have introduced groundbreaking ideas, methodologies, or technologies in CX. These innovators have pushed boundaries, solved complex challenges, and shaped the industry's future with their creative problem-solving.
Winner!
Shannon Knowlton
Voice of the Customer Manager, Selective Insurance
Shannon Knowlton, Voice of the Customer Manager at Selective Insurance, leverages eight years of customer experience expertise to analyze satisfaction and foster loyalty. She directs the Customer Survey Initiative, overseeing eight key surveys and driving organizational enhancements. Shannon's skills include facilitating DiSC workshops, conducting relationship surveys, journey mapping, and championing employee engagement. She holds an MS in Customer Experience Management from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University and a BA in Sociology from Centenary University.
Highly Commended!
Charlotte Kennett
Customer-Centric Marketing Leader
Charlotte is a passionate marketing leader who builds and scales customer-centric teams, programs, and strategies that drive real business outcomes. She specialises in turning customer insight into action — influencing product strategy, strengthening brand loyalty, and amplifying advocacy. With a focus on breaking silos and putting customer needs at the heart of decision-making, Charlotte champions a more human, connected approach to marketing in global tech organisations.
The Solopreneur of the Year Award
This award recognises women running their own CX businesses who are making a significant impact. These solopreneurs embody entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and innovation, demonstrating success through their unique contributions to the CX industry. They inspire others by overcoming challenges, driving growth, and delivering meaningful results for their clients, all while staying true to their vision.
Winner!
Katie Stabler
Founder and Director, CULTIVATE Customer Experience by Design
Katie is a passionate customer experience (CX) thought leader, advocate, and best-selling author who has over a decade of experience transforming businesses through customer-centric strategies.
She has worked across industries worldwide, from major financial institutions to local non-profits, helping organisations create meaningful, human-centred experiences.
Katie is a host of the CX Awards and the author of the book CX-ISM. She also co-authored Amazon’s #1 best-seller Customer Experience 2, and has been recognised as one of the top 20 global CX thought leaders year after year.
Highly Commended!
Natalia Cerezo Martin
Founder, Empower & Lead
Natalia is an executive and leadership coach with a flair for uplifting ambitious women in tech and customer experience, guiding them to lead with confidence and define success on their own terms. Her career stretches from showbiz to cybersecurity in B2B and B2C arenas, where she’s helped steer companies through tricky acquisitions, demergers, and the rollercoaster of imposter syndrome and career transitions.
A self-confessed lifelong learner, Natalia champions action-oriented, non-hierarchical leadership. She believes that the best workplaces make room for emotional growth, genuine vulnerability, and big ambitions.
The Rising Star Award
This is in recognition of the women in the pipeline of up-and-coming industry talent who are set for a bright future ahead. These women inspire others by role-modelling the Women in CX values of courage, collaboration, inclusivity, authenticity, and audacity and are taking bold steps to shape their careers in their own way, on their own terms.
Winner!
Kajol Patel
Principal, Gate One
Kajol is a Customer Experience Strategy Leader with over 8 years of experience driving growth and innovation across FTSE100 and NASDAQ-listed brands. She specialises in helping B2C organisations deliver omnichannel transformation and next-generation customer strategies -building new propositions, experiences and products using human centred design with commercial strategy, from idea to launch. Kajol has been recognised for her impact in mentoring the next generation of CX leaders, being awarded Top 100 Women in Tech 2020, MCA Young Consultant of the Year 2021 and Women of the Future 2024 – Tech & Digital runner up.
Highly Commended!
Rebecca Gordon
Head of Online Customer Experience, Westminster City Council
Head of Online Customer Experience at Westminster City Council, I lead award-winning digital transformation in local government. With a background in cloud consulting, I’ve spent seven years delivering services that put people first — from scaling AI-powered platforms to designing with residents at the heart. I’m passionate about inclusive innovation, mentoring future leaders, and reshaping public services to be fairer, faster and more human.
The Woman in CX Technology Award
This category honours women working in technology vendors or providers who are transforming the CX landscape through cutting-edge solutions. These women are driving innovation, enhancing customer and employee experiences, and showcasing the power of technology to solve complex challenges. Their work is shaping the future of CX by making technology more effective and impactful.
Winner!
Judy Bloch
VP, Industry Executive Advisor, Medallia
Judy is known as an innovative Customer Experience leader with a passion for process improvement, driving change, and designing connected omni-channel experiences. She has served in various CX leadership roles, including supporting both B2B and B2C programs, where she delivered quantifiable results that were industry recognized for their innovation. Judy is an Industry Executive Advisor at Medallia, focusing on Financial Service, and consulting with global brands to deepen and grow their CX programs, share best practices and thought leadership.
Highly Commended!
Justyna Jakubek
Business Consultant & Low code developer, Superro
Justyna Jakubek – a consultant and low-code solutions developer with experience at the intersection of technology and business. She specializes in implementing CRM systems and contact center solutions, supporting organizations in automating their sales processes, customer service, and internal operations. By combining analytical thinking with a practical approach to designing and deploying low-code systems, she effectively guides clients through digital transformation.
The Leader of the Year Award
This award recognises women who are at the forefront of leading customer experience and technology. These women inspire us by role-modelling the Women in CX values of courage, collaboration, inclusivity, authenticity, and audacity. They are highly influential within their organisations, among their colleagues, and across the wider community. These women have demonstrated a tangible impact on business performance through the CX initiatives they have led and are undoubtedly paving the way for others to succeed through their commitment to the development of others.
Winner!
Elizabeth Okomba
Group Director Customer Experience, Equity Group Holdings
Liz Okomba is the Group Director of Customer Experience at Equity Group Holdings, driving African financial services transformation. Beginning her career in aviation at Virgin Atlantic Airways, she joined banking in 2012, pioneering CX at CBA and NIC banks before orchestrating their merger. Liz has championed award-winning customer experience programs and large-scale digital transformations. Named 2024 CX Leader of the Year and among Africa's Top 45 Women in Digital Transformation, she has earned multiple industry awards. She is a Success Coach and Autism awareness advocate.
Highly Commended!
Alison Jaap
Transformational leader, Formerly Ovo Energy
With over 25 years of experience leading customer-focused transformation, Alison is passionate about redesigning services around the real needs of people. She takes a human-centric, strategic approach—combining empathy, agility, and innovation to deliver meaningful change. Whether improving everyday customer journeys or empowering teams to lead differently, she is driven by the belief that better experiences start from within. Alison champions bold thinking, collaboration, and continuous learning to create lasting impact for customers and colleagues alike.