The fourth of five lists in this year’s CX50 shows how top customer experience professionals in retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality are ensuring technology preserves human ‘warmth’, focusing on service, not systems.
While any business can be said to live or die based on the experience it provides to customers, those in the retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality industries must surely be at the sharp end of the customer experience (CX) challenge. Frequency of use and tough competition can see interaction levels drop fast if customers are dissatisfied with the experience that greets them.
This year’s CX50, compiled by Marketing Week in partnership with Cognizant, Google Cloud and Salesforce, provides a roll call of the UK’s top 50 customer experience professionals. In this, the fourth of five sector lists making up the CX50 2025, we feature 10 outstanding CX figures from brands that consumers expect to deliver ever higher standards of experience.
Below, we’ve spoken to three of these – Tesco’s Becky Brock, Waitrose’s Nathan Ansell and Boots’ Paula Bobbett – to analyse the biggest consumer trends currently driving evolutions in CX.
The brands taking a ‘people-first’ approach to AI
The Marketing Week CX50, in partnership with Cognizant, Google Cloud and Salesforce, is the pre-eminent annual list of the UK’s top 50 customer experience professionals. In 2025, we are repeating the sector-focused approach to choosing the list’s members first adopted in 2024, representing the variety of customer experiences provided by B2C, B2B and public sector organisations.
The CX50 2025 is divided into the following five sectors, each featuring 10 professionals:
Nathan
Paula
Becky
Mark
Anna
Sara
Di
Neil
Elodie
Andrew
Chief Customer Officer
Chief Digital Officer
Managing Director, Customer
Chief Marketing, Data and Sustainability Officer
Vice-President, Marketing
Chief Marketing Officer
Chief Data and AI Officer
Chief Customer Officer
Senior Marketing Director, Great Britain and Ireland
Managing Vice President, Demand Generation, EMEA
The CX50 2025
Ansell
Bobbett
Brock
Given
Greene
Holt
Mayze
Miller
Peribere
Watson
Waitrose & Partners
Boots
Tesco
Sainsbury's
Gousto
Center Parcs
Marks & Spencer
Itsu
The Coca-Cola Company
Marriott International
RETAIL, CONSUMER GOODS, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
The pursuit of ‘thoughtful’ AI
After a period of rapid technological transformation boosted by changing consumer behaviour, companies in retail cannot underestimate the level of CX that shoppers demand as standard.
According to Tesco managing director, customer, Becky Brock: “Customer experience expectations continue to evolve at pace. Customers expect an intuitive, seamless and personalised experience however they choose to interact with brands, whether that’s online or in person.”
She continues: “Customers want life to be made easier, their needs anticipated and, importantly, their loyalty recognised. Organisations must continue to blend customer insight, brand, technology and, increasingly, unlock the power of AI to best meet these ever-changing expectations.”
Similarly, Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell says: “They are no longer just looking for good service; they want relevance, ease and consistency across every part of the experience. For Waitrose, that means continuing to offer quality and care, while also becoming sharper and more responsive.”
Crucially, says Ansell, expectations are being driven by the CX on offer in entirely different sectors. Customers are used to personalisation, instant answers and seamless digital journeys, and expect it from any brand they have contact with.
“Our opportunity is to meet that pace without losing the warmth and trust we are known for,” he says. Retaining that sense of warmth customers feel from employees – or partners, as Waitrose calls them – highlights one of the key challenges of integrating new technology, such as AI, into CX workflows.
It also shapes the brand’s ambition. “What if we could combine the human instinct of our partners with the intelligence of AI, so that every experience feels both intuitive and thoughtful? That is how we keep the Waitrose difference, while staying one step ahead,” says Ansell.
“We are starting with what we know – using AI to remove the blockers in existing processes, to make the day-to-day work simpler and faster. That gives us space to learn, to test and to build confidence. The next step is to reimagine how we solve problems entirely. That will come once we understand the technology more deeply and can see the possibilities it unlocks.”
Our criteria and methodology for determining the CX50’s members remain the same as in previous years. In order to create a pool of candidates, we combine nominations from Marketing Week and Cognizant’s professional networks with research into independent measures of organisations that perform highly on CX. To select the final list, we then assess individuals’ achievements in the past year and over the course of their careers against the three criteria of impact, innovation and influence.
The CX50 members possess an eclectic set of skills and responsibilities, all crucial in the effort to deliver exceptional customer experience.
“The next step is to reimagine how
we solve problems entirely.”
— Nathan Ansell, Waitrose
Growing familiarity with AI
AI is already having a clear impact on CX and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of it. What’s more, they’re progressively learning how to use it more effectively, according to Paula Bobbett, chief digital officer at Boots.
“When we first launched the Boots AI Assistant, consumers were using it like a search engine with one-word inputs. Now, they are having deeper conversations with the assistant and using it to find products that can boost their skincare or ideas for a friend’s birthday.”
Boots’ progress so far with AI is encouraging the retailer to take it further, Bobbett says: “Using AI for personalisation is also a big focus for us and we’re also looking at how AI can enhance search and content management systems. Whether that’s by improving product discovery with smarter, more intuitive search capabilities or enabling dynamic content adjustments, we want our digital estate to be as innovative and customer centric as possible.”
Like any new technology, AI must have clear benefits to be truly of use, says Brock at Tesco. “Organisations must create a CX vision which blends consumer insight, brand emotion, a brilliant product or proposition and a service that genuinely meets a consumer need. These core foundations will then be enhanced by the businesses who harness AI the most effectively.”
She adds: “AI allows us to create even more personalised customer journeys and continually refine the customer experience. The game-changing element is the pace, scale and intelligence. This technology accelerates the rate of improvement as it can identify the smallest pieces of feedback from customers, which may have otherwise been missed, and then shape a better experience.”
Read the CX50 members' profiles
More sector lists and analysis
Manufacturing, logistics, energy and utilities
Public
sector
Financial
services
Retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality
Life
sciences
METHODOLOGY
Integrated, not ‘bolted on’
There remains a balancing act in how quickly AI should be applied. Ultimately, it will be consumers who decide the correct pace, says Brock.
“Both businesses and consumers are still exploring the full potential of AI. I think consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits that it can bring but it’s important we keep close to their comfort levels and understanding,” she says.
Research conducted by Waitrose has found that around half of its customers are already using AI in their daily lives, says Ansell. “But many still feel unsure about what it means. The headlines they see are mixed. AI is saving lives in healthcare, but it is also raising questions about jobs and ethics. That uncertainty puts a responsibility on brands like ours. Customers want to see AI used in a way that feels honest, helpful and fair. They expect us to be thoughtful, not just fast. So our approach is people-first. If AI helps the customer feel more understood, more in control and more confident, it is the right use. If it adds complexity or undermines trust, we step back. It is not about what the tech can do, but what it should do.”
“Given the rate of AI development,
you also need to be consciously designing
in future flexibility.”
— Becky Brock, Tesco
Both Brock and Ansell agree that AI, and indeed any new technology, must be successfully integrated into a brand’s approach, rather than simply ‘bolted on’ to existing processes.
“For me there are three fundamentals to a successful approach,” says Brock. “Firstly, a clear, aligned vision on the future of CX. Secondly, a close knit development approach between the customer and technology teams. And finally, a commitment to ensure that the data is structured in a way where teams can draw real insight and learnings from it.
“This way there is clarity from the start about the core platform ecosystem that will underpin the future experience, and alignment on where there needs to be integration and where there should actually be third-party add-ons for pace or experimentation. Given the rate of AI development, you also need to be consciously designing in future flexibility, in order to take advantage of leapfrog opportunities.”
“At Waitrose, we believe AI should lift and enhance what we already do well. Our partners already spend a huge amount of time understanding customers and the way they shop. AI helps us accelerate that learning. Whether it is in creative, insight or product development, it gives us a clearer view, faster,” says Ansell.
“But AI does not replace the connection. It cannot replicate a moment of care or a shared conversation in store. What it can do is reduce the noise, speed up the admin and help our people focus more on service, not systems. Used well, AI brings us closer to our customers, not further away. It helps us stay more present, more relevant and more able to deliver the service people choose us for.”
Consumer comfort with AI tends to grow when brands focus on intuitive, helpful experiences rather than showcasing technical sophistication. AI offers a progression for existing services well as a natural extension of existing services, enhancing search capabilities, personalising recommendations, or streamlining checkout processes. [One of] The critical factor is ensuring AI augments rather than replaces the human elements that customers value, particularly in sectors where personal connection drives loyalty.
Google Cloud
The key to staying within consumers' comfort zones when introducing AI lies in leading with value rather than technology. Our 'New Minds, New Markets' research reveals that consumer trust varies dramatically across the customer journey. Indeed, comfort is highest during discovery phases but drops significantly during purchase decisions. Successful retail and hospitality brands introduce AI where it solves genuine customer problems first, such as personalised recommendations or streamlined service, rather than showcasing technological capability.
Rohit Gupta, Managing Director, UK and Ireland, Cognizant
How top CX brands balance tech with the human touch
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
The Marketing Week CX50, in partnership with Cognizant, Google Cloud and Salesforce, is the pre-eminent annual list of the UK’s top 50 customer experience professionals. In 2025, we are repeating the sector-focused approach to choosing the list’s members first adopted in 2024, representing the variety of customer experiences provided by B2C, B2B and public sector organisations.
The CX50 2025 is divided into the following five sectors, each featuring 10 professionals:
Our criteria and methodology for determining the CX50’s members remain the same as in previous years. In order to create a pool of candidates, we combine nominations from Marketing Week and Cognizant’s professional networks with research into independent measures of organisations that perform highly on CX. To select the final list, we then assess individuals’ achievements in the past year and over the course of their careers against the three criteria of impact, innovation and influence.
The CX50 members possess an eclectic set of skills and responsibilities, all crucial in the effort to deliver exceptional customer experience.
Manufacturing, logistics, energy and utilities
Public sector
Financial services
Retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality
Life sciences
METHODOLOGY
Consumer comfort with AI tends to grow when brands focus on intuitive, helpful experiences rather than showcasing technical sophistication. AI offers a progression for existing services well as a natural extension of existing services, enhancing search capabilities, personalising recommendations, or streamlining checkout processes. [One of] The critical factor is ensuring AI augments rather than replaces the human elements that customers value, particularly in sectors where personal connection drives loyalty.
Google Cloud
Rohit Gupta, Managing Director, UK and Ireland, Cognizant
The human element remains essential, particularly in corporate relationships where trust is built through personal engagement. The most innovative MLEU organisations aren't replacing human interaction, but augmenting it, enabling teams to have more meaningful conversations by handling routine tasks in the background. The ideal is using technology to elevate human capabilities, combining efficiency with genuine connection.
Read the CX50 members' profiles
Jude Burditt
Director of Customer Solutions and Technology
Severn Trent
Colette Healy
Marketing Director, UK
BMW Group
Lee Nelson
Vice-President, Global Marketing and Communications
DHL eCommerce
Kelly Ralph
Group Marketing and Communications Director
Peel Ports Group
Nick Ratcliffe
Customer Experience Director, UK
Volkswagen Group
Mark Rose
Sales and Marketing Director
TotalEnergies Gas & Power
Hayley Thompson
Vice-President, Global Marketing
SmartestEnergy
Gillian Tomlinson
Group Chief Data and Digital Officer
Weir Group
Amy Turnbull
Vice-President, Digital Operations and Systems Integration
Wood
Nigel Watson
Chief Information Officer
Northumbrian Water Group
MANUFACTURING, LOGISTICS, ENERGY AND UTILITIES
The CX50 2025
More sector lists and analysis