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Voices shaping the future of experience

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Dr Jacqueline Baker COX Architecture

Featured guestEpisode 08CX Design

Dr Jacqueline Baker

Head of Research · COX Architecture

Dr Jacqueline Baker is a design researcher at COX Architecture, where she leads the research team. Drawing on multidisciplinary training in architecture, environmental psychology and marketing, her work bridges design, psychology and neuroscience to create places, spaces and precincts that promote human flourishing. Her career spans consulting, research, teaching and design across architecture and engineering practices and universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. She speaks, writes and collaborates with researchers, architects and specialists locally and abroad to address the complex challenges facing society and our cities.

All guests 7 guests

Alexei Krasnov
Mastercard EP07

CX Design

Alexei Krasnov

Director of Product Experience Design

Mastercard

Alexei Krasnov is Director of Product Experience Design at Mastercard, where he leads customer experience and design innovation for payment products and services across the Asia Pacific region. His work sits at the intersection of design, research and technology — shaping the invisible systems billions of people rely on every day without ever noticing them. With a career spanning more than two decades across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, Alexei brings a rare global perspective to one of the most complex, fast-moving and trust-critical spaces in customer experience: how you design for something people are never meant to think about.

Oleksandr (Sasha) Zablotskyi
Openbank by Santander EP06

Growth

Oleksandr (Sasha) Zablotskyi

Head of Digital Channels

Openbank by Santander

Oleksandr (Sasha) Zablotskyi is a digital experience and transformation leader with deep expertise across e-commerce, telecommunications, and financial services. Currently serving as Head of Digital Channels at Openbank — Santander's digital-first banking platform and now the largest European digital bank by deposit volume, with operations across Spain, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, the US, and Mexico — Sasha leads the evolution of customer journeys at one of the most ambitious digital banking platforms in the world. Over the course of his career, Sasha has worked at the intersection of product, customer experience, technology, and digital strategy — helping organisations rethink how customers interact with digital services in an increasingly connected world. From pioneering Ukraine's first eSIM solution at lifecell (including a cross-company one-minute activation flow built in partnership with Monobank) to building omnichannel commerce at Eldorado, his experience spans the full arc of digital transformation — from legacy retail to modern banking infrastructure.

Mohamed Soliman
Energy Exemplar EP05

AI & Data

Mohamed Soliman

Regional Vice President

Energy Exemplar

Mohamed Soliman is the Regional Vice President at Energy Exemplar, one of the world's leading platforms for energy market modelling and optimisation. Over the past two decades, Mohamed has operated at the intersection of strategic vision and commercial reality — scaling Energy Exemplar's MENAT and CIS operations, contributing to its A$1.6B acquisition, and driving a 12x revenue transformation in Siemens' steel sector. His foundation is rigorous: a B.Sc. in Electrical and Digital Control Engineering from Cairo University, an MBA, a DBA, and a Private Equity & VC certification from Wharton. What makes Mohamed the right voice for this episode is his ability to take some of the most mathematically complex problems in industry — multi-objective optimisation across thousand-node energy networks — and explain them in language any leader can act on. He has led the GCCIA Interconnection Program underpinning regional grid stability across the Gulf, advised sovereign funds, regulators, and policymakers across 28+ countries, and built a reputation as "the quiet force" who unlocks deals where strategic insight has to meet commercial realism.

Kate Couling
World Journeys EP04

CX Design

Kate Couling

Co-founder & director

World Journeys

Kate Couling is a co-founding director of World Journeys and has worked in the travel industry since her early twenties. Her career began the way the best ones often do — travelling the world on a budget, arriving into cities late at night with nothing pre-arranged, navigating bureaucracy and language barriers, and proving she could figure it out on her own. That formative experience is the foundation of everything World Journeys does today. Kate and her fellow directors built the agency on a simple but powerful mission: to design journeys they would undertake themselves. Every itinerary is crafted from personal knowledge and direct experience — not brochures, not third-party reviews. The team has worked in the industry for over 30 years and continues to travel regularly, because at World Journeys, staying current is not optional — it is the job

Ana Herranz
GameChangers People & Talent EP03

Leadership

Ana Herranz

Co-Founder

GameChangers People & Talent

Ana Herranz is the Co-Founder of GameChangers People & Talent and a highly experienced executive coach, leadership advisor, and career development expert with over 30 years of combined corporate and academic experience. For 15 years, she led the Career Advancement Center for Working Professionals and Alumni at one of Europe's leading business schools, where she coached and advised thousands of professionals across a wide range of industries and functions. Throughout her career, Ana has delivered more than 4,500 one-on-one coaching sessions and facilitated over 300 workshops focused on leadership, executive presence, high-performing teams, personal branding, and career development. Passionate about helping individuals unlock their potential, lead with clarity, and navigate career transitions with confidence, Ana now partners with executives to design career paths aligned with their strengths, values, and purpose. Through her work at GameChangers People & Talent, she helps leaders accelerate their impact while building and sustaining high-performing teams in an increasingly dynamic business environment.

David Carro
Samsung Electronics Iberia EP02

AI & Data

David Carro

Head of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C)

Samsung Electronics Iberia

David Carro is Head of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) at Samsung Electronics Iberia, leading online sales for Spain and Portugal. He joined Samsung to accelerate the D2C strategy with a strong focus on operational excellence, customer experience, and data-driven growth. Previously, David held senior leadership roles at Vodafone, where he led the Digital Business unit spanning eCommerce, Customer Care, and Omnichannel strategy. His career is marked by large-scale digital transformation and continuous improvement initiatives centered on customer value. With over 20 years of experience across global organizations, David specializes in digital business models, customer experience, and technologies that drive efficiency and growth. He is also a recognized voice in artificial intelligence applied to marketing and customer experience, and a founding member of the AI Forum in Spain (https://www.foroia.es/). He regularly speaks and teaches on AI, digital transformation, and the future of customer experience.

Prof Kiron Ravindran
IE University EP01

AI & Data

Prof Kiron Ravindran

Department Chair, Information Systems and Technology

IE University

Dr Kiron Ravindran has been teaching for over 15 years and is currently the department chair of the Information Systems and Technology area at IE Business School. Dr. Ravindran holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (International Business) a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on the Economics of Information Systems and has published on topics such as IT outsourcing, Cloud computing, Robotics, Blockchain startups and Organizational Networks. He hails from India, has lived and worked in the Middle East, North America and Europe.

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