Last week, the vineyards of the Hunter Valley served as the backdrop for the 13th annual Customer 360 Symposium. Bringing together over 150 of the region’s most influential CX and customer insights leaders.
If you missed the morning mists and the deep-dive sessions, here is the essential roundup of what shaped the conversations this year.
Top priorities for AI CX investment
While 2025 was the year of the chatbot, 2026 is officially the year of the AI Agent. Discussions at the Symposium shifted toward AI that doesn’t just answer questions but orchestrates complex journeys.
The focus is moving from simple automation to AI journey orchestration that can autonomously handle refunds, re-book travel, or personalise a shopping cart in real-time. According to a poll conducted at the Symposium, 60.71% of respondents said that using AI to fundamentally change the customer / employee journey is their top priority. 21.43% replied that AI agents having access to integrated, real-time data was their top AI priority.
80% of respondents said they have AI pilots currently operating, where half are working to integrate their different pilots. 13.33% have not started their AI journey, where 6.67% have AI integrated into their core CX and IT ecosystems.
From ‘what’ to ‘why’ – The H&M transformation
The international keynote, delivered by Anne-Kathrine Nissen (CX Design Lead at H&M), set a high bar for the event. She detailed H&M’s journey from a series of disconnected touchpoints to a unified ecosystem.
- Key insight: Culture precedes technology. Nissen emphasised that asking ‘what?’ rather than ‘why?’ became their secret weapon for breaking down silos between departments, fostering a culture of curiosity over blame.
- The focus: Moving from simple automation to AI that can autonomously handle refunds, re-book travel, or personalise a shopping cart in real-time.
- Trust and Transparency: Leaders from brands like Westpac and Woolworths debated the ethical guardrails needed to keep customers feeling in control.
Patient-centric CX at Healius
In a standout local case study, Nathan Kellie (Healius) presented a playbook on driving results across every patient touchpoint.
- Takeaway: In high-stakes industries like healthcare, personalisation isn’t about marketing – it’s about clarity and empathy. They demonstrated how data integration across the pathology network has significantly reduced friction for patients during stressful times.
Overheard at the roundtables
The lean in sessions provided a rare look at the candid challenges facing ANZ leaders today:
- Economic pressure: With tightening budgets, the impact of CX is being scrutinised more than ever. The consensus? If you can’t link your CX metrics to commercial performance, you’re at risk.
- The human element: Despite the AI hype, there was a strong push for ‘human-AI collaboration’. Several sessions focused on how to support employees through these technological shifts to prevent burnout and change fatigue.
Live podcast – The Mistakes That Shaped Me
For the final session, Telstra’s Tomas Haffenden joined Annmaree Bell, Chief Customer Officer at Zurich for a live recording of The Mistakes That Shaped Me podcast and a deep dive into the realities of executive leadership. This candid and unfiltered conversation pulled back the curtain on the polished corporate narrative to explore the missteps, setbacks, and strategic pivots that have defined Bell’s journey.
Rather than a standard success story, the dialogue uncovered the grit and resilience required to navigate the complexities of the CX landscape, offering a raw look at the lessons learned when things don’t go according to plan.
You can learn more from an interview Annmaree Bell did with CXFocus before the event, Leading with empathy – A conversation with Annmaree Bell, Chief Customer Officer, Zurich
Participating brands
The 2026 cohort featured heavy hitters across retail, finance, and FMCG, including:
- Uniting (Stuart Crabb, Chief Customer Officer)
- Woolworths (Claire Macleod, Head of Customer Insights and Research)
- KFC (Jen Skorobogaty, Consumer and Market Insights Lead)
- Zip (Sonny Sethi, Senior Director of Market Research)
- The NRMA (Virginia Meikle, Senior Manager, Customer Insights)
As the Symposium wrapped up, the message was clear: The winners in 2026 will be the brands that use data to power proactive, agent-led experiences while maintaining a human heart.
The Customer 360 Symposium was produced by Ashton Media. The next major gathering for this community will be the Contact Centre Symposium, returning to the Hunter Valley on May 12–13, 2026.
