Elevating Customer Obsession Leadership Summit

I attended the Elevating Customer Obsession Leadership Summit organized by Pauline Macharia a seasoned Customer Experience leader and now founder CEO of Reimagine+. The two-day transformative event was held at Karen Country Club on the 27th and 28th of November in Nairobi, Kenya. It was an eye-opener and offered valuable learning from the incredible industry leaders and delegates.

Learnings from the Industry Leaders

Pauline Macharia, founder of Reimagine Plus is an award-winning C-suite executive and emotional intelligence coach. With over 30 years of global leadership experience, she is a pioneer in customer experience and digital transformation. She has held senior roles at organizations like the State Bank of Mauritius, Chase Bank, Airtel Africa, International SOS, and Lufthansa Airlines.

Pauline’s expertise spans Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, where she’s led
operations in 17 African countries, Dubai, London, Singapore, and other major global cities.

Your network is your net worth. Build strong networks with your friends, partners, and clients.
It takes 12 positive experiences to cancel one negative experience.
It takes 5X more effort to acquire new clients than to retain existing ones.
If you are not listening to your clients your competitors are.

Flora Mutahi, CEO and Founder of Melvins Marsh took us down memory lane to discuss the foundations of building her enterprise. She shared the highs, lows, and lessons throughout the journey.

Keep Evolving and experimenting.
Products and markets evolve with time.
Believe in yourself and your vision even when others don’t.
Start with a ‘Built to Last’ mentality.

Julius Orayo, Group Chief Information Officer at Jubilee Insurance Holdings. He unlocked leadership excellence in digital transformation by sharing transformational strides with AI, Robotics, and Application development.

Julius Orayo, Group Chief Information Officer at Jubilee Holdings

Disrupt yourself from within.
Automate as much as you can.
Make use of Data-Driven decision-making.
Continuous improvement.

Baiju Shah, is the Group CEO of eBiashara Africa dissected Fintech and the role it plays in Business Growth and the intersection with cybersecurity and customer experience.

Baiju Shah, Group CEO of eBiashara Africa

Fintech solutions optimize financial transactions, enhance liquidity, and foster collaboration.
E-commerce solutions enable businesses to manage transactions and provide a seamless payment experience.
Technology, people, and processes drive digital transformation.
The future is about innovation, security, and customer-centric solutions.

Hon. Achie Ojany-Alai is a former County Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Sports in Kisumu and the National Chairperson of Kenya’s County Tourism Ministers. She has been a transformative force in tourism and leadership. She shared insights on the impact of public speaking on Customer Engagement and Retention.

Glossophobia – Medical term for fear of speaking in public
Areas that shape public speaking; Preparation, Stage Presence, Visual, Audio, Virtual, Photo Session, Your Exit
It is not what you know, it is what you DO with what you know that differentiates you

Micheu ‘Mich’ Njiru – Director of Customer Excellence, KCB Group enumerated CX as a Growth Strategy and Revenue Accelerator.

Good service is equal to revenue security with loyal customers.
Customers want personalization, they want a human-centered business.
Serve clients at their channels of presence and preference.
Meet, manage, and exceed your customer’s expectations.

Charles Wanjohi, Telecom Visionary & Consumer Strategist. He has worked on brands like Safaricom Ethiopia as Chief Consumer Business Officer and Airtel Africa. It was refreshing to listen to the Safaricom Ethiopia startup story and the successes, pivots, and market dynamics.

CX culture starts from the top! Non-negotiables- Tone, Culture, Alignment, Objectives.
Many organization’s success or failure can be explained by the Gap between the C Suite and their Consumers
Insights are useless without organizational-wide concerted actions. Success or failure can be explained by time GAP between insights and actions
Correlate hard metrics with actual consumer insights and feelings

Nkirote Njiru – Group Human Capital Executive for Old Mutual East Africa. Nkirote shares the HR playbook for building a culture of customer obsession within the Old Mutual Group.

Secret Sauce: Exceptional customer value, catalyzed brand, people-first culture, talent magnet
Transform teams for ‘SILOS’ to winning together as ‘ONE’
Customer obsession is putting the customer at the center of every decision, action, and strategy

Vicky Karuga – Managing Director of Profiles International, a trailblazer in talent management and organizational culture.

To win in the market place you must first win in the workplace
Purpose-driven workplaces outperform profit-driven competitors.
Engaged employees create loyal customers..
Build and Encourage Strong Social Work Connections
A thriving workplace culture drives innovation and results.

Sylvia (Mukenyi Ng’ang’a) – A lecturer at leading universities, she equips future marketing leaders with cutting-edge strategies in strategic marketing, digital innovations, and customer loyalty.

Exceptional CX is no longer optional—it’s a differentiator.
The Four Parts of the Customer Experience: Rational, Emotional, Subconscious, Psychological.
Customer Journey Mapping: Identify key touchpoints, moments of truth, and pain points.

Dr. Dorothy Kyeyune – a trailblazing Ugandan thought leader in customer experience and personal development. She is the CEO of Mwoyo Experience and has authored a best-selling book ‘Without the Leader there is no Customer Experience’.

The Iceberg of Ignorance: Top managers only know 4% of the problems, while frontline workers know 100% of the problems.
Your value and networks are more important than your skills on your way up the corporate ladder
Customer Experience starts with the leader (CEO)

In conclusion, I leave you with a quote ‘It is not what you know, it is what you DO with what you know that differentiates you.‘

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