The summit says that it is known for connecting the CX sector's biggest, best and brightest and sharing their success stories.

"CEM Africa is about getting real and separating true value from perceived," says Shannon Mackrill, co-founder of the event. "The customer experience must be elevated and, to do so, we need to drive ROI — but first buy-in from the ultimate decision-maker is needed."

Mackrill adds, "After a period of virtual events, we are back with improved networking, matchmaking and opportunities to share with and learn from some of the brightest CX minds and practitioners in person. We are thrilled with our line-up, particularly the new speakers."

"Already pioneers in their respective industries and fields, locally and internationally, the new names on our August agenda represent a wide variety of sectors — from car manufacturers, global consumer brands and financial services to specialised technology and CX forerunners, as well as leading tourism organisations in the public sector," Mackrill says.

This list includes the following:
  • Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism
  • Nestlé
  • Old Mutual
  • Standard Bank
  • Nissan
  • Sanlam
  • PNB Paribas
  • SA Taxi
  • Global Voice of '#CX', and
  • The CX Group (the full list of new speakers appears below).

According to the event, the latest edition of CEM Africa will gather more than 1 000 delegates, including some of the brightest minds from hugely successful brands, such as:
  • Discovery
  • Checkers
  • Hollard
  • AVBOB
  • FNB
  • Mr Price, and
  • TFG. 

The event features a two-day expo combined with key content, covering everything from:
  • personalisation
  • automation
  • AR / VR and machine learning
  • retention, and 
  • customer journeys to data.

Day 1 — Tuesday, 23 August: A full day of educational workshops, which are targeted sessions hosted by industry specialists and their end users to bring delegates up close and personal with real use cases, challenges and solutions.

Day 2 — Wednesday, 24 August: A conference featuring keynotes and panel discussions by leaders and 'CX-perts', including Vodacom, Superbalist, McDonald's and Dischem.


CEM Africa's brand new local and international speakers include:
  • Yugeshree Frylinck, Local CXPA Chapter Lead, The CX Group
  • Rashid Toefy, deputy director general, Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism
  • Nancy Moodley, head of customer experience, digital and CRM, Nissan
  • Maroba Maduma, chief customer service officer, SA Taxi
  • Neshica Naidu, chief customer officer, Old Mutual Corporate, Old Mutual Limited
  • Lynton Peters, founder and CEO, One Cart
  • Saint Francis Tohlang, director public affairs and corporate communications, Nestlé
  • Lihle Dlamini, chief marketing officer, Eastern Cape Parks Tourism Agency
  • Philip Moepya, group head experience design, Standard Bank
  • Anthea Williams, customer experience manager, Sanlam Reality
  • Mandisa Makubalo, founder and managing director, Unlimited Experiences
  • Maritza Curry, head of data, BNP Paribas Personal Finance
  • Hannah Sadiki, CEO, Bidvest Financial Services
  • Dennis Wakabayashi, chief collaborator and global voice of '#CX', Team Wakabayashi
  • Dino Bernicchi, head of machine learning, HomeChoice International PLC
  • Ivy Ikpeme-Mbakwem, chief experience officer, Africa Prudential PLC
  • Andrew Bourne, regional manager Africa, Zoho
  • Siva Pather, managing director, NICE Systems
  • Brett Butler, country manager, Avaya
  • Stefan Grieben, CEO, Novomind
  • Reynhardt Uys, chief experience officer, Immersion Group Insider
  • Ismail Dawjee, head of experience design, Immersion Group
  • Alistair Freeman, CEO, Freshtech Africa, and
  • Gary Cameron, customer engagement solutions specialist, Avaya.

CEM Africa says that it is also welcoming back many event favourites to share their experience, including:
  • Qaalfa Dibeehi, dean of customer experience leadership, Majid Al Futtaim
  • Anton De Wet, chief client officer, Nedbank
  • Amanda Reekie, founding director and CEO, ovatoyou
  • Julia Ahlfeldt, customer experience strategist and business advisor, Julia Ahlfeldt CX Consulting
  • Charlie Stewart, CEO, Rogerwilco
  • Janine George, CPTO, Carrol Boyes
  • Kamohelo Potloane, CX officer, Rand Water
  • Lynne Blignaut, group loyalty and customer rewards, Dischem
  • Shaun Edmeston, director of the customer experience, ABSA Group
  • Mumbi Odame, head of customer experience and design, Rand Merchant Bank
  • Wendy Houlson, group CX service manager, Spar Group
  • Errol Van Graan, chief officer of customer operations, Vodacom
  • Moses Duma, head group customer experience strategy, Old Mutual Limited
  • Brenda Zuma, customer service and operations manager, Superbalist
  • Vincent Viviers, head of e-commerce, Pick n Pay, and
  • Simon Hartley, lead executive of delivery services and group eCommerce, Massmart.

Individuals can download the CEM Africa agenda here and can register for the event here.

For more information, visit www.cemafricasummit.com. You can also follow CEM Africa on Facebook or on Twitter.