About
I'm a CX strategist, advisor and keynote speaker based in Cape Town. My work starts from a question most CX programmes never test: which practices actually build competitive advantage, and which only look like progress?
My doctoral research (DBA with High Distinction, Swiss School of Management, 2024) put that question to 174 senior CX decision-makers across global businesses. Three findings shape everything I do:
• More customer data showed no significant effect on differentiation on its own. It paid off only where organisations had above-average capability to turn data into personas and empathy maps.
• Journey mapping was the biggest single lever, but only through what followed it. Its effect ran entirely through routine touchpoint innovation; mapping alone showed no significant direct effect.
• Collecting more CX metrics showed no significant effect on differentiation. What organisations designed and changed mattered more than what they measured.
My career began in brand, marketing and communications leadership at Capitec Bank, RCS (BNP Paribas), RMB Private Bank, FNB, Woolworths Financial Services and British Airways/Kulula. Since 2013 I have advised organisations in financial services, healthcare, technology and education.
Today I run an independent CXM strategy and advisory practice, working with organisations in South Africa and internationally. I have lectured CX, marketing and strategic branding at Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, Vega and Milpark Business School (MBA), and most recently guest-lectured on the UCT Graduate School of Business MBA programme. I'm a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and have judged the International CX Awards.
Advisory
Customer Experience Management (CXM)
I leverage CX best practices and empirically validated maturity instruments to help your business achieve competitive differentiation through effective Customer Experience Management and enhanced business performance. These instruments assess and improve your CXM strategies, ensuring efforts focus on the most impactful areas. By integrating People, Processes, and Technology, I provide a clear roadmap for your CXM transformation journey to help you optimise strategies, prioritise key areas, and enhance overall business outcomes, fostering continuous improvement and sustainable growth.
Strategic Branding, Marketing and Communications
With over two decades of hands-on experience, I have successfully guided brands across various industries, including finance, healthcare, education, and retail. At my founding consultancy, BrandBrew, I have led major rebranding projects, developed strategic brand roadmaps, and executed marketing and communication campaigns with measurable ROI. My approach combines proven methodologies and industry insights to deliver practical, actionable solutions that drive business growth and enhance customer engagement.
Some of the great brands I've had the pleasure of working with.
Speaking
I speak to CX, strategy and transformation leaders about the gap between where CX effort goes and what the evidence says builds competitive advantage. Every talk is grounded in tested findings, explains where an idea is an insight rather than a tested result, and ends with something leaders can act on.
Flagship keynote: The CX Investment Trap
In my study, the practice organisations rated themselves best at, collecting customer data, carried almost no measured impact on differentiation. The biggest levers sat elsewhere. This keynote shows where CX effort builds competitive advantage, where it doesn't, and how leaders can redirect it.
20 or 45 minutes.
More Data Is Not the Answer
More customer data showed no significant effect on differentiation on its own. It only paid off where organisations have the capability to translate it into insights. A session on auditing your data investment and building the capability that makes it count.
Maps Can Be a Trap
Journey mapping was the biggest single lever in the study, but only through what came next: routine touchpoint innovation. A session on turning maps into a rhythm of redesign rather than a document on the wall.
Formats
keynote · masterclass or workshop · panel and moderation · in-house executive briefing.
Research
My research focuses on strategic branding, marketing strategies, and customer experience management. I aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that my findings have real-world applicability and contribute to the advancement of these fields.
Recent studies
Customer Experience Management (CXM): Towards Examining the Linkages and Impact on Business Performance
This study formulates an enhanced, empirically grounded CXM construct with measurable items, investigating the impact of essential CXM dimensions on differentiation as a competitive advantage and its effect on market and financial outcomes. Utilising a quantitative methodology, the research involved a comprehensive survey of 174 global organisations across 14 industries.
The findings highlight the multifaceted nature of CXM, emphasising the importance of continual innovation in Customer Experience Design as a primary driver for differentiation and enhanced financial performance.
By comprehensively understanding customer experience design, customer data collection and insights, and CX performance metrics, businesses can strategically enhance their CX practices for an effective transformation to achieve competitive differentiation and improved business outcomes.
Click here for the research findings and insights.