Greg Kihlström shares groundbreaking insights into how businesses can become experience-led enterprises. With real-world examples and a focus on innovation, Greg discusses digital transformation, agile methodologies, and the pivotal role of customer and employee experiences in driving success. This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about transforming organizations and delivering exceptional value to customers and teams alike.

About the Guest

Greg Kihlström is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, and serves as an advisor and consultant to top companies on marketing technology, marketing operations, and digital transformation initiatives. He has worked with some of the world's top brands, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, FedEx, HP, Marriott, Nationwide, Victoria's Secret, and Toyota.

He is a multiple-time Co-Founder and C-level leader, leading his digital experience agency to be acquired in 2017, successfully exited an HR technology platform provider he co-founded in 2020, and led a SaaS startup to be acquired by a leading edge computing company in 2021. He currently advises and sits on the Board of a marketing technology startup.

Relevant Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom

https://www.instagram.com/theagilebrand

https://www.gregkihlstrom.com

Episode Summary - The Top 3 Key Learnings

1. Four Pillars of Transformation: Effective digital transformation hinges on integrating people, processes, platforms, and data. While technology matters, success ultimately depends on how well organizations address human and procedural challenges.
2. Agile for Transformation: Agile methodologies can look different for every organization. Focus on principles like collaboration, adaptability, and delivering business value, rather than rigidly adhering to predefined methods.
3. Return on Experience: Investing in customer and employee experiences yields measurable benefits, such as increased customer loyalty, higher lifetime value, and improved organizational efficiency.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:33 Greg Kihlström's Background and Career
01:55 Values Driving Professional Life
02:54 Digital Transformation Challenges
05:11 Measuring Return on Experience
09:23 Implementing Agile Methodologies
14:10 Practical Tips for Digital Transformation
16:47 AI in Digital Transformation
22:14 Future of Customer Experience
24:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

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About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Podcast webpage: https://www.cxgaolkeeper.com/podcast

Sebastian Graf explains the coming rise of AI native companies. He shares four safety pillars for autonomous firms: code freeze, CICD compliance, regulatory model training, and harm-reduction finance. The episode mixes technical detail, a real Anthropic experiment, and broad governance concerns about trust and social impact.

Top 3 Key Learnings

• AI native company pillars: Four safety pillars: code freeze, CICD, regulatory RL training, and harm reduction mechanisms.
• Test and freeze code: Freeze codebases and run automated tests to ensure predictable behavior and regulatory compliance.
• Trust via cost and trials: Lower cost and stepwise use build trust; people try low-risk services first then adopt more.

About Sebastian Graf

Sebastian Graf describes himself as an engineer by profession, but an educator at heart. In his work as an engineer, he is driven by the belief that technology should lift everyone, enabling people to live extraordinary lives in extraordinary ways. He acknowledges that this is challenging in a world where many technologies are built with incentives that divide society, exploit the environment, and widen wealth inequality. Sebastian is committed to reversing these incentives. His mission is to empower imagination and drive the creation of a positive social, environmental, and technological future that he believes is entirely within reach.

Sebastian's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiangraf1/

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Business Transformation Pitch Overview
1:09 - Sebastian Graf's Background and Expertise
2:39 - Sebastian's Mission with AI Native Companies
4:37 - Defining AI Native Companies
8:33 - Four Pillars of AI Native Companies
18:35 - Anthropic's Vending Machine Experiment
22:24 - Engineering Resilience in AI Native Companies
26:31 - Building Trust in AI Native Operations
30:47 - Quickfire Round and Closing Thoughts
34:45 - Key Takeaways and Final Reflections

Resources:

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

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This interview,Live from LEAD-26 in Zurich, links real leadership lessons to lived experience. Fabian, a CIO and ultra runner, talks limits, psychological safety, and practical steps. He also shares a clear, cautious view on generative AI and a smart fast follower strategy for regulated organizations.

Key Learnings:

1. Admit leadership limits: Openly share small, real limits with your team to build reflection and performance.
2. Psychological safety matters: Create a safe team space so people speak up and help cover leadership gaps.
3. Use smart fast follower: Experiment early, then buy enterprise-ready solutions to avoid costly long-term build and maintenance.

Summary:

Fabian Ringwald is the CIO of a Swiss health insurance company. He says they have the most satisfied customers in the industry. He is also a board member at lead 26 and helps shape conference content and speaker selection. Outside work he runs ultra trails. He runs over 100 kilometers and gains more than 6,000 meters of altitude. These runs can take more than 20 hours and include day and night. Night is more challenging. The long runs teach self-leadership and a clear view of personal limits.
Fabian argues that every leader has limits. He says hiding limits wastes energy because close colleagues already see them. He encourages leaders to share limits openly with their teams. Open discussion builds self-reflection and helps form a high performance team. Teams can then help fill leadership gaps. He highlights psychological safety as the key trait that separates good leaders from great leaders. He recommends starting small when opening up. Share a minor limitation first, set an example, and scale openness gradually over time.

Fabian says AI is not the solution for everything. He explains generative AI is a statistical tool and is not suited for fully deterministic tasks. He sees strong potential in areas like detecting anomalies on MRI or CT images, but he warns against using generative AI for direct medical advice. His company follows a smart fast follower strategy: experiment early with startups, then adopt enterprise-ready solutions rather than build long-lived custom systems. To keep agility, get top-down alignment with the board and enable bottom-up experiments with LLMs or ChatGPT for hands-on learning.

About Fabian Ringwald:

CIO of SWICA - the leading Swiss health insurer with the most happy customers
Prior: digital transformation in several different industries from freight railway (SBB Cargo), energy trading (BKW), consulting (Logica) to inustrial manufacturing (Siemens) and Ravensburger, the well known jigsaw puzzle company.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:35 - CIO's Role in Health Insurance
1:12 - Leadership Lessons from Ultra Running
3:06 - Identifying Leadership Limits
4:21 - Creating Psychological Safety in Teams
5:37 - Taking Small Steps Towards Openness
7:40 - Insights from Conference Speakers
9:13 - Evaluating AI Applications in Leadership

Resources
Fabian Rinwald Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianringwald/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Live from LEAD-26 in Zurich. Stephan Siegrist is a professional alpinist. He says leadership means taking the lead when situations are uncomfortable. In mountaineering one person often needs the next rope length and must make small decisions by the centimetre and larger choices every half hour. Some choices are life threatening.

On a recent Nepal expedition his youngest team member developed high altitude pulmonary sickness. The medical problem required bringing the person down quickly. Stefan decided the team must bring him down. He said the most important thing is that everyone comes back home safely.

Stefan spoke about risk and crisis. He said if you do not take any risk you do not get forward. He advised to push to the limit but not until it starts bleeding. Over years climbers develop knowledge to find that balance.

About Stefan Siegrist:

Professional Alpinist, Climber, Public Speaker. Stephan loves the mountains and he loves sharing the adventure

Resources
his webpage: https://stephan-siegrist.ch/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Hear branding advice that shifts focus from "better" to "different." David Brier explains how branding is the art of differentiation. He shows why brands that only tweak visuals fail, and shares real cases: a failed Jaguar rebrand and a successful Napa Fresh relaunch. Learn practical steps and imagination tools.

About David Brier

David Brier, known by many as "The Brandfather," is the recipient of 320 international awards and the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship medallion, who has generated over $9 billion in brand value across four decades for companies from startups to Fortune 500s. The bestselling author of "Brand Intervention" and "Rich Brand Poor Brand," Grant Cardone has praised him as "a branding genius" and "brilliant with branding" by Shark Tank's Daymond John.

Resources

Rising above the noise
: https://www.risingabovethenoise.com

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:
Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple
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Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/


Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

This episode explains how BSI builds for data, AI agents, and digital sovereignty. Markus Brunold shares the company mission, cloud and AI model choices, and how human roles and AI agents work together. Hear concrete examples and product thinking for regulated industries like financial services.

About Markus Brunold

Markus Brunold is CEO of BSI Software and is responsible for the company's long-term business development. With the BSI Customer Suite, BSI Software offers the only European holistic CRM and CX solution that deeply integrates AI while guaranteeing data protection, sovereignty, and flexibility. For Markus, customer centricity is the guiding principle of his entrepreneurial activities. BSI Software is a market leader in its key industries, combining deep industry knowledge with technological excellence.

Resources

BSI Software: https://www.bsi-software.com/en

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:
Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/


Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Learn why human voices drive digital transformation. Alex Wunschel explains how voice builds trust, shapes culture, and makes leaders relatable. Get concrete tips to speak authentically, train voice skills, and embed audio into internal communication. Hear real examples and pitfalls to avoid in corporate communication.

About Alexander Wunschel

Alexander Wunschel is a founder, podcast pioneer, and producer with over 17 years of experience in the audio industry. He is the owner and executive of Klangstelle, a podcast company that offers the finest audio pieces from strategy and conception to production and marketing. He has produced and managed over 1.000 episodes in over 35 podcasts with about 8 million downloads and streams for clients such as Telekom, Fujitsu, Playboy, Starbucks, Datev, GAD, Microsoft, and many more.

He is also a strategy consultant for digital media, a keynote speaker. He is passionate about the impact of sound, immersive and augmented audio, voice user interface, privacy, security, OSINT, MarTech, AdTech, meditation, and cooking.

Resources

Klangstelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderwunschel/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Leonard Sommer argues schools are stuck in an industrial model and kill creativity. He shares proven examples and methods to redesign student experience. Learn why culture, not curriculum, matters and how businesses can partner with schools to prepare future workers and protect human creativity in the AI era.

About Leonard Sommer

Since 2014, Leonard Sommer has been actively promoting creativity in education through the Classroom Thinktank e.V., a non-profit initiative he founded. He is also involved on a voluntary basis with several educational organizations, including Education Y (Board Member), Wir für Schule (Advisory Board), and DigitalSchoolStory (Brand Ambassador). Additionally, he is the initiator and curator of FUTUROMUNDO EDU, the International Future Festival of Learning. Leo is the author of the professional book "Wenn Schule auf Ideen bringt – 100 Kreative denken Lernen neu" (Vahlen Verlag, Munich). He is regularly invited as a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator on the topics of creativity in education and future-oriented learning. He has spoken or led workshops at various training programs, events, and global institutions.

Resources

FUTUROMUNDO : https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardsommer/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:
Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.