Noorth America | September 2 – 3, 2025 | New York

CO-LOCATED WITH:
FTT Embedded Finance
FTT Embedded Finance
FTT Embedded Finance

Competing on experience,

winning the customer

Customer Alpha

Save the date: September 2 - 3, 2025 | New York

Customer Alpha is a cross industry community of professionals striving to create better outcomes for their customers. It’s a platform for learning and discussion on all things customer. From leveraging omnichannel marketing to using customer data to create personalized loyalty cards, we’re bringing customer experience leaders from eBay, Marks & Spencer, National Rail, Only Fans and more together under one roof to collaborate and explore the next frontier in customer experience innovation.

2023 Key event stats

The customer reigns supreme and strategies to win their hearts, minds and share of wallet have never been more important. Understand how customer behaviour is evolving and informing the strategies, products and processes that will attract, retain, and better serve the current and next generation of customers

40+

Rockstar speakers

4-in-1

Co-located with three other events

1

Day of innovative content

400+

Attendees

2023 Key themes

DESIGNING WINNING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Customer behaviour and expectations are changing, and customer experiences need to keep pace. Understand customer expectation and how to deliver products and services that make the grade.

THE POWER OF CUSTOMER DATA

Understand the potential to leverage customer data to gain competitive advantage. Make the most of customer data whilst ensuring safety and security.

INNOVATING AT CHECKOUT

Understand the potential to leverage customer data to gain competitive advantage. Make the most of customer data whilst ensuring safety and security.

OMNICHANNEL STRATEGY IN ACTION

Customer behaviour and expectations are changing, and customer experiences need to keep pace. Understand customer expectation and how to deliver products and services that make the grade.

BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION

Understand how business model innovation can create stickiness, increase lifetime value and lower cost of acquisition.

NEXT GEN TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES

The customers of today, tomorrow and beyond won’t have their needs met by yesterday’s technologies. Successful businesses need to innovate to control costs, meet customer demand and stay ahead of the curve.

2023 Rockstar sponsors

Embedded Finance

Invest NI Delegation

2023 Media partners

2023 Rockstar speakers

Dhruv Sharma
Head of Payments
WeWork
LinkedIn
Welsey Mann
Manager, Finance and Payments Analytics
Etsy
LinkedIn
Ben Schein
Head of Product Management
Shake Shack
LinkedIn
Allen Bryant
Advisor
Payroll Growth Partners
LinkedIn
Lauren Benkov
Customer Experience
Wonder
LinkedIn
Adrian Gutierrez
Principal Product Manager, Embedded Finance
TurboTenant
LinkedIn
Dominic Kalms
Founder & CEO
B Generous
LinkedIn
Jess Dembeck
Principal Product Manager, Payments
LTV
LinkedIn
Yasmin Moaven
CMO
Pipe
LinkedIn
Lixia Zhu
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Ciphorama
LinkedIn
Dana Wilson
Founder & CEO
CHIP
LinkedIn
Matt Zalubowski
SVP - Head of Marketing
Atlanticus
LinkedIn
Charvi Gandotra
Associate Director
Commonwealth
LinkedIn
Akita Somani
SVP - BNPL / POS Lending
U.S. Bank
LinkedIn
Carlosluis Duchicela
Senior Product Manager | Growth, Monetization, Payments
Dashlane
LinkedIn
Courtney Cardin
Co-Founder
Aura Finance
LinkedIn
Andrew Jernigan
CEO
Insured Nomads
LinkedIn
Dave Campbell
Financial Product Manager
Gusto
LinkedIn
Melanie Hardin
Business Strategy
Verizon
LinkedIn
Jaime Toplin
Senior Research Analyst, Payments & Commerce
Insider Intelligence
LinkedIn
Shahzad Haider
President
The Future Connoisseurs
LinkedIn
Haixia Yu
Advisory Board Member
Dirty Labs
LinkedIn
Krithika Rosenthal
Group Director, Strategy
Wavemaker
LinkedIn
Samuel Hollander
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mango Media
LinkedIn
Jean Sullivan
Head of Wealth Management
Celent
LinkedIn
Nana Danielov
Senior Vice President
BioNova
LinkedIn
Christian Trautwein
Senior Manager | Strategy & Operations
Zocdoc
LinkedIn
Lance Amato
Head of Customer Experience
The Canoa Supply Company
LinkedIn
Gregory Garson
Co-Founder & President
Sibilance
LinkedIn
Jonah Redel-Traub
Director of eCommerce
Summit Golf Brands
LinkedIn
Trevor Mengel
CEO & Co-Founder
Cloutdesk
LinkedIn
Elizabeth Zietlow
VP - Experience insights, strategy and research
Signet Jewellery
LinkedIn
Glenn Johnson
Independent Marketing Consultant
Independent
LinkedIn
Max Rudy
Director of eCommerce
Wild Planet Foods
LinkedIn
Navneet Gill
Founder
Naavics
LinkedIn
Peter Gray
Former VP of Growth Product
Wall Street Journal
LinkedIn
Andrew O'Donnell
Director of Subscription Marketing
Haymarket Media US
LinkedIn
Thiago Gaiao
Global Omni Category Development Director
Reckitt
LinkedIn
Cindi Rosner
VP of Marketing
CR Consulting
LinkedIn
Dmitriy Kurbanov
Customer Experience Leader
DISH
LinkedIn
Marc Lupinacci
Senior Director D2C eCommerce
SimpleTire
LinkedIn
Sam Paik
Chief Financial Officer
Empire Portfolio Group
LinkedIn
Anya Kelly
Founder
Ciao
LinkedIn
Alan Magee
Vice President - Marketing
Empire Portfolio Group (DBA Orange Theory Fitness)
LinkedIn
Casey Kunau
Director of Customer Experience
Nectar Allergy
LinkedIn
Michael Bernard
Senior Analyst | Retail Banking Industry
Celent
LinkedIn
Immanuel Klaiber
Head of Pricing
FINN
LinkedIn

2023 Agenda

8.30 - 9.00 Networking breakfast

9.00 - 9.10 Opening remarks

9.10 - 9.50 Unpacking the eCommerce explosion through the lens of the customer

The rapid growth of e-commerce is about more than just internet access and the impact of the pandemic. Join e-commerce experts as they explore the key drivers and the benefits to customers. 

 

  • Krithika Rosenthal, Group Director of Strategy, Wavemaker
  • Elizabeth Zietlow, Vice President – Experience Insights, Strategy
    & Research, Signet Jewellers
  • Max Rudy, Director of eCommerce, Wild Planet Foods

9:50 - 10:30 Data drives results

No brand can ignore the power of data. Understand cutting edge technologies behind collecting & utilizing data driven insights to personalize products and services that will attract and retain the customer of today and tomorrow. 

 

  • Wesley Shayne Mann, Senior Manager– Finance & Payment
    Analytics, Etsy
  • Christian Trautwein, Senior Manager | Strategy & Operations,
    ZocDoc 
  • Peter Gray, Former Vice President of Growth Product, Wall Street Journal

10.30 - 11.10 Coffee break

Everyone wants to be the brand adored by the customer. Explore the role of loyalty programmes in driving customer stickiness and retention as well as adoration

11:10 - 11.50 The next frontier in omnichannel commerce

If providers of good and services can’t meet a customer need where and when it manifests, they may well lose out to a brand that can.

 

  • Lauren Benkov, Director of Customer Experience, Wonder
  • Samuel Hollander, Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Mango
    Media
  • Thiago Gaiao, Global Omni Category Development Director,
    Reckitt
  • Ben Schein, Head of Product Management, Shake Shack

11.50 - 12.30 Keep your friends close and your customer even closer

Coming up with new and creative ways to leverage emerging technology to strengthen brand-consumer relationships is imperative to being a successful business. Discover how leading brands are doing so in this customer relationship deep dive.

 

  • Moderator: Cindi Rosner, Vice President of Marketing, CR
    Consulting
  • Nana Danielov, Senior Vice President, BioNova
  • Jonah Redel-Traudel, Director of eCommerce, Summit Golf Brands

12.30 - 1.30 Lunch

1.30 - 2.10 Living the dream: Creating seamless customer journeys

Streamlining your customer journey to create a seamless experience from start to finish. Understand how to create simple, seamless customer journeys which leave your customers feeling satisfied in this session. 

 

  • Alexis Pena Vecino, AVP of Customer Experience & Marketing
    Operations, NAADAM
  • Haixia Yu, Chief Executive Officer, 1898 Legacy
  • Alan Magee, Vice President – Marketing, Empire Portfolio Group (DBA OrangeTheory Fitness)

2.10 - 2.50 Innovation at checkout: How the power of technology is transforming payments

Payments are complex experiences that need to be made simple for end users. If not delivered correctly and in line with evolving customer expectations, they can end a sale cold. Hear from payments experts as they share their views on the future of payments.

 

  • Jess Dembeck, Principal Product Manager – Payments, The
    Lifetime Value Company
  • Dhruv Sharma, Head of Payment, WeWork
  • Marc Lupinacci, Senior Director D2C eCommerce, SimpleTire

2.50 - 3.30 How can businesses better serve customers during at time of rising prices and stretched incomes?

A challenging economic environment is also an opportunity to win customer loyalty. Explore the ways in which supporting customers now, pays dividends in the future. 

 

  • Courtney Cardin, Co-Founder, Aura Finance
  • Lance Amato, Head of Customer Experience, Amato
  • Sam Paik, Chief Financial Officer, Empire Portfolio Group

 

 

3.30 - 4.00 Coffee break

Payments are complex experiences that need to be made simple for end users. If not delivered correctly and in line with evolving customer expectations, they can end a sale cold. Hear from payments experts as they share their views on the future of payments.

4.00 - 4.40 Seeking resonance - How brands can communicate with the next generation of consumers?

What does the future customer expect from brands? How can they ensure that they are positioned to understand and deliver on those evolving expectations.

 

  • Shahzad Haider, President, The Future Connoisseurs
  • Trevor Mengel, Co-Founder & CEO, CloutDesk
  • Immanuel Fabian Klaiber, Head of Pricing, FINN

4.40 - 5.20 Sign up now: Exploring the future of the subscription economy

What is driving a shift from repeat purchases to subscription? Crucially, understand the business benefits as we hear from those successfully using a subscription-based model.  

 

  • Immanuel Fabian Klaiber, Head of Pricing, FINN
  • Peter Gray, Former Vice President of Growth Product, Wall Street Journal

5.20 - 5.25 Closing remarks

5.30 - 6.30 Networking drinks

Co-located events

One day, four events and an interconnected community – register your interest for Customer Alpha and get access to FTT Embedded Finance & Super-Apps, Future Identity Finance and Fintech Talents North America. Four events’ worth of content and networking.

Join an exciting and disruptive community of retailers, manufacturers, insurers, telcos, financial institutions, fintechs and tech innovators and learn how embedded finance is spearheading cross industry financial transformation.

Explore how digital identity can reduce fraud, enhance compliance and build customer trust in an evolving financial services landscape.

Discover a community of innovators and collaborators redefining financial services across a continent.

Register your interest

Contact us

Reach out to the Customer Alpha team with queries on how to get involved through sponsorship, exhibition, speaking or media partnership opportunities.

Milana Vlaović
Community Manager
Sponsorship & exhibition enquiries
LinkedInEmail
Alicia Condon
Head of Marketing
Marketing & media enquiries
LinkedInEmail
Victoria Smart
Portfolio Manager
Content & speaking enquiries
LinkedInEmail
Anna Smart
Senior Client Success Manager
Hosted Meetings & sponsorship delivery
LinkedInEmail