Ep. 240: Caroline Lombardi | The Evolution of the Chief Customer Officer: From Scorekeeper to CEO Successor

Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned Growth

Episode 240: How has the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) role evolved over time? Traditionally focused on tracking metrics, CCOs now play a proactive and forward-facing role in driving business innovation.

In this episode, Caroline Lombardi, Global Head of the Hospitality & Leisure Practice at Egon Zehnder, explores the CCO role’s dramatic evolution.

Customer experience—no longer just about tracking satisfaction or retention—has become a valuable springboard for boosting revenue and gaining a competitive edge. Successful CCOs are skilled in holistic customer experiences, from call centers to broader operations.

Caroline outlines three emerging CCO models: the Operational Leader who drives change, the Innovator who turns data into growth, and the CEO Successor who integrates customer experience into business strategies.

Discover how CCOs are shaping customer interactions and guiding the strategic direction of organizations. And learn why they must adopt a growth mindset to succeed, taking on revenue-generating roles and building strong, cross-functional alliances.

Guest: Caroline Lombardi, Global Head of Hospitality & Leisure, Egon Zehnder

Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company

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Time-stamped List of Topics Covered:

• [01:10] How the CCO role is shifting from being a scorekeeper to focusing on growth and influencing innovation within companies
• [06:43] The toolkit successful CX leaders need, including operational accountability and having access to frontline teams
• [07:24] How transformational call center roles have become part of CX leadership, and the benefits of aligning call centers with the broader business strategy
• [15:36] What kinds of difficulties CX leaders face, such as building the right allies and driving change within organizations that may resist transformation
• [19:22] Why, from a recruitment lens, some people tend to downplay their job qualifications
• [23:39] The importance of getting customer experience into the boardroom to drive business results

Time-stamped Notable Quotes:

• [11:56] “Move from scorekeeper to growth mindset and make sure the C-suite understands you can stretch your roles in more ways to add bigger enterprise value.”
• [12:11] “The best-case customer officer roles are really CEO successor-type of roles.”
• [15:21] “I can't emphasize enough: If you have the chance to run the contact center, don't think twice.”
• [16:03] “CX leaders by nature want to drive change. The score is never good enough. You're never done improving. You're never done innovating.”
• [19:06] “If you are interviewing for a position and you're not getting access to who you think the right stakeholders are, you should ask for it. And if you don't get access, that's a sign. They're hiding it.”