Most customer experience transformation programmes begin with an assumption.
If the business wants to improve customer outcomes, the people responsible for customer experience will naturally drive change.
The reality appears more complicated.
As part of the 2026 CX Technology and Global Services Survey by Ryan Strategic Advisory, Customer Contact Panel sponsored research into a question we regularly encounter when supporting customer operations transformation programmes: who actually drives change inside large organisations? The results highlight a clear distinction between the executives who champion transformation and those who are more likely to support it once a direction has already been agreed.
When asked which board-level stakeholders are most likely to drive customer operations transformation, respondents consistently pointed towards CEOs, Managing Directors, Chief Operating Officers and Chief Customer Officers.
In fact, nearly seven in ten respondents identified CEOs as either enablers or strong enablers of change.
The Chief Customer Officer and Chief Marketing Officer scored even higher when it came to strong enabling influence.
These findings reinforce an important truth.
Successful CX transformation is rarely a technology initiative. It is usually a business initiative.
The strongest advocates for change tend to be leaders who are accountable for growth, competitiveness, customer retention or operational performance.
However, some of the survey’s most interesting findings relate to the roles that were notably absent from the list of major change drivers.
Chief People Officers and HR leaders were among the least likely to be identified as strong enablers.
Transformation Directors and Solutions Leaders performed better, but not as strongly as many might expect given that transformation is often their primary responsibility.
Even Chief Technology Officers were more likely to be viewed as enablers than strong enablers.
Why does this matter?
Because many organisations continue to position transformation projects around technology implementation rather than business outcomes.
Technology teams help make change possible.
Transformation teams help coordinate delivery.
But the survey suggests that the initial momentum often comes from commercial and operational leadership.
The leaders driving change are those closest to customer outcomes, growth targets and operational performance metrics.
For CX leaders seeking support for a new initiative, there is an important lesson.
The first challenge is not selecting the right solution.
The first challenge is building the right coalition.
Understanding who naturally supports change, who remains neutral and who may resist investment can dramatically improve the chances of success.
Many transformation programmes fail before they begin because they focus on technology selection before stakeholder alignment.
The data suggests the reverse approach may be more effective.
Get the right people around the table first.
Then decide what to do next.
If you missed the first article, Why CFOs Hold the Key to CX Transformation , you can read it here. Then continue to the third article, Show Me the ROI: What CX Leaders Need to Prove, here.
