Wales celebrates world-class customer experience talent at the 28th Annual Cnect Wales Awards
Wales’ thriving customer experience (CX) industry took centre stage as over 500 professionals gathered at Cardiff City Stadium for the 28th Annual Cnect Wales Awards, one of the UK’s largest business event recognising excellence in customer service, digital innovation and people development.
Supported by headline sponsor Jomo People and premier sponsor SystemsX, the ceremony took place on the 25th September with guest host comedian and presenter, Judi Love. It was an opportunity to celebrate the individuals, teams and organisations who are raising the bar in customer excellence across Wales, an industry contributing over £650m annually to the Welsh economy and employing 32,000 people.
At a time when AI, digital transformation and automation are reshaping how organisations operate, this year’s awards highlighted not only the innovation driving the sector forward, but also the people at the heart of it; those designing, delivering and championing exceptional customer experiences every day.
Diversity, Equality & Inclusion and creating outstanding working environments emerged as standout themes of the night, reflecting the industry’s commitment to building workplaces where people can thrive. Target Group won the award for Best Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, while EE took gold for Best Working Environment.
The prestigious Business of the Year award was presented to Legal & General Direct Sales, recognising their outstanding performance, customer focus and commitment to developing talent.
In the highly anticipated Customer Team of the Year categories, Starling Onboarding & Account Review secured Gold for Large Team, while Hodge Operations Team took Gold for Small Team, both praised for delivering exceptional customer outcomes and operational excellence.
Innovation was highlighted through the Excellence in Data, Digital and AI awards, with DVLA winning Gold in the Public Sector and SSCL taking Gold in the Private Sector for their pioneering use of technology to enhance customer experience.
Leadership excellence was also celebrated in the individual categories, with Nicholas Jenkins (Blackhorse Finance) and Aaron Al-Jeryan (Which?) named Customer Contact Leaders of the Year, and Darren Kelly (Virgin Atlantic) awarded Senior Leader of the Year for his outstanding contribution to people, culture and performance.
Sandra Busby, Managing Director of Cnect Wales, (Pictured) said:
“These awards shine a spotlight on the incredible talent, innovation and resilience within Wales’ customer experience community.”
“At a time when AI and digital transformation are accelerating change, it’s more important than ever to recognise the people behind that progress; the advisors, leaders, data specialists and teams who deliver exceptional
