Liz Centoni
Liz Centoni, EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Cisco, is leading a global effort to reimagine customer experience through AI. One of the biggest misconceptions, she says, is that AI will transform organizations overnight. In reality, “AI is a tool that requires thoughtful planning, clear goals, and measurable outcomes. You have to build, deploy, learn, and iterate – just like any other system.”
That discipline is often missing. Research shows that only 13% of organizations are truly ready for AI, with many pursuing it in fragmented silos rather than cohesive, enterprise-wide strategy. For Liz, this gap between ambition and execution underscores a core truth: AI only delivers value when people, processes, and technology are aligned around real business outcomes.
This focus on alignment carries through to Liz’s leadership philosophy. She pushes back on conventional executive advice that prioritizes caution and consensus over clarity and action. Instead, she leads with conviction and acts early when something isn’t working. “When there’s misalignment, I name it. When we hide behind buzzwords, I ask what they actually mean. I have zero patience for performative AI. I care more about outcomes than comfort. It’s not always popular in the moment, but it’s how meaningful change happens.”
Looking ahead, Liz doesn’t see AI making customer experience colder or more automated. She sees it making CX more human – handling transactional work in the background so teams can focus on what truly matters: solving complex problems, building trust, and creating meaningful, lasting customer relationships.
