Achieving Business Impact through World-class CX
4-7pm, May 13, 2025 @ FareStart (Seattle, WA) | Co-presented by Seattle SIM
Ticketing now open for our next event: 4-7pm May 13th at FareStart!
See below for details on our next event, hosted by FareStart. Now for a limited time, you can take advantage of our early bird offer: use code BRINGAFRIEND to save $10 on your ticket price and bring a friend for free! (We’ll register your friend manually; please provide us with their name and email in the checkout form.) Register today!
Welcome back to FareStart’s flagship restaurant!
By popular demand, we’re returning to FareStart for our May event, taking place 4-7pm on May 13th. Located in the heart of the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, FareStart offers a brilliant venue, with convenient access from all commute paths and free parking across the street. With food and drinks provided by FareStart — and a rockstar panel on CX — you can look forward to a fun evening connecting with old friends and new ones, alike!
Achieving Business Impact through World-Class CX
In times of market turbulence and economic uncertainty, customer experience (CX) becomes a critical differentiator for sustaining and enhancing business performance. Whether you’re responsible for driving metrics above or below the line, or simply want to understand ways you can future-proof your business, exceptional CX can be the make-or-break factor in keeping current customers engaged and winning new ones.
Our executive panel will explore challenges and success strategies for creating a world-class customer experience, and how to translate it into business results. Drawing on a mix of functional and industry experience, panelists will discuss examples from their own distinguished careers advancing CX for companies like Microsoft, Amazon, REI, T-Mobile, Nordstrom, Disney, Adobe, Hilton, Airbnb, Oracle, Marchex and more. Bring your questions and get ready for an engaging discussion and audience Q&A.
For sponsor inquiries or other assistance, please contact info@seattletechforum.org.
Arrival
4pm
Open networking hour, with casual table topics
Hosted bar and heavy appetizers, provided by Fremont Mischief
Fireside Chat
5pm
Nikhil Kolar serves as the Vice President of Content Ecosystem and Growth for MSN, Microsoft's personalized news and interests platform, reaching millions of users globally through Windows devices and Microsoft consumer applications. In his current role, Nikhil oversees content partnerships and experiences featuring 8,000+ brands and individual creators, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, diverse content to MSN's global audience.
With over two decades of expertise in business, product, and engineering leadership, Nikhil is a seasoned executive dedicated to delivering transformative experiences. To date, his career has spanned computer science, management consulting and product leadership across Amazon, Oracle, Marchex and Microsoft, with impact in broad range of areas including customer experience, partnerships, content trust and safety, intelligence, programming, business operations, and monetization.
Nikhil is deeply passionate about creating innovative, engaging experiences for both consumers and partners, fostering high-performing, collaborative teams, and driving sustained growth across the ecosystem.
Clay Walton-House has spent his career in customer-focused strategy, working across various industries and business models to improve customer engagement, retention, and loyalty. A dynamic leader who enjoys building teams, he believes all organizations have a role to play in facilitating social progress, improving the wellbeing of their customers, and being responsible stewards of the environment.
Clay currently serves as the Divisional Vice President of Membership, CX, Insights & Planning at REI, supporting teams whose charter is to leverage the power of data and insights to better understand and serve co-op members, enabling long-term sustainable growth. Founded in 1938, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) is the nation's largest consumer cooperative, existing to inspire, educate and outfit people for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship.
Prior to joining REI, he spent 15 years consulting to clients across B2B and consumer industries while at Lenati and PK (now known as Concentrix Catalyst), building a nationally recognized practice focused on customer retention and loyalty. Clients included highly respected businesses such as Microsoft, T-Mobile, Nordstrom, Disney, Adobe, Hilton, Airbnb and many others.