People First. Future Ready.

Attracting, developing and retaining talent has never been more complex. As contact centre roles evolve and changes in technology cause expectations to shift, contact centre leaders are rethinking how they build resilient, future-ready teams. This CONNECT event focuses on talent growth, succession and leadership in a world where traditional approaches are no longer enough. 

This is about moving beyond reactive hiring to intentional workforce design – creating cultures where people thrive, leadership is shared, and career pathways are clear. 

Here’s what to expect at this in-person CONNECT event: 

• Hear the latest updates from CCMA and set the scene for a day focused on practical talent strategies. 

• Take part in an open mic session where we will explore your talent growth strategy. 

• Hear from our keynote speaker who will challenge traditional leadership thinking and introduce a new map for navigating complexity. 

• Discover how Sage has built award-winning early career pathways, from tailored apprenticeship glidepaths to developing exceptional frontline colleagues into confident team leaders. 

• Hear from our panel of senior leaders as they discuss succession planning in a tech-enabled contact centre. 

Connect with peers, exchange honest perspectives, and leave with practical ideas to strengthen your talent pipeline and leadership approach for the future.

Agenda

About the Speakers

Sharon Oley, Customer Services Director, Sage

With 28 years of experience in contact centres, Sharon began her career in insurance telesales before progressing into Resource Planning. Over the years, she has held senior operational roles leading frontline support teams, overseeing recruitment and onboarding, and championing early careers through apprenticeships and coaching. Her journey has been shaped by a passion for developing people and driving performance. Today, Sharon serves as Director of Customer Services, where she leads large-scale operations, delivers strategic transformation, and drives high‑performance cultures across diverse teams.

Danny Wareham, Founder, Director & Lead Psychologist, Firgun

Danny believes that happy bees make tasty honey. With a purposeful culture, strategy and support systems, high performance becomes a side effect. He is a psychologist, author, and accredited coach, whose work lies at the intersection of leadership, culture and personality, with a focus on individual differences – especially the “dark triad” traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. An expert in culture and leadership dynamics, Danny has been recognised among the Global Top 25 Thought Leaders on Culture and Leadership and has spent nearly 30-years in contact centre, retail and fintech industries.

Lucinda Kirk, Senior People & Culture Partner, BT Group

Lucinda is a Senior People & Culture Partner at BT and EE, leading talent and performance strategy for the Consumer division’s frontline teams. A strong advocate of people‑first leadership, she empowers leaders to think boldly, act with heart, and grow with purpose to drive commercial results. She champions inclusive career pathways and has created initiatives connecting contact centre talent to corporate opportunities. Believing effective talent planning is key to performance and organisational value, Lucinda is shaping a future‑ready, tech‑enabled workforce where culture and continual evolution enable meaningful, sustainable change.

Kizzy Tate, Customer Care Manager, Leeds Building Society

Kizzy has over 25 years’ experience in financial services across learning and development and multiple contact centre roles. She is passionate about customer and colleague experience, leadership development, and positive organisational culture. Most recently, she has led customer operations and care teams. After completing a six‑month Vulnerability Academy with The Money Advice Trust last year, she is more inspired than ever to make a meaningful difference for customers during their most challenging moments.

Laura Scott, Chief Operating Officer, Dialect

Over the past five years, Laura has built a tech‑enabled operation from the ground up, working closely with a strong, collaborative team. With a background in innovation and emerging technologies, she brings deep insight into how transformative technology can improve contact centre performance and empower people. Her experience spans startup and scale‑up environments, with a clear focus on scalable solutions that drive operational excellence and customer experience. Laura was recently named Inspirational Leader of the Year at the 2025 NECCAs, recognising her leadership, industry impact, and passion for developing people across the sector.

Ed Winfield, VP Global Partnerships Director, Content Guru

Edward has over 27 years’ experience in the communications industry, which he uses to create great customer relationships that anticipate customer needs and keep organisations at the forefront of the latest developments in technology. Content Guru delivers the most up to date AI orchestration and intelligent automation solutions for its customers that help organisations create outstanding customer experiences, radically improved customer satisfaction scores and fantastically engaged employees.

This event is for contact centre operational leaders and operational managers who run departments or larger units. 

CCMA members only

Network with peers and learn from others.

Free of charge.