Emma Sopadjieva leads the Customer Experience Strategy at Samsara, the leader in connected operations, improving the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of physical operations. Her team brings customer feedback to life so that the employees have the knowledge and tools to create “wow!” moments for Samsara customers. Emma has built a career with 20+ years of experience in CX strategy and was recognized as one of the top 50 San Francisco women leaders in 2025. She is a speaker at CX conferences and top-charted CX podcasts, and her work is featured in publications, including HBR and Forbes. Before Samsara, she was the head of CX Insights and Operations at ServiceNow, the Customer Insights team at Eventbrite and the CX Research team at Medallia.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CXO Magazine, Emma shared insights on the role of technology in enhancing customer experience, the secret mantra behind her success, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Emma. What drives your passion for customer experience strategy?
Hi, great to be here. Customer experience provides the perfect intersection of customer data and business strategy, fueling business-critical decisions based on the voice of the customer. It is meaningful work as it ultimately is impacting people: understanding their needs, solving their problems, and making their lives easier or better. But at the same time, it has a very tangible impact on the business: great customer experiences drive revenue growth, retention, and brand advocacy. It’s motivating to know that investing in CX isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also smart business.
What do you love the most about your current role?
Customer experience is a team sport, which means that my team and I work with every single function within the company to drive customer-centric change, from the CEO to the frontline, from back office to front office. Not many teams have such reach. CX work spans functions and personalities; success comes from building trust, not from silos. Crafting a cohesive customer experience often means working across silos, balancing short-term fixes with long-term vision, and bringing together data, technology, and human insights. It’s intellectually challenging in the best way.
What role do you think technology plays in enhancing customer experience?
A major role. Customer expectations are always evolving. That creates a dynamic, never-static environment where you have to keep learning, testing, and adapting. CX Strategy functions heavily rely on technology to analyze the voice of the customer: we unify customer listening across the enterprise through customer experience management platforms; analyze unstructured data in real-time through text analytics and sentiment analysis; prioritize customer pain points and quantify ROI of CX initiatives through advanced modelling; drive 1:1 customer follow up through action workflows. And most recently AI has started completely transforming how we analyze data, enable our frontline teams to solve customer issues in real-time, use AI to improve the customer experience without the need for a human touch, and personalize and tailor experiences to meet customers where they are. To be successful in CX, you need to be at the forefront of technology and adapt as quickly, if not quicker, than our customers to the changing environment.
Can you discuss the importance of customer feedback in driving business decisions?
Businesses that listen to their customers and act on what they hear, stay ahead of the market, strengthen relationships, and outperform financially. Today, Gartner states that 80% of organizations compete primarily on customer experience, and brands delivering exceptional CX see revenue increases of 2–7%, according to McKinsey. CX is no longer optional, it’s mission critical.
Customer feedback uncovers blind spots, prioritizes investments, and acts as an early warning system for changing expectations. It reveals what customers actually experience, not just what companies think they experience, helping leaders make smarter, more impactful decisions.
Most importantly, listening to customers builds trust and loyalty. When feedback drives real change, it deepens emotional connections and fuels lasting brand strength.
How do you stay current with the latest trends and advancements in CX?
There is so much written on customer experience and technology every day, that it is easy to stay abreast of emerging topics. I read industry research by Gartner and Forrester, follow CX though leaders on LinkedIn, attend CXPA webinars, listen to customer service and experience podcasts like The Customer Experience Podcast, attend CX conferences, and just read the news as you can learn so much from adjacent fields.
Do you notice a lack of women in CX? If so, why do you think that’s the case?
Fortunately, compared to many other business functions, Customer Experience is one of the areas where women are better represented — especially in leadership roles. In fact, it’s fairly common to see women as Chief Customer Officers, Heads of CX, or VP-level CX leaders, which is a breadth of fresh air.
However, there are still gaps, especially when you look at: the most senior executive teams (CX leaders often don’t sit at the CEO’s table), and technical CX roles (like those involving customer analytics, journey orchestration platforms, or AI/automation design). That’s a missed opportunity for organizations, which I am committed to help change.
Congratulations on being recognized as one of the Top 50 Leaders of San Francisco, 2025. Our readers would love to know the secret mantra behind your success.
Thank you so much. It’s truly an honor. If I had to sum up the mantra behind my success, it would be: relentless forward movement with a laser focus on the customer. Throughout my career, I’ve found that when you genuinely put the customer’s success at the heart of every decision, everything else, such as growth, innovation, loyalty, and personal leadership opportunities, naturally follows. I stay focused on making a real impact rather than chasing titles or accolades. If you consistently deliver value for your customers, your company, and your team, recognition becomes a byproduct, not the goal.
What does the term “authentic leadership” mean to you?
Authentic leadership means leading with honesty, self-awareness, and a deep connection to your values, even when it’s hard or uncomfortable. Authentic leaders admit their mistakes, stay curious, and listen deeply. In customer experience especially, authentic leadership matters because customers and employees can quickly sense when a leader’s words and actions don’t match. Trust comes from consistency, vulnerability, and a real commitment to doing the right thing.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Continuing to lead and innovate at the intersection of customer experience, technology, and business strategy. Empowering organizations to design not just better experiences, but better companies overall.
Also, firmly securing CX’s position as a true growth engine, where customer-centricity is embedded in every decision. Finally, I will continue in my mentorship of early-in-career professionals and elevating the next generation of CX leaders, especially those from diverse backgrounds who bring fresh perspectives to the field.
What advice would you give to professionals looking to transition into CX roles?
Get close to customers now. Even if you’re not officially in a CX role yet, find ways to interact directly with customers through support cases, user research, frontline shadowing, or customer interviews. It builds credibility and insight.
Start with empathy and curiosity. CX is all about understanding people, their needs, frustrations, motivations, and journeys. Practice active listening and cultivate genuine curiosity about customer behavior, even in your current role.
Be ready to start small. Sometimes the best way to break into CX is by taking a hybrid or cross-functional role (e.g., CX project manager, customer success specialist, VoC program coordinator) and growing your expertise from there.