2016 ICMI Contact Center Expo & Conference Opens Call for Papers, Featuring New Track to Explore Trends in Customer Experience

Proposals will be Reviewed by ICMI's Seasoned Conference Advisory Board, which has Welcomed Four New Members

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International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)

Sep 17, 2015, 11:00 ET

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Sept. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) today announced its call for papers for the 2016 Contact Center Expo & Conference, seeking industry experts to session ideas around the challenges, opportunities and trends in customer management. ICMI's Contact Center Expo & Conference attracts customer care professionals from around the world, representing organizations of all sizes and in a variety of industries. The Advisory Board will be accepting proposals for sessions and half-day workshops for the Expo & Conference, taking place May 10-13, 2016 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. Submissions will be accepted through October 9. For more information or to submit please visit: speakers.icmi.com/

ICMI is now accepting submissions for 60-minute conference sessions and half-day workshops with crucial content addressing the current challenges in the industry. Session ideas should offer practical and specific takeaway tools that will enable attendees to implement practices and processes immediately in their own centers. Case studies with proven ROI are highly recommended and given the most consideration - commercial content will not be considered. New to 2016, the Customer Experience track will offer content related to journey mapping, cross-channel experience, customer access strategy and more. Proposals related to the following conference tracks will be given particular interest:

People Management
Operations Management
Technology Management
Small Contact Center Management
Strategy and Leadership
Customer Experience

Proposals will be reviewed by ICMI's Conference Advisory Board, comprised of some of the customer management industry's top thought leaders. The board has also identified some key areas that will be brought to the forefront in 2016:

Managing Multi-Channel Across Multiple Organizations
Meeting the Talent Needs Driven by Increasing Customer Demands
Consolidating Multiple Streams of Customer Data
Developing Employees in Today's Competitive Market

In addition to this year's new focused content, ICMI's Conference Advisory Board has welcomed the following four new members to help ensure each ICMI event offers the most critical and contemporary content possible.

Patrick Louis, Director Business Solutions, Lululemon Athletica
Patrick is a passionate and successful B2B and B2C executive with extensive experience in sales and customer service. He is a seasoned call center expert with over 25 years of experience in a variety of companies. Prior to joining lululemon, Patrick was Vice President of Sales for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. He has held many senior roles in various industries from insurance (AIG), banking (ING Direct France & Canada), hospitality (Accor) to now retail with lululemon.

Heather Rattin, Director Customer Care, Cars.com
Heather first joined Cars.com in 2005, as an Affiliate Sales Manager and was soon promoted to Director, Affiliate Sales. Within the Sales organization, she owned the corporate relationship with Gannett, and managed key market initiatives. In 2012, she was promoted to Director of Customer Care, where she is able to have a direct impact on how Cars.com handles inbound customer inquiries. She's been able to significantly improve performance by focusing her team on key goals that were crucial to customer satisfaction.

Nate Brown, Customer Services Manager, Underwriter's Laboratories (UL)
As the Manager of Customer Support for Underwriter's Laboratories (UL), Nate's ambition is to create outstanding service interactions through creativity, knowledge and professionalism. He is an HDI certified Support Center Manager, VP of Membership for the HDI Music City Chapter and Speaker in the Southeast region. He is also the founder and primary author for the service blog CustomerCentricSupport.com.

Tony Sideris, IT General Manager Contact Center Technologies, CSAA Insurance Group
Tony is the General Manager of Contact Center Technologies at CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer. He leads a team of IT professionals providing services to three contact centers across the country. His group is focused on promoting best practices in customer service delivery and the effective use of technology. Tony brings more than 27 years of experience in the insurance and travel fields. From holding leadership positions of increased responsibility in sales and market management, to building multi-channel distribution strategies, to implementing contact center solutions, he is well rounded in integrating people, process and technology to deliver on business objectives.

"We are thrilled to open submissions and begin building the agenda for our spring event, especially given the incredible new professionals we've welcomed to ICMI's Conference Advisory Board," said Patty Caron, Event Director for ICMI. "Our board looks forward to the vast submissions they expect to receive – they are dedicated to choosing only the most engaging and relevant content geared toward the professional growth of our event attendees."

Registration for the ICMI Contact Center Expo & Conference will open September 18. To learn more, please visit: icmi.com/Contact-Center-Expo-Conference

About ICMI
The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) is the leading global provider of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals -- from frontline agents to executives -- who wish to improve customer experiences and increase efficiencies at every level of the contact center. Since 1985, ICMI has helped more than 50,000 organizations in 167 countries through training, events, consulting, and informational resources. ICMI's experienced and dedicated team of industry insiders, trainers, and consultants are committed to helping you raise the strategic value of your contact center, optimize your operations and improve your customer service. ICMI is a part of UBM plc (www.ubm.com), a global events-led marketing services and communications company.

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SOURCE International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)