CX Conference 2026:
Amplifying the
Customer's Voice
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Charlotte. Two days of candid conversation, practical sessions, and peer roundtables — with Caley Edgerly and Dr. Anna Kallschmidt. Watch the highlights.
CX Conference 2026 · Highlight Reel
The Conference Built for B2B CX Leaders
This isn't a vendor showcase. Every session is designed around the real challenges facing industrial CX leaders — so you leave with tools you can use the week you get back.
Peer-Level Conversation
Roundtable discussions with practitioners from companies like yours — not a room full of consultants. The hallway conversations are as valuable as the sessions.
Proven Frameworks
Every session connects to real CX programs, real data, and measurable outcomes. You'll walk away with a prioritized action list, not a stack of slide decks.
Executive Buy-In Tools
We build sessions around the internal case you have to make — connecting CX investment to retention, revenue, and operational efficiency in language leadership understands.
1.5 Days. Fully Packed.
Check-in, networking, and opening remarks from The Daniel Group
Caley Edgerly — CX as a Driver of Dealer Performance and Loyalty
Closing the Loop: How Top Performers Turn Feedback into Action
Facilitated peer discussion — what's working, what's not
From Data to Decision: Making CX Metrics Meaningful to Leadership
Small-group breakouts by industry vertical and company size
Evening reception — connect with speakers and fellow attendees
Coffee, networking, and Day 2 overview
Dr. Anna Kallschmidt — The Human Side of CX: How Culture Shapes Customer Experience
Cultural blending: scripts for coaching technical experts without a personality-change conversation
Key takeaways, Q&A with speakers, and closing remarks
* Agenda subject to change. Full schedule sent to registered attendees.
Meet This Year's Speakers
Caley Edgerly
President & CEO, Sonny Merryman
Caley Edgerly grew up in an auto body shop — his father was a technician who earned a degree midlife and taught the trade. Caley took the engineering route, earned a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan State, and spent 31 years building a career in the commercial vehicle space. He held roles in engineering, production, design, and remanufacturing at Detroit Diesel before rising to president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, then to his current role leading Sonny Merryman, where his team delivers thousands of buses across Virginia to school districts, transit agencies, and public works customers.
That trajectory — from the engineering floor to the executive chair — is exactly the perspective he brings to CX. His customers are B2B industrial organizations making large, long-cycle purchases where the service relationship is as important as the product. He knows what it takes to build a culture where people who understand the machine also take care of the person depending on it.
Dr. Anna Kallschmidt
Founder, The Unwritten Way · Author, The Unwritten Rules of Work
He's a great mechanic. Customers think he's rude. Most organizations treat that as a personality problem and either live with it or lose the person. Dr. Kallschmidt calls it a class clash — a communication style difference rooted in background and upbringing that nobody named, nobody taught, and nobody gave managers the tools to address.
Her cultural blending framework gives B2B industrial leaders a way to coach the behavior without attacking the identity — preserving what makes technical experts excellent while closing the customer experience gap. Her work has driven retention increases of 30% in organizations that apply it. Last year's conference attendees worked through the actual scripts with her. This year she's back with a full workshop.
Workshop takeaways
- How to identify class clashes in your frontline workforce — the communication style differences that read as attitude problems
- Scripts for coaching technical experts to adapt their communication in context, without asking them to become someone they're not
- The cultural blending framework: how to preserve what makes your technical people excellent while closing the CX gap
The Industrial Customer Experience Playbook
Every attendee of CX Conference 2026 will go home with a copy of The Industrial Customer Experience Playbook — a practical, fact-based guide to loyalty, growth, and operational excellence in B2B industrial companies, built on 35+ years of field experience and 1.5M+ customer interviews.
This isn't a motivational overview. It's a framework your leadership team can put to work the week you get back.
Learn About the Book →
Download the TDG Services Guide
The services guide we handed out at the conference is available here for reference — a quick overview of everything The Daniel Group offers.
Download Services Guide (PDF)Hear What Last Year's Attendees Said
"It's a chance to get out of the day to day whirlwind and really focus on where you're at and where you can go."
— Mike Kedanis
Altec Industries
Mike attended in 2025 — his first conference. He left with notes on actions to take back to his team the following week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should attend?
CX leaders, operations managers, and executives from B2B industrial companies — equipment dealers, transportation, manufacturing, and similar sectors. Sessions are built around the real challenges of running a CX program in a technical, relationship-driven industry.
How long has TDG held this conference?
2026 was our 14th conference. We've held it most years since we started, with COVID as the main exception. Past keynote speakers have included Fred Reichheld, the developer of NPS.
What do attendees walk away with?
Keynotes, workshops, and peer roundtables — plus a prioritized action list and the TDG Services Guide. Registered attendees at the 2026 conference also received a copy of The Industrial Customer Experience Playbook by Lynn Daniel and Doug Fowler.
Where is it held?
Charlotte, NC. The 2026 conference was held at the Renaissance Charlotte SouthPark Hotel, October 20–21. Location details for 2027 will be announced when registration opens.
How do I get notified about 2027?
Contact us and let us know you'd like to be on the early notification list. We'll reach out as soon as dates and registration are confirmed.
Is this only for TDG clients?
No. The conference is open to any CX leader or executive from a B2B industrial company. Many attendees come to learn and connect with peers, independent of whether they're current clients.
Questions or Feedback?
Thank you again to everyone who attended. We'd love to hear from you — and we hope to see you at CX Conference 2027.