Insights from Zendesk Relate - Interview with Tom Eggemeier, Shana Simmons and Cristina Fonseca

Insights from Zendesk Relate - Interview with Tom Eggemeier, Shana Simmons and Cristina Fonseca

Author: Adrian Swinscoe | Customer Experience Strategy Expert May 28, 2026 Duration: 59:48

Today’s episode of the Punk CX podcast features a series of interviews that I conducted with Zendesk executives while at Relate, their annual customer event in Denver last week. I talked to Tom Eggemeier, CEO, Zendesk, Shana Simmons, CLO, Zendesk, and Cristina Fonseca, VP Product, Zendesk. Some of the things we cover include the big themes and takeaways from the event, including some background on the big product announcements, AI trust and why trust is a core differentiator, how Zendesk are working with clients to help them build trust with their customers, the future of work and how we can prepare ourselves and our teams for that.

This interview follows on from my recent interview – Trust and transparency will be the CX differentiators of the future – Interview with Chris Angus of 8×8 – and is number 588 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.


There’s a lot of noise around customer experience, but Punk CX: Customer Experience Insights with Adrian Swinscoe cuts through it with conversations that feel more like a strategic workshop than a standard interview. Host Adrian Swinscoe, a customer experience strategy expert, brings a distinctively pragmatic and often contrarian perspective to each discussion. He sits down with a wide range of industry leaders, from entrepreneurs to seasoned executives, to unpack what it really takes to build an organization that people genuinely want to engage with. You’ll hear them delve into the interconnected mechanics of customer service, customer engagement, and the often-overlooked driver of it all: employee experience and engagement. The dialogue naturally explores how technology, from AI to broader digital transformation, can be leveraged practically rather than just hyped, and what it means to build adaptable, responsive organizations with high-performing teams at their core. This podcast moves beyond theory, focusing on the actionable insights and sometimes uncomfortable truths that define modern customer and business strategy. Each episode is designed to give you a tangible takeaway, whether you’re refining your own approach or challenging the status quo within your company.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Punk CX: Customer Experience Insights with Adrian Swinscoe
Podcast Episodes
The NiCE World London Takeover of the Punk CX Podcast Part Two [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:12
Welcome to the NiCE World London Takeover of the Punk CX Podcast. This is Part Two of a two-part series of chats that I had with NiCE executives, a couple of their clients and an analyst while at NiCE World London at the…
The NiCE World London Takeover of the Punk CX Podcast Part One [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:28
Welcome to the NiCE World London Takeover of the Punk CX Podcast. This is Part One of a two-part series of chats that I had with NiCE executives, a couple of their clients and an analyst while at NiCE World London last w…