Frontline Empowerment: The Heart of CX Transformation
Transformation is happening all around us — in technology, AI, and business models — but the real story of customer experience isn’t about systems; it’s about people. In this keynote, Kevin McDorman, Vice President of Customer Care at Southwest Airlines, will share how the frontline isn’t just executing service — it is the strategy for creating seamless, friction-free experiences. Through real stories from Southwest, Kevin will show how empowering frontline teams to act with judgment, empathy, and autonomy drives measurable improvements across every metric.
Attendees will see how putting people first — not scripts, dashboards, or automation alone — creates solutions in the moments that matter most, transforms policies into guardrails, and positions technology as a partner, not a replacement.
This session challenges leaders to rethink CX strategy: how to anticipate customer needs, remove friction, and give teams the authority to deliver results. Attendees will leave inspired to view the frontline not just as execution, but as the engine of enterprise-wide customer experience.
About Kevin
Kevin McDorman serves as Vice President of Customer CARE at Southwest Airlines, assuming the role on May 12, 2025. He leads a hybrid workforce of more than 3,500 Employees across the continental U.S., overseeing all Customer-initiated service channels—including phone, email, and social platforms—as well as proactive customer communications, travel disruption strategy and execution, and Southwest’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Under Kevin’s leadership, Customer CARE supports more than 140 million Customers traveling through 117 airports across 11 countries, managing over 20 million Customer contacts anually. His organization plays a critical role in delivering the legendary hospitality that defines the Southwest brand—whether helping Customers navigate irregular operations, providing real-time digital communications during travel disruptions, or resolving complex issues with empathy and expertise.
Kevin is focused on modernizing the end-to-end Customer journey by integrating digital, operational and voice-of-customer insights; strengthening alignment with departments across the Company; and enabling a consistent Customer support model that reflects Southwest’s culture of service and connection.
Prior to joining Southwest, Kevin built a distinguished 22-year career at AT&T, where he held senior roles spanning customer service, call center operations, finance, vendor management, and strategic development. He led organizations supporting more than $100 billion in revenue, oversaw international operations in 16 countries across 12 global outsourcing partners, and delivered a call-center transformation that generated $700 million in operating-expense savings while reducing customer contacts by 32% and lowering cost-to-serve per subscriber by 18% year-over- year. He has a history of delivering best-in-class customer service by leveraging groundbreaking innovation in Big Data, Gen AI, Robotics, and Global Sourcing.
Known for his collaborative leadership style, strength in building high- performing teams and ability to connect people, process, and technology, Kevin mentors leaders across functions and drives performance through clarity of vision, purposeful innovation, and customer-centric culture.
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Kevin McDorman
Vice President, Customer Care
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