Agenda at a Glance
05:00-7:00 PM
Networking
WAVE Welcome Reception
7:30–8:10 AM
Meal
Breakfast
8:10–8:30 AM
Performance
Performance by Grammy nominee Amythyst Kia
Performer

Amythyst Kiah
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter
8:30–9:30 AM
Keynote
Opening Keynote
Speakers
Ping Wu
Cresta
9:30–10:00 AM
Panel
How the world’s leading brands build a compounding customer experience
Abstract
Every brand wants to be customer-centric. The harder question is how to build an organization that actually gets better at it every year, as customer expectations and the technology landscape continue to evolve faster than ever. The leaders pulling ahead are designing systems that compound: learning from every interaction to improve the next one and make the business smarter. Join us for a candid conversation with three of these leaders about what an exceptional experience will look like in the years ahead, how they're deploying AI and the operating systems around it to deliver on that vision, and what it takes to keep getting better.
Speakers
Jennifer
McLellan-Brown
McLellan-Brown
Marriott International
Aparna Khurjekar
SDC Capital Partners
Alex Cramer
Cresta
10:00–10:15 AM
Break
Coffee & Networking Break
10:15–11:00 AM
Panel
Better together: How human and AI agents deliver more as one workforce
Abstract
Many companies are in the early innings of developing a truly hybrid workforce, where human and AI Agents collaborate to deliver better customer experiences. The organizations getting the most from both treat them as a single team, routing each conversation to whoever handles it best and passing context cleanly when it changes hands. Join leaders from two Cresta customers who run AI agents alongside their human teams for a candid discussion on where each excels, how they measure and compare performance, and what one workforce looks like in practice.
Speakers
Bill Clayton
NRG Energy
Lori Bradshaw
Alaska Airlines
Barry Chester
Cresta
11:00–12:00 PM
Breakout 1A
From plain English to production: Building agents with Conductor
Abstract
Join the Cresta team for a hands-on workshop where you'll work in small groups to build and optimize an AI agent from scratch using Cresta Conductor. You'll find the right opportunity to automate, refine the requirements Conductor drafts, test the agent in simulated conversations, and ask Conductor to fix what you find. No coding experience required.
Speakers
Renjie Li
Cresta
Tanya Batsenko
Cresta
Niki Lotte
Cresta
11:00–12:00 PM
Breakout 1B
Unlocking CX Intelligence: Create a new executive command center
Abstract
Your customer conversations already hold the answers to many of your biggest business questions. Join Cresta's Insights team for a workshop on building your own executive command center with the full Cresta Insights platform and AI Analyst. You'll learn how to bring customer, conversation, and journey insights into one view, track what's changing across your operation, and use AI Analyst to find out why.
Speakers
Ryan Muir
Cresta
Odhran Riedy
Cresta
12:00–1:00 PM
Meal
Lunch
1:00–1:30 PM
Panel
Building the CX Stack of the Future Together: Lessons from CIOs
Abstract
AI is reshaping every layer of the CX stack, and the organizations moving fastest are the ones where CX and IT leaders are building toward the same vision. Join a panel of CIOs from leading enterprises for a candid discussion on where they believe AI for CX is heading and how they partner with their CX counterparts to bring the customer experience of the future to life.
Speakers
Oscar Fernandez
New York Mets
Tobias Dengel
TELUS Digital
Sai Vivek
Cresta
1:30–2:15 PM
Panel
Rethinking voice of the customer in the AI era
Abstract
AI is fundamentally transforming the way companies capture, measure, and understand the voice of their customers. Join CX leaders who are rebuilding their VoC and measurement programs from first principles for a candid discussion on bringing in new sources of customer data, building a fuller picture of journeys, outcomes, and perception, and setting up the operating rhythms that turn insights into change. They'll share what's worked so far, what they've had to unlearn, where they're headed next, and how they tie it all to the outcomes their executive teams care about.
Speakers
Phil Kolterman
Brinks Home
Devon Mychal
Cresta
Rachel Walker
United
2:15–2:45 PM
Awards
Excellence, defined: Meet our inaugural Cresta Award winners
2:45–3:00 PM
Wrap-up
Day 1 Wrap-up
3:00–5:00 PM
activities
Curated Connections

Third Man Records
Step inside Jack White's world of vinyl and live music with an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Third Man Records, home to the intimate Blue Room where Billie Eilish and Pearl Jam have performed. Then enjoy live music and design your own trucker hat to take home.

Nashville Barrel Company
Go beyond the tasting room and sip whiskey straight from the barrel at Nashville Barrel Company's headquarters. Explore the flavors and stories behind each pour, then take a taste of Nashville home with your own bottle of whiskey.

Topgolf
Bring your best swing and a little competitive spirit for an afternoon of big drives, friendly rivalries, and laughs. Customize your own golf towel to take home—bragging rights optional.

Tecovas Belt Experience
Put your stamp on a Western classic. Design and personalize your own Tecovas leather belt—a little Nashville style you'll wear long after WAVE.

Bolo Tie & Bandana Bar
Bring your own style to a Nashville tradition. Build a custom bolo tie with your choice of stones and accents, or customize your own bandana with a leather slide you personalize.
6:00–9:00 PM
EVENT
Dolly Parton Museum
7:30–8:30 AM
Meal
Breakfast
8:30–9:15 AM
Panel
The revenue playbook: How CX leaders are using AI to sell more and grow faster
Abstract
AI investments are often focused on finding ways to spend less. The leaders in this session are using it to sell more. Join revenue leaders from three Cresta customers for a candid discussion on how they're using AI to drive new revenue: pinpointing and reinforcing the behaviors that actually convert, capturing and qualifying new leads, and finding missed opportunities inside conversations that were never flagged as sales calls. They'll share how they built the case for AI as a growth investment, where the gains showed up first, and what it takes to deliver on a revenue number the business is counting on.
Speakers
Allie Borg
Comcast
Laif Wheeler
Mutual of Omaha
Fred Spano
Frontdoor
Russell Banzon
Cresta
9:15–10:00 AM
Panel
Back Office Agents: Automating the work customers will never see
Abstract
Much of how customers feel about a company is shaped by work they never see. Behind every refund, dispute, and complaint is a chain of manual handoffs and approvals that can take days or weeks to complete. Join operations leaders from two Cresta customers for a candid discussion on why automating that work matters, which workflows they chose to start with, and what it takes to carry context from the conversation through to the back office. They'll share how they divide the work between AI and people in a regulated environment, and the potential for long-running automation to cut costs, reduce risk, and improve the customer experience.
Speakers
Dan Greer
Aqua Finance
Dan Leslie
Sunbit
Claudia Lee
Cresta
10:00–10:15 AM
BREAK
Coffee & Networking Break
10:15–11:00 AM
Panel
Giving your brand a voice: Experience design for voice AI agents
Abstract
Great voice experiences don't just sound better. They perform better. Join Cresta and OpenAI to hear for yourself what separates a voice people enjoy talking to from one they hang up on. You'll learn what consumers now expect from AI voice agents, how to choose a voice that sounds like your brand, where latency and turn-taking make or break the experience, and what's coming next from the frontier of voice model research.
Speakers
Teri Yu
OpenAI
Henry Zhang
Cresta
11:00–11:45 AM
Keynote
Emmy Award-winning Journalist and Technologist Joanna Stern
Speakers
Joanna Stern
Emmy Award-winning Tech Journalist
11:45–12:00 PM
Wrap-up
Final Remarks
12:00–1:00 PM
Meal
Grab and Go Lunch
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