Reimagining Customer Service for the Modern Enterprise
Turning Every Customer Conversation into Loyalty, Revenue and Growth · Thursday, 1 October 2026
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Keynote02:00 PM – 02:30 PM
Reimagining Customer Service for the Modern Enterprise
by High Performance
ITEX Arena Stage
EnglishCustomer Experience (CX)Customer ServiceHuman-Led ServiceBPOOutsourcingOmnichannelContact CentreCustomer LoyaltyDigital TransformationIraqAI in Customer ServiceWorkforce Development
- Muhammad Aneel Sheikh
Vice President – BPO Growth & Strategy — High Performance
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Think of the last time you contacted customer service. Did you feel like a valued customer, or a ticket number? Iraq's customer base has changed fast. The population is 47.3 million with a median age of 20.8, internet penetration is 83.8%, and there are more mobile connections than people. Customers now reach out on voice, chat, WhatsApp and social media, and they expect quick, personal answers. Many enterprises are responding with automation alone, and that carries a risk: 64% of customers say they would rather companies didn't use AI for customer service, and 53% would consider switching to a competitor over it. Their biggest worry is not being able to reach a human. In this keynote, Muhammad Aneel Sheikh, VP of BPO Growth & Strategy at High Performance, argues that trust is still built by people. He describes the shift from reactive, siloed, handle-time-driven service to a proactive omnichannel model measured by resolution, customer effort and lifetime value. He then sets out four principles of modern customer service: people at the heart, speaking the customer's language (Arabic, Kurdish and English), one continuous conversation across every channel, and using insight from every interaction instead of just producing reports. Drawing on more than 10 years in customer experience and over 1 million customer interactions managed across 20+ industries, the session shows how the human-led model works in practice. That means fast access to a real person around the clock, trained agents who own each issue until it's fixed, and a quality loop of monitoring, coaching and customer feedback. It also covers how Iraq's young, digitally native workforce can be developed into world-class CX professionals.
Who it is for
C-level executives, business owners and senior decision-makers; heads of customer experience, customer service, contact centres and operations; digital transformation and marketing leaders; and leaders in telecoms, banking and fintech, e-commerce, retail, government services and other customer-facing sectors in Iraq and the wider region.
Key takeaways
1. The Iraqi customer has changed. A young, mobile-first, always-online market expects fast, personal service on every channel. 2. Automation alone puts loyalty at risk. Most customers still want to be able to reach a human, and many will switch providers if they can't. 3. Service can drive growth instead of just costing money. Move from reactive, handle-time metrics to proactive service measured by resolution, effort and lifetime value. 4. There are four principles of modern service: people at the heart, local language and dialect, one conversation across channels, and insight from every interaction. 5. Iraq's local talent is a competitive advantage. Native Arabic- and Kurdish-speaking teams, trained to global standards, deliver service that builds trust.
Links
On ITEX Arena Stage