Speaking at Qualtrics X4™: The Experience Management Summit in Salt Lake City
My calendar is always filled with business meetings, events, and speaking engagements.
Last week, I made a quick visit to Utah for the Qualtrics X4™: The Experience Management Summit in Salt Lake City. After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, more than 10-thousand experience management professionals representing 52-countries gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center for the three-day conference. I was honored to be one of several headline speakers. I shared my thoughts on social media and technology, brand partnerships and collaborations, and the importance of learning in an ever-evolving environment. Afterwards, my team and I also enjoyed a visit to Rawtopia Living Cuisine and Beyond, where they serve Mediterranean-inspired raw, organic, and vegetarian fare.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Salt Lake City lies in a mountain valley with the Wasatch Mountains to the east and north, and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. On this day, the skies were so clear, we had stunning views from the plane.
There was lots of snow – a very different winter scene than what we’ve had on the east coast this season. In general, Salt Lake and the surrounding mountain ranges receive at least 500-inches of snow every year.
Snow-capped mountains could be seen for miles. Among the many mountains in the region, the tallest mountain found within the Salt Lake City boundaries is Grandview Peak, which rises 9,410 feet above sea level. In comparison, Salt Lake City sits at an altitude of around 4,200 feet above sea level.
The Qualtrics X4: Experience Management Summit was held at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, named after Utah’s 11th governor. For those unfamiliar with its history, the first Salt Palace in Utah was built in 1899, but was destroyed by fire in 1910. An indoor arena was completed in 1969 for area concerts and other large events. And then this convention center opened its doors in 1996. Over the years, expansions increased the building’s size to nearly one-million square-feet. (Photo by Qualtrics)
The X4 event featured hundreds of sessions covering topics such as customer care, customer research and insights, digital experience and employee experience for several key industries including professionals in education, government, healthcare, and financial services. (Photo by Qualtrics)
The host company Qualtrics started in 2002 and grew from a basement startup to a multi-billion-dollar business focused on helping organizations in more than 100 countries manage the four core experiences of business: customer, employee, product, and brand experience. Qualtrics has 25 offices around the world with nearly 17,000 customers and more than 5,000 employees. (Photo by Qualtrics)
More than 10-thousand were in attendance at the conference. It was nice to see such an enthusiastic crowd. (Photo by Qualtrics)
The event was well-organized and well-managed by the Qualtrics team – so important in a venue this large. (Photo by Qualtrics)
I was interviewed by Gina Sheibley, Chief Communications Officer at Qualtrics. Gina leads global communications for the company, including analyst relations, public relations, executive communications, internal communications and the customer office. (Photo by Qualtrics)
During my interview, I talked about one of my biggest mantras – to learn something new every day. I need to always learn new things in order to teach others. I also feel it is important to take risks – in business and in everyday life. In business, one must expect that there will always be bad partnerships and good partnerships… and great partnerships. (Photo by Qualtrics)
While at the Summit, I met up with another speaker, Olympian Shaun White. He recently started a new brand of snow boarding products called Whitespace. Here I am with Shaun and his business partner, Miles Nathan.
After the event, we had just enough time to eat lunch at Rawtopia Living Cuisine and Beyond. This is tabouli with no bulgur wheat. It’s an authentic Lebanese mix of parsley, tomato, hemp seeds, red onion, scallion, mint, lemon, olive oil, Celtic sea salt – served with cabbage and lettuce. It was fresh and delicious.
We also had miso soup, along with their signature homemade veggie seed crackers.
These are deep leafy greens topped with avocado, tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, celery, red onion, olive, parsley, crunchy falafel crust, served with a side of tahini dressing.
This taco was served on an organic corn tortilla filled with sautéed wild-caught cod, topped with bell pepper, tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro, and cashew-lime cilantro sauce.
We also enjoyed coconut water straight from the coconut.
My team and I headed back to New York that afternoon. It was definitely a quick trip, but I always enjoy visiting Salt Lake City. See you soon, Utah!