Returning to the beautiful Mornington Peninsula in 2025, the CX Retreat is not your standard industry conference. Following the successful launch in 2024, this two-day, two-night event is explicitly designed as a retreat-style networking event for the Victorian CX Community, aiming to elevate discussions and forge truly meaningful connections among the state’s most influential customer experience (CX) leaders.
Violet Lazarevic-Sittrop, Head of Customer Experience for the Commercial Bank at ANZ, is providing opening comments for both days of the event. She says, “Learning and innovating constantly is becoming increasingly important for CX professionals. The CX retreat brings together a unique combination of passionate CX innovators discussing important topics to improve CX across Australian organisations. Stimulating discussion coupled with a relaxing environment make this an unmissable event.”
The fundamental difference between the CX Retreat and a standard conference lies in its agenda design and retreat format, which are specifically engineered to facilitate intimate networking.
- Two-day, two-night format in a secluded, scenic location (Mornington Peninsula)
- Built-in time and space between sessions, shared meals, and overnight stay to encourage deep, organic conversation.
- Focus on Think Tank discussions, intimate panel debates, and interactive case study breakdowns.
- Relaxing, reflective, and collaborative—a true break from the daily grind.
This unique structure, mirroring the success of the longstanding Customer 360 Symposium in NSW, ensures that conversations move beyond casual acquaintance to genuine peer-to-peer exploration of complex challenges.
Curating the leaders
The CX Retreat hosts a highly select group of 80 Victorian CX leaders. The success of the event is built on the calibre of its delegates. The delegate list focuses strictly on ‘most senior CX leaders’—typically those holding General Manager, Director, Head of, or C-level positions. The criteria ensure attendees are those with direct strategic and budget authority over their organisations’ CX mandates.
Stacey Goater, Portfolio Director – CX and HR, Ashton Media, comments, “We launched the CX Retreat with incredible success in 2024 and are looking forward to delivering an event better event this year. With 85 senior CX leaders from the biggest brands in Victoria, from Bunnings and AGL to ANZ and 7-Eleven in attendance, coupled with the unique two day, two night format in the beautiful Mornington Peninsula, there’s no other event like it for the Victorian CX community”.
Addressing Australia’s major 2025 CX challenges
The 2025 agenda is carefully curated to address the most pressing, high-stakes challenges currently facing major Australian organisations, which often require an international as well as a local perspective:
- Balancing AI implementation with human empathy: How to leverage AI for efficiency without destroying the human touch that defines premium CX. International case studies, such as the work at the Inter IKEA Group led by Tim Stierman, will offer models for scalable digital product and omnichannel experiences.
- Proving ROI in a tough economy: Demonstrating the tangible, commercial return on investment for CX initiatives when budgets are tight. Local leaders like Lachlan Davidson (GM Customer Strategy and Performance, Bupa), will share data-driven strategies for linking CX metrics directly to business performance.
- Managing complex data privacy and trust: Navigating ever-changing data privacy regulations while simultaneously using customer insights to personalise experiences.
The power of the Think Tank discussions
The ‘Think Tank’ discussions are the engine of co-developed, actionable solutions at the retreat. They are designed to move deliberately beyond simple idea sharing. Unlike a panel Q&A, Think Tanks are small-group, facilitated, and highly structured workshops. Expert moderators guide the discussion through a defined process:
- Define obstacle: Delegates openly present their current strategic problem (e.g., “How do we measure the ROI of proactive service?”).
- Peer consultation: The group provides varied industry perspectives and challenges the underlying assumptions.
- Co-develop solution: The facilitator drives the group to collaboratively design the first three actionable steps for a solution.
Thisformat ensures delegates leave with a co-developed, peer-vetted solution framework—a practical tool to immediately apply to their current strategic obstacles upon returning to their organisation.
The CX Retreat 2025 is more than an event – it’s a dedicated strategic intervention for Victoria’s senior CX community. By deliberately moving away from the conference model, it offers a two-day, two-night sanctuary on the Mornington Peninsula where the state’s most influential leaders can truly decompress and connect.