Journey Map Ops Unveiled: Navigating Customer Experiences with Richard, Maren, and Marc

Marc Stickdorn is a passionate advocate for Service Design, Journey Management, and Human-centered Design. He is a main author of widely acclaimed and award-winning CX and design books, including This is Service Design Thinking and This is Service Design Doing, both of which are used by professionals and educators around the globe. In addition to writing, he lectures at universities, contributes to academic research, and leads executive programs that help organizations internalize Service Design and Journey Management as a strategic capability. Marc completed a PhD in design science, focusing on CX research for customer journeys. As the founder and CEO of Smaply, he helped shape the market for journey mapping and management software, pioneering the category in 2012 and setting the standard for how organizations visualize and manage experiences at scale. A leading voice in Journey Management, Marc has been delivering dedicated training on the topic for over a decade, equipping organizations with the mindsets, methods, and tools to embed customer and employee experience (CX/EX) into daily operations. He supports teams in building human-centric information systems that bridge silos and bring coherence to complex service ecosystems. Based in Innsbruck, Austria, Marc balances life in the Alps with travel, time with his family, and a quest for great coffee. Known for his approachable style and practical expertise, he is a sought-after keynote speaker, advisor, and trainer on all things Service Design and Journey Management.