Max Kalis

Max Kalis is a Senior UX/CX Strategist with 8 years of experience in UX/CX and innovation, specializing in banking and fintech. He has led 10 cultural change and innovation programs and 16 projects encompassing product development, hackathons, event curation, website scoping, technology platform reviews, social innovation, and service design, both on agency and client sides.

In the realm of CX Strategy and Brand Development, Max has worked at executive and board levels, crafting effective CX strategies for a variety of organizations, from major banks to augmented reality startups. He boasts 8 years of experience in creating CX strategies across 6 companies and developing brands across multiple sectors with 12 companies. Noteworthy achievements include delivering an award-winning social media campaign for Barclays and formulating a marketing strategy for Barclays' 1st Open Banking venture, API Exchange.

Max Kalis has a rich background in Product Development and Programme Management, with 8 years of experience in product development and a focus on early prototype development. He has developed over 120 product concepts, mentored and trained product development teams on Agile, CX, and innovation, and led 14 projects and 10 programmes over 5 years in programme and project management.

A champion of Culture, Innovation, and Collaboration, Max has a track record showcasing the positive impact of fostering a healthy working culture on strategy implementation. With 8 years of experience driving change in a diverse range of organizations, from lone innovators and SMEs to corporations with 100k staff, he is adept at facilitating, hosting, and curating events and workshops, including hackathons, panel events, talks, and industry meetups.

Max excels at Managing High-Performing Teams, bringing his empathetic leadership style to teams with up to 3 direct and 15 indirect reports. With 8 years of experience in management reporting up to CTO, CMO, MDs, and Head of level, he is actively engaged with board members in strategy, presentations, reporting, and planning.

Max Kalis's educational background includes a HND in Media Communication & Production from Newcastle College, A Levels in French, Geography, Economics from Bryanston School, an MSc in Global Politics from LSE, London School of Economics, a Short Course from United Nations University in Tokyo, and a 2:1 BA (Hons) in International Business Administration from Bournemouth University.

Max has held various positions in respected organizations, including Senior Consultant at NAB, Senior Design Strategist at Portable, Senior Strategist at Start Design Consultancy, Digital Innovation Consultant at Influx Consulting, Founder & Director of Connect2Effect, and roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Ludic Group LLP, Sourced Market, Yacht Havens Group, and more. His early career involved diverse experiences ranging from the British Government and English teaching to marketing and record production at companies like Red Bull Ltd and Random Records Ltd.