Marlon “Mars” Soria

Led the end-to-end Customer Experience function for one of the Philippines' leading life insurers, overseeing Experience Management, Customer Insights & Analytics, Customer Platforms, Contact Center Operations, Voice of Customer (VOC), and Customer Experience Transformation. Accountable for shaping customer strategy, driving digital adoption, and improving customer outcomes across purchase, servicing, and claims journeys.

Key Contributions & Impact:

• Led the end-to-end Customer Experience function across Experience Management, Voice of Customer (VOC), Customer Insights & Analytics, Customer Platforms, Contact Center Operations, and Customer Experience Transformation, driving a customer-centric culture across the organization.
• Contributed to FWD Philippines being recognized as the #1 insurer for Customer Experience in the Philippines in KPMG's Customer Experience Excellence (CEE) Study 2023 , reinforcing the company's position as a customer-led and digitally enabled insurer.
• Established and scaled enterprise-wide Voice of Customer and Experience Management programs, leveraging NPS, CES, customer research, and journey insights to influence strategic and operational decision-making.
• Oversaw the growth of FWD's digital servicing ecosystem, including the Omne mobile app and customer portal, supporting 140k+ digitally engaged customers and accelerating self-service adoption.
• Spearheaded the launch of "Fi," the Philippines' first GenAI-powered insurance chatbot , enhancing digital servicing capabilities and expanding customer access to support.
• Integrated customer listening, digital platforms, servicing operations, and continuous improvement into a unified customer experience framework, strengthening alignment across Marketing, Operations, Technology, Claims, and Distribution.
• Led cross-functional customer journey transformation initiatives across Purchase, Servicing, and Claims, driving improvements in customer effort, satisfaction, and overall experience quality.
• Built and led high-performing multidisciplinary teams covering Customer Experience, Contact Center, Customer Platforms, Customer Insights, Experience Management, and Continuous Improvement.
• Championed customer experience governance and relationship NPS (rNPS) practices that elevated customer-centric decision-making and helped embed customer insights into business planning and execution.
• Contributed to multiple industry recognitions for digital innovation, customer experience excellence, and mobile app leadership, further strengthening FWD's reputation as a leading digital insurer in the Philippines.
• Led initiatives to enhance customer journey mapping and experience strategies

Led centralized support functions for multiple global accounts, ensuring operational efficiency and high-quality customer experience delivery.

Key Contributions & Impact:

• Led shared services functions supporting multiple customer operations programs, driving operational consistency, service excellence, and performance governance across accounts.
• Partnered with operations leaders to improve customer experience, quality performance, workforce effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
• Established governance frameworks and performance reporting mechanisms that improved visibility into business performance and decision-making.
• Led cross-functional initiatives focused on process optimization, capability building, and continuous improvement.
• Supported large-scale customer service operations through the alignment of quality, training, workforce, and operational support functions.
• Acted as a strategic partner to operations leadership, balancing customer outcomes, employee engagement, and business performance objectives.

Key Contribution & Impact:

• Led Operational Excellence initiatives across the Cebu site, driving continuous improvement and embedding Lean methodologies across business functions.
• Facilitated process improvement workshops and value-stream assessments that enhanced efficiency, productivity, and service quality.
• Coached leaders and teams on continuous improvement principles, problem-solving methodologies, and change management.
• Partnered with business stakeholders to identify operational opportunities and deliver measurable process improvements.
• Promoted a culture of operational excellence through capability-building, governance, and performance management programs.

Key Contributions & Impact:

• Played a key role in establishing the Quality Assurance function during the early stages of operational transition, contributing to QA planning, governance, and capacity development.
• Identified and facilitated continuous improvement initiatives using Operational Excellence methodologies to enhance efficiency, quality, and service delivery across business functions.
• Conducted operational reviews, assessments, and audits, ensuring compliance with governance standards while identifying opportunities for process and control improvements.
• Served as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Operational Excellence and Quality processes, providing guidance and support to operational teams and business stakeholders.
• Supervised cross-functional team members across multiple locations, managing workload prioritization, issue resolution, coaching, and performance development.

Key Contributions & Impact:

Led customer service and support teams in delivering operational performance, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement objectives.

• Managed frontline leaders and agents across complex customer service environments, driving accountability and performance improvement.
• Improved service quality, productivity, and customer outcomes through coaching, performance management, and process optimization.
• Partnered with clients and internal stakeholders to deliver business objectives while maintaining high service standards.
• Developed future leaders through coaching, succession planning, and capability-building initiatives.

• Designed and delivered training programs based on skills assessment and business needs.
• Led process integration and training for system/process changes.
• Conducted QA and performance evaluations, strengthening consistency and compliance.

• Supported financial advisors on mutual fund online trading, money movement, and account servicing.
• Consistently exceeded customer service performance metrics.
• Mentored new team members to improve service quality.