How Can AI Protect the Human Heart of Customer Experience? — Sophie Pietremont, Zendesk

Sophie Pietremont is a marketing leader who views her role as culture-making. Managing a diverse portfolio across France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Mediterranean, she balances high-level pipeline creation with a deep sensitivity to local nuances. With a career spanning product, channel, and field marketing at giants like Microsoft, Sophie has transitioned from a self-made mindset to one rooted in the power of the network. For Sophie, the current AI revolution is a unique opportunity to redesign team culture, ensuring that technology empowers the ‘humans behind the tickets’ rather than replacing them.

But it also raises a deeper question for marketing leaders: how do you navigate this level of transformation without the benefit of a peer-level perspective?

How did an international background shape your international voice in marketing?

Sophie Pietremont reflects on her journey from studying in the UK to leading marketing across the Mediterranean region.

“I moved across different roles, always wanting to work in international companies. I wanted to apply both my language and cultural skills. Over time, I realised marketing is about more than campaigns, it’s about culture-making.

Leadership is not about being a ‘self-made woman.’ It’s about building a network of champions who advocate for each other’s potential. We work with humans, each with unique strengths, and it’s essential to recognise and support that. My journey has been about finding that voice and using it to show how great customer service is a growth engine for large companies.”

How did a mentor at Microsoft give you permission to be visible?

Drawing from a pivotal moment 20 years ago, Sophie explains how seeing a female leader navigate a male-dominated room changed her trajectory.

“About 20 years ago, tech was a very male-dominated environment. I was fortunate to meet a female leader at Microsoft who recognised my value when I was still doubting it. She encouraged me to step into more strategic projects and helped me understand the importance of being visible.

Watching how she positioned herself in rooms full of men didn’t just give me a roadmap; it gave me permission to be myself. Leadership is moving away from the ‘always-on, bulletproof’ idea. Today, it’s about empathy and flexibility. Acknowledging that it’s okay not to feel okay builds more trust than pretending everything is perfect.”

What is the strategic goal behind “Intelligent CX with a Human Heart”?

As Zendesk innovates with AI, Sophie remains focused on reducing agent burnout and elevating human interaction to higher-value work.

“My focus is on AI and how it transforms customer experience. We describe our approach as ‘intelligent CX with a human heart.’ AI is not just about efficiency. It’s also about reducing the risk of burnout, especially for customer service agents.

AI can handle routine tasks, allowing people to focus on higher-value work. This shift also creates opportunities for women to step into more strategic leadership roles. Ultimately, it’s about using technology to empower people. We gain more time to focus on diversity and inclusion, which is essential for building stronger, more effective teams.”

Why is the “Burnout Gap” the biggest challenge for women in marketing?

Sophie addresses the disproportionate weight of DEI and wellbeing initiatives often carried by women leaders alongside high-performance targets.

“One major challenge is the burnout gap. Women leaders often take on a disproportionate share of DEI and well-being responsibilities while still delivering against high-performance expectations. As AI accelerates the pace of change, we must actively protect our teams’ mental health.

Balancing transformation with well-being is one of the most critical challenges today. I make a conscious effort to ensure women are visible at events. Vulnerability can be a bridge to resilience, and women are leading the way in showing that. We must redesign team culture to make personal life balance a part of the high-performance strategy, not just an optional perk.”

How do you fix the path for the next generation of women leaders?

By launching a community for women in CX in France, Sophie is tackling the leadership disparity head-on.

“Our research shows that while around 70% of customer service roles are held by women, only about 30% of leadership positions are. To address this, I launched a community for women leaders in customer experience in France.

It provides a space for networking, sharing insights, and accessing tools, especially around AI and leadership development. This initiative helps position us as a trusted partner in our customers’ career journeys. To young women, I say: You don’t have to do it alone. Find your peer circles. Your soft skills, like empathy and collaboration, are your most powerful leadership assets.”

Why is “Antidote” the only word that describes a modern marketing leader?

In a world of friction and rapid change, Sophie defines her role as the stabilising force for the brand and the team.

“If I had to describe the role in one word, it’s ‘Antidote.’ A marketing leader should be the antidote to friction and burnout, for customers, for the brand, and for the teams building it.

The biggest opportunity today is to build inclusive teams, what I describe as a ‘mosaic’ of people with different backgrounds. I work with colleagues from different countries and sometimes communicate in their native languages. That inclusivity matters. It allows us to unlock more creativity and innovation. My question to other leaders is: How are you making well-being part of your high-performance strategy?”

Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network

Across Sophie’s insights, burnout, AI acceleration, and leadership pressure, one pattern is clear: these challenges aren’t solved in isolation. They require a peer-level perspective and high-trust dialogue.

Her vision of the “Leader as Antidote” reflects a broader reality: today’s marketing leaders cannot rely on internal teams alone. The most effective executives, especially those navigating complex, multi-market environments, actively seek out peer dialogue as a strategic necessity.

At The Ortus Club, we host curated executive roundtables that bring together senior leaders facing these exact challenges. Step away from the always-on environment and engage in the kind of open, high-value conversations that keep the human heart at the centre of business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Intelligent CX?
A: It is an approach to customer experience (CX) that integrates AI to handle high-volume, routine queries, allowing human agents to focus on complex, emotionally sensitive, and strategic customer interactions.

Q: How does Zendesk define the Human Heart in AI?
A: It refers to the design principle that technology should be used to augment human capability and reduce agent stress, rather than simply replacing human roles for the sake of efficiency.

Q: What is the 70/30 Gap in Customer Experience?
A: This refers to a statistical disparity where the majority of the CX workforce is female (70%), yet a significantly smaller portion (30%) holds senior leadership or executive-level positions within the industry.

Q: What does Sophie Pietremont mean by the “Leader as Antidote”?
A: It is a leadership philosophy where the manager acts as a stabilising force against the friction of rapid technological change and high-performance pressure. Instead of adding to the stress, the leader works to proactively protect the team’s mental health and create a culture where well-being is a core part of the business strategy.

Q: Why does Sophie describe her team as a Leadership Mosaic?
A: This concept refers to building a team from diverse backgrounds, languages, and cultures, specifically across the Mediterranean region. By treating these differences as individual pieces of a larger “mosaic” rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all global approach, leaders can unlock higher levels of creativity and local market empathy.