With the onboarding of new Customer Experience senior leadership at M&T Bank, there was a renewed focus on reassessing how the enterprise approached its priority initiatives. Recognizing the opportunity to embed a customer-forward perspective across all process, policy, and product improvement efforts, the Customer Experience division initiated senior sponsor discovery and concept testing of a new customer journey–forward governance framework.
Results:
Implemented MVP customer-led governance framework with a journey-led pilot team.
Approach & Execution
As part of a larger enterprise effort to define a Journey-Led Program, and in parallel with the development of an updated leadership structure, I was engaged to support the accelerator leadership team in designing a steering committee governance model to be piloted within a single journey team.
Within the broader context of the enterprise journey program, a smaller-scale governance structure was designed to focus on three key areas:
- Leadership Model(s) in Operation – Identifying and defining governance roles across senior sponsors, journey leads, and workstream owners.
- Roles, Responsibilities & Expectations – Clarifying accountability, decision-making authority, and cross-functional engagement touchpoints.
- Forum & Platform Cadence – Establishing consistent planning, preparation, and execution rhythms for governance meetings and communications.
Over a six-month pilot period, the governance framework was implemented and tested within a journey-led pilot team. This initiative served as both a testing ground for the broader customer journey–led program and a proof of concept for the steering committee governance model.
Key Outcomes
- Validated Governance Framework – A clear structure for leadership engagement, accountability, and decision-making.
- Operational Pilot Learnings – Actionable insights that informed enterprise rollout of the journey-led model.
- Organizational Alignment – A formal restructuring of the Customer Experience division to align around journey-led principles.
- Leadership Enablement – The creation of a Center of Excellence change management program that trained executive leadership in customer journey–led methodologies.
Impact & Influence
This pilot established the foundation for enterprise-wide adoption of a journey-led operating model, creating governance patterns that improved cross-functional collaboration, leadership visibility, and accountability around customer experience priorities. By linking governance, leadership enablement, and structural design, this initiative positioned Customer Experience as a strategic driver of enterprise transformation.