FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bryant Richardson Named to ICMI’s Top 25 Thought Leaders for 2026
DALLAS, TEXAS — February 1, 2026 — Real Blue Sky today announced that Founder and President Bryant Richardson has been named to ICMI’s Top 25 Thought Leaders for 2026, a peer-nominated recognition honoring influential voices shaping the future of the contact center and customer experience industry.
The annual ICMI Top 25 Thought Leaders list recognizes individuals who are driving meaningful conversations, advancing best practices, and elevating leadership standards across the customer experience profession. This year’s honorees were nominated by industry peers, reflecting the impact of their work within the CX community.
Richardson has spent more than 25 years in executive leadership roles in customer experience management, guiding organizations through operational transformation, vendor governance, and technology evolution to strengthen customer outcomes
As President of Real Blue Sky, he works with growth-minded organizations to align leadership decisions, vendor partnerships, and technology strategies with the experience customers actually feel.
“Contact centers are where leadership decisions become real,” said Richardson. “They’re where culture shows up under pressure and where customers experience the consequences of alignment, or misalignment, every day. I’m honored to be recognized by peers in an industry that continues to push toward greater clarity, accountability, and human-centered leadership.”
Prior to founding Real Blue Sky, Richardson held executive leadership roles including COO and CIO, leading customer experience operations—both insourced and outsourced—supporting global brands such as AEGON, Apple, AT&T, Charter, Citigroup, and Dell.
The ICMI Top 25 Thought Leaders recognition underscores Richardson’s ongoing contribution to advancing leadership conversations around operational excellence, technology governance, and the human side of customer experience.
For more information about the 2026 ICMI Top 25 Thought Leaders, visit:
https://www.icmi.com/resources/2026/icmi-top-25-thought-leaders-2026
About Real Blue Sky
Real Blue Sky is a customer experience advisory firm based in Dallas, Texas. The firm works with organizations to improve customer outcomes through customer growth consulting, technology strategy & selection, and outsource partner strategy, selection & governance.