Decades of international experience in experience design in all its forms.
What people say about us:
“Syma is very well organised and always full of ideas. She is extremely personable and very diligent and is an excellent communicator. She thinks deeply about topics and issues and has considerable expertise in the CX design space.”
– Dr Pierre Benckendorff, Acting Dean, UQ Graduate School
“Working with Syma at Awesome & Authentic was an amazing exploration experience. We really dove into the reason for, the expression of and the delivery of the essence of my business. This helped me to focus on the message l was conveying. Identifying details left me feeling very connected to my business and proud of the way I would present to the outside world.”
– Kerrianne McNamara, Founder of a wellness business in NSW
Syma Ahmed
Founder
I am passionate about helping businesses deliver great customer experience through research, design consulting, and training. I geek out on all things customer experience and can talk about customer errors for hours (coffee or wine equally verbose with both).
The Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) recognised my experience in marketing as a consultant, researcher, academic, and advertising professional by awarding the Certified Practising Marketer title to me. I served as a member of the AMI’s NSW State Committee and judged Marketing Excellence awards multiple times. For AMI NSW I hosted events that brought the marketing community in Sydney together. More recently, I host community gatherings of designers in Brisbane (and SEQ) to enable connection, collaboration, and exchange of ideas.
My relentless curiosity and appetite for learning have resulted in several graduation ceremonies (I look fab in that gown and the hat). My qualifications include MSc in Marketing Management from University of Surrey (UK), Masters in Tourism, Hotel and Event Management from University of Queensland, and an MBA. I’m also certified in positive mental health (USyd) and design thinking (Ideo). I love sharing insights on human experience and have been a guest speaker at University of Queensland and University of Sydney, and at other conferences and events including Insead.
Ilse Maritz
Consultant
I am a passionate people person with a mission to fine tune, streamline and truly understand employee life cycles. Building my career the goal was always to be a General Manager of a lodge or resort, but I quickly realised, it was ALL about the employees to me.
My knowledge and insight into this complexity we call “The Human Factor” is based on my experiences working in some of the most stunning locations in the USA, South Africa and around Australia. I completed a bachelors degree with honours in Hospitality Management and later and MBA in Hotel & Tourism Management, a cert IV in training and assessment and grad cert, with a deep interest, in psychology. Roles held from waitress, housekeeper, barista, duty manager, assistant manager, to front office manager and HR manager, from city locations to remote locations – my experiences provide a varied perspective and understanding.
A passionate presenter and influential mentor and coach, my journey now is supporting workplaces in navigating the people piece, or rather the employee experience.