In one of the nation’s leading nonprofit, Catholic health systems, where compassion meets innovation, Brian Jones is a go-to force driving contact center transformation. As a senior specialist at Ascension, Jones isn’t just implementing customer experience (CX) solutions; he’s redefining how technology, teamwork and trust intersect.

Using his unique blend of technical mastery, business acumen, humble leadership and unwavering dependability, Jones has guided the organization through a seamless migration to the Genesys Cloud™ platform. This process included streamlining CX-related solutions to reduce technical debt, rethinking processes and setting new standards for efficiency.

His leadership style and CX successes have earned Jones the 2025 Genesys Orchestrators Innovation Award in the Orchestrator of the Year/Supervisor – Team Leader category.

Jones leads from the front lines — literally. He devotes considerable time to testing new Genesys capabilities, ensuring that when opportunities arise, the development team is ready before business units even think to ask.

“Brian puts hands to the keyboard and tests the technology, thinks out of the box and tries multiple ways to reach a solution. His curiosity to learn all that’s possible really sets him apart,” says one colleague, who also noted that he especially values how “Brian remains grounded with his team. Their collective success matters most.”

Jones encourages team inquisitiveness while recognizing each member’s unique talents and perspectives.

His collaborative relationship extends to the Genesys product team, often resulting in brainstorming sessions that drive innovation forward, creating a feedback loop that benefits both organizations.

Consistently Reliable and Relatable 

In his own words, Jones describes his style as “just trying to be extremely reliable and relatable.”  

His leadership philosophy is grounded in personal accountability. “I don’t delegate a task I would not do myself,” said Jones, who helps leads a close-knit team of about seven analysts and specialists at Ascension. “And I set the same high expectations for myself as I do of my peers with respect to the tasks we need to get done, the product we deliver and how we interact with others.”  

Jones’s leadership style and work ethic are built from values that transcend the workplace. “Personally, my faith, reliability and transparency, as well as my focus on continuous improvement and innovation, hard work and exceeding expectations are characteristics I’ve intentionally woven into everything I do inside and outside the work environment.” 

One way this is evident is in Jones’s approach to collaboration. He’ll ask questions that lead him to fully understand his coworkers’ perspectives. “This allows me to better relate to them,” said Jones. “And then I’ll say, ‘Let’s figure out how to move forward together.’”  

And when Jones makes a commitment, he sticks with it, even when timelines extend or challenges mount. “I may tell someone that this is a ‘not now, later project’, or that it’s just going to take a little more time than what they’re expecting,” he added. “I get that they’re trying to do something special, and I want to help them accomplish it.” 

Always being there for colleagues builds and reinforces trust and engagement. “Brian inspires greatness with his own practices,” said one colleague. “He invests time in his team to help them meet their own potential. And he demonstrates an incredible calm in the face of great pressure, inspiring confidence.” 

Jones compares his leadership style to managing technologies: “If you set up new solutions and you don’t manage them, they’re not going to do what you need in the long run. You need to tune the AI, for example. You can’t just set it and forget it. I have that same approach with people. When I’m working with you on a project, I’m going to be here for you and I’m going to monitor your progress, and I’m going to teach you how to succeed.”

Creating Long-Term Connections 

Jones recalls his early days at Ascension, when implementing the Genesys PureConnect® application was his “Green Belt project,” and marked the start of a new chapter for the organization’s contact centers. When he moved over to the Ascension Technologies division in 2017, Jones took responsibility for managing the suite and, as he put it, “wearing the Genesys hat only.” 

With his guidance, Ascension has successfully migrated to the Genesys Cloud platform; implemented Genesys Cloud Agent Copilot and Supervisor Copilot for multiple lines of business; developed a proof of concept conversational AI experience for the organization’s centralized scheduling and insurance lines of business; and more.  

He’s led internal user groups, built an Ascension-specific how-to library for developers comprising video and document resources, and served as an internal Genesys Cloud expert to train his team. Plus, Jones advocates to Ascension business leaders where to invest in new technologies and recommends the best implementation strategies for those solutions. 

In the past year, his focus has shifted to building plans for and testing innovative technologies such as Genesys AI-powered copilots and beta features. Despite the evolution of his role, colleagues from across Ascension still reach out to him directly for guidance on all things Genesys because of the deep connections he’s fostered over time — even though there’s a formal support process in place. “There’s a familiarity or something there,” said Jones of these relationships.  

Jones has shown that true CX transformation is as much about people as it is about technology. By pairing innovation with trust, and vision with hands-on leadership, he’s not only helped advance CX capabilities at Ascension, but also inspired confidence across the organization. For Jones, every solution is built to last — and so is the trust behind it. 

Read about all of the CX leaders recognized in the 2025 Genesys Orchestrators Innovations Awards.