Ludo’s career reflects the dynamic evolution of customer engagement, blending traditional and digital channels to meet the ever-changing demands of businesses and consumers. Since starting in the industry in 1999, Ludo has been at the forefront of customer experience innovation, leveraging emerging technologies and data-driven strategies to enhance loyalty, retention, and customer value.

Ludo is the Lead Operational Excellence at Voys, where he focuses on enhancing operational strategies to deliver seamless communication solutions. At Voys, Ludo helps shape innovative approaches to customer engagement, empowering businesses to connect meaningfully with their customers and fostering impactful communication experiences. He brings a strategic vision to the table, ensuring that operations not only run efficiently but also align with Voys' mission to redefine how organizations interact with their audiences in a digital-first world.

Before joining Voys, Ludo built a distinguished career in customer engagement, starting in 1999. In 2010, he co-founded WebCare Company, pioneering the use of social media as a customer service platform. Under his leadership, the company grew into a key player in social media engagement, ultimately becoming part of RIFF, where it continues to serve organizations across Europe and beyond.

Earlier in his career, Ludo held leadership positions at SNT, the Netherlands' largest outsourced contact center provider, and at utility companies like Essent and Nuon. His work in uniting marketing and operations to develop highly effective retention strategies has been widely recognized. Across these roles, Ludo consistently delivered results by focusing on customer-centric innovations and leveraging the potential of new digital tools.

In recent years, Ludo has advised leading global brands—including Philips, adidas, Arla, McDonald’s, KLM, and Schiphol Airport—on improving customer experience and innovating in customer service. His strategic insights have helped organizations break down operational silos, optimize customer journeys, and adopt advanced technologies to deliver exceptional outcomes.

Ludo is also a recognized authority on digital and social customer engagement. Since 2003, he has shared his expertise at industry conferences like the Social Service Congres and the Social Media World Forum London, as well as academic institutions. His talks emphasize the importance of understanding customer needs, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and embracing the service potential of digital tools.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Ludo is committed to the human side of customer engagement, believing that meaningful communication and authentic connections drive both personal and business success. He draws inspiration from his international experiences in Singapore and Jakarta, where he helped set up customer service operations, as well as from his leadership roles in dynamic organizations.

Whether working on innovative solutions for global companies, refereeing hockey matches as a KNHB bonds referee, or sharing insights on operational excellence, Ludo is passionate about connecting people, driving impact, and shaping the future of customer engagement.

The CX Lens podcast

Ludo curates a weekly podcast, fully made by AI. Check the latest episode and subscribe for a weekly CX leadership update.

Listen to the podcast from CRO.CAFE with Ludo and Polle de Maagt about customer service. (This conversation is in Dutch)

Emerce Engage 2019

Building HockeyUmpire

from Umpire to product

Ludo Raedts is not a developer who decided to build a sports app. He is a hockey umpire who got tired of using tools that didn’t work when it actually mattered.

For years, he stood on the field managing matches under pressure—tracking time, decisions, cards, and momentum, all within fractions of a second. Like most umpires, he tried different apps. Some were too complex. Others too limited. Almost all of them required attention at the exact moment he couldn’t afford to give it.

During a match, there is no room for friction. No time to navigate menus. No patience for unclear interfaces. What an umpire needs is clarity, structure, and control—without thinking about the tool itself.

That gap became increasingly obvious. Not in theory, but in practice. Every weekend.

Instead of adapting to imperfect tools, Ludo decided to build one himself.

Not as a traditional developer, but as someone who understands the reality of the game. Using AI tools like ChatGPT and Codex, he designed and developed HockeyUmpire step by step—always starting from one question: what does an umpire actually need in this moment?

The result is not a feature-heavy app, but a focused system built around real match situations.

HockeyUmpire is designed to reduce cognitive load, not add to it. It is watch-first during the match, where speed and simplicity matter most, while the iPhone provides structure, setup, and post-match insight. Every element is built to support the flow of the game, not interrupt it.

It is also built with a clear philosophy: everything you need, nothing you don’t.

The app works for youth and club referees who need simplicity and reliability, but it also provides depth for more experienced officials who want to capture and analyze their matches in detail. The Pro features are not an upsell during the match, but an extension afterwards—turning a match into insight.

What makes HockeyUmpire different is not just how it works, but where it comes from.

Ludo uses the app himself, every weekend. And after almost every match, something small changes. A detail in the interface. A flow that can be improved. A decision that can be supported better next time.It is not built once and released. It is continuously refined in the exact environment it is designed for.

That is why HockeyUmpire is not positioned as just another tool. It is built to become the standard match app for hockey umpires. Not because it claims to be the best, but because it is designed around the reality of the people who use it.

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