Savanrith “Savan” Kong
Savanrith “Savan” Kong is an award-winning executive and the Department of Defense’s first Customer Experience Officer (CXO), leading enterprise-wide customer experience transformation.
His cross-sector leadership spans defense, tech, and startups, driving digital innovation.
Khmer Voices Interview:“Seeing the Power of Privilege at Play”
When I talked with Vanny about privilege, it brought me back to my time at Lakeside School. As a kid from South Seattle—raised by Cambodian parents who fled the Khmer Rouge—walking into a school with alumni like Bill Gates and Paul Allen felt surreal. It was like stepping into a world I’d only seen on TV.
In the episode, we talk about what it means to move between two very different realities. My Khmer friends and I grew up just miles apart, but with drastically different access to resources, opportunities, and networks. Some of it was luck. Some of it was grit. And a lot of it was about trying to reconcile two identities at once.
Since then, I’ve spent my career working across tech and public service—from being the first employee at Redfin and co-authoring a patented real estate search technology, to serving as the first Customer Experience Officer at the U.S. Department of Defense. But the through line has always been the same: how do we make opportunity more accessible to those who’ve historically been left out?
This conversation with Vanny was a chance to reflect on that—and to share how those early experiences still shape the work I do today.
The Latest
"The Department is incredibly fortunate that Savan Kong chose to share his expertise with us and serve as our first Chief Experience Officer. Savan’s quiet strength, generosity, and deep expertise made a lasting impact. As Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer, I relied on him to develop the path to provide a dramatically improved user experience for our service men and women. He delivered. The results of his leadership are just beginning to materialize. HIs foundational work is shaping tomorrow’s investments and improving our service delivery to every user."
Leslie Beavers - CIO, Department of Defense
Reflections of My Journey as
DoD’s First CXO
Watch my conversation with Billy Mitchell, Executive Editor of Scoop News Group, as I reflect on my journey as the Department of Defense’s first Chief Customer Experience Officer—sharing lessons learned, challenges faced, and the future of CX in government.
“As the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Defense, I was privileged to work with Savan in both his role at DDS and then as Chief Experience Officer. For the latter, I requested him by name given everything is brings to table: leadership, vision, technical acumen, and, perhaps most importantly, an ability to provide the drive to even the hardest tasks. I was always impressed with his work and results, and he left DoD in a better place with both his assignments. He is an energy-giver who is absolutely one of the most innovative thinkers (and doers!) with whom I’ve ever served.”
John Sherman - Dean, The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M
“Savan is one my favorite people and an incredible teammate. He's been a leader, mentor, product manager, and all-around source of strength on the DDS team, particularly through a leadership transition. Anyone would be lucky to work with/for/near him!”
Katie Savage - Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Maryland Department of Information Technology
Source: Linkedin
“Quite simply, Savan is one of the best user experience and design experts I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Beyond his creative talent, Savan also has the proven ability to manage people and efforts toward a goal, drive projects to completion, and inspire his team into action. He consistently acts quickly and effectively to elegantly deliver visuals that delight our customers and enhance their experience. With little feedback, he can fine-tune a vision into a complete user experience. Savan has been a key member of the team that is helping Kareo launch its biggest initiative to date, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of all of his hard work.”
Dan Rodrigues - Co-Founder and CEO, Tebra
Source: Linkedin
At 45, my body feels incredible.
I’m not running marathons anymore. My pace is slower. My recovery takes longer. But I’ve learned how to care for myself in ways I didn’t when I was younger. That care is more patient now. Less about proving something. More about sustaining something.
We spend a lot of time working on our physical well-being. Diet. Exercise. Sleep. But lately I’ve been asking: How much time do we spend working on becoming more compassionate? More self-aware? More present for the people around us?
And just as importantly: How are we working on becoming someone who exists outside of our title? Outside of our output?
Because strength at 45 isn’t just about physical ability. It’s about what you carry and who helps you carry it.
Recently, during a business trip, I got a call that my father-in-law had suddenly gotten sick. My wife and brother-in-law were home, scared. And I was far away, at a conference, trying to stay composed.