Meet the ITSM Experts Who Are Changing Service Management in 2026
Ahmad ZakariaJanuary 15, 2026The next wave of IT service management will be very different from the last. Remote workers expect the same level of service no matter where their hardware sits, executives are measuring experience rather than ticket closure, and artificial intelligence is already taking over routine support.
Yet the practice of ITSM remains full of recycled slides and tired frameworks.
That’s why in this list, we’ve covered individuals who are actually changing how service management works.
They talk regularly about service level agreements, yes. But they’re also redesigning them around user experience, pushing for ethical AI adoption or fixing the hardware logistics problem that every remote team has felt.
How we chose the ITSM experts on this list
To make this list as useful as possible, we asked six questions about each person:
Do they have real‑world impact? They either lead or advise meaningful ITSM transformations.
Do they share their knowledge? The experts here publish checklists, podcasts, playbooks, or papers that are open to everyone.
Do they reach a community? Followers, students, and customers here show whose ideas are actually being adopted.
Are they original? Fresh frameworks and bold opinions matter more than repeating ITIL slides.
Do they represent different worlds? The list includes people from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, and from software vendors, consultancies, and end‑user organisations.
Are they pushing the field forward? They talk credibly about AI, automation, DEX, and hardware lifecycle logistics.
You might not agree with all of them. That’s the point. This is a starting map of who to watch, follow, and occasionally argue with.
The ITSM experts you must follow in 2026
Each entry below includes a short description of their background and why they’re worth following. Now on to the list.
1. Chris Herd
Founder & CEO, Firstbase
Who: Founder and CEO of Firstbase, a global platform for managing and deploying hardware to distributed teams. Over the past eight years, he’s built a reputation as a thought leader in remote work, operations, and the future of IT infrastructure. Herd is also an active investor at Logos Labs, focusing on startups shaping the future of work.
Edge: Brings data-backed insight from enterprise rollouts, showing how lean IT teams can support thousands through automation and strong lifecycle logistics.
LinkedIn: Chris Herd LinkedIn
X: Chris Herd X
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: Automation | Global logistics | IT support ratios
Benefit: Clear, practical guidance on how distributed IT can scale without headcount bloat.
Firstbase, under Chris Herd’s lead, is changing how IT teams handle hardware for remote staff. With a 360° inventory dashboard and a virtual IT Closet, companies get live asset tracking and 100% self-service for employees, anywhere. Security is built in, with NIST 800-88 certified data destruction and zero-touch provisioning as standard. Want to see it? Take the self-guided tour and see how real remote device management should work.
2. Dominique Chavez
Who: Founder of DMCLLC and trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, and CIOs in regulated industries.
Edge: Brings insider expertise from rescuing failing enterprise programs, reframing IT issues as governance and ownership failures rather than tooling gaps.
LinkedIn: Dominique Chavez LinkedIn
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: Accountability | Structural truth | Lifecycle ownership
Benefit: Sharp, executive-level insight that helps organizations avoid drift and regain operational integrity.
3. David Ratcliffe
Who: Co-founder and President of Pink Elephant, one of ITSM’s longest-standing global influencers.
Edge: Pioneered ITIL adoption in North America, delivering the first ITIL Foundation course in 1997 and shaping decades of capability-building across enterprises.
LinkedIn: David Ratcliffe LinkedIn
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: Practical alignment | Process capability | Real-world improvement
Benefit: Veteran perspective grounded in what actually works in large environments.
4. Luigi F.
Who: ITSM & cybersecurity consultant, trainer, and host of The ITSM Practice Podcast.
Edge: Deep hands-on expertise applying ITIL, ISO 20000, and ISO 27001 across global enterprises, with a security-first approach that aligns risk, people, and processes.
LinkedIn: Luigi. F linkedIn
YouTube: Luigi. F YouTube
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: AI governance | Risk alignment | Framework application
Benefit: Actionable, practitioner-level insights for teams modernizing both ITSM and security.
5. Bob Roark
Who: ITSM strategist and creator of The Grove ITSM Method™, used across federal, Fortune 100, and public-sector environments.
Edge: Helps teams shift from reactive ticket-chasing to outcome-focused service delivery built on measurable trust.
LinkedIn: Bob Roark LinkedIn
X: Bob Roark X
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: ITSM modernization | Outcomes | Team performance
Benefit: Practical frameworks that help IT move from chaos to business-aligned delivery.
6. Paul Brandvold
Who: ITIL® 4 Master, writer, and advisor helping teams simplify ITSM without diluting rigor.
Edge: Known for translating complex frameworks into clear, human-centered guidance used by leaders, vendors, and practitioners.
LinkedIn: Paul Brandvold LinkedIn
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Clarity | Practicality | Value articulation
Benefit: Straightforward, no-jargon insight that improves process adoption and helps leaders communicate ITSM’s business impact.
7. Stuart Rance
Who: Founder of Optimal Service Management and ITIL® 4 lead architect with decades shaping global best practices.
Edge: Author of ITIL Service Transition (2011), co-author of ITIL Practitioner, and lead author of RESILIA Cyber Resilience.
LinkedIn: Stuart Rance LinkedIn
Website: Optimal Service Management
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Strategy | Value creation | Systems thinking
Benefit: Deep, precise guidance from someone who wrote the frameworks teams use every day.
8. Barclay Rae
Who: ITIL® 4 Architect, consultant, and industry award winner with 30+ years of experience improving service organizations.
Edge: Former itSMF UK CEO, lead editor of Create, Deliver & Support, and long-time SDI contributor and auditor.
LinkedIn: Barclay Rae LinkedIn
Website: Barclay Rae Consulting Ltd
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Metrics | Practical change | Team performance
Benefit: Clear, real-world insight on how service teams can modernize without drowning in process.
9. Stephen Mann
Who: ITSM writer with 15+ years of specialization, supporting vendors, service providers, and enterprises with high-quality thought leadership and structured RFP guidance.
Edge: Brings a rare dual perspective from years in consultancy, internal audit, product marketing, project management, and four years as an analyst at Ovum/Omdia and Forrester.
LinkedIn: Stephen Mann LinkedIn
Key artifact
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Why follow
Themes: ITSM | ITAM | ESM | Employee experience
Benefit: Research-backed content shaped by deep vendor and enterprise insight, especially useful for teams refining product messaging or selecting ITSM tools.
10. Claire Agutter
Who: Founder of Scopism and long-time service management leader with a career spanning helpdesk, operations, consultancy, and global training.
Edge: Recognized HDI Top 25 Thought Leader (2017–2019) and frequent nominee for Computer Weekly’s Top 50 Women in UK Tech, with deep expertise guiding organizations through every stage of their SIAM journey.
LinkedIn: Claire Agutter LinkedIn
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: SIAM | Community building | Service management evolution
Benefit: Experience-led insight on SIAM adoption, sourcing models, and new ways of working, supported by years of hands-on consulting and ecosystem building.
11. Michelle Major-Goldsmith
Who: Global ITSM and SIAM consultant, trainer, author, and mentor with 20+ years of work across multiple continents.
Edge: Lead Architect for the SIAM Professional BoK, founder member of the SIAM Foundation BoK team, contributor to VeriSM, co-author of the VeriSM Pocket Guide, and recognized as a Global Top 25 Thought Leader in Technical Support & Service Management (2020).
LinkedIn: Michelle Major-Goldsmith LinkedIn
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: SIAM architecture | VeriSM | Change leadership
Benefit: Deep, system-level insight shaped by decades of hands-on consulting, authorship, and award-winning leadership in service management evolution.
12. Katrina Macdermid
Who: Entrepreneur, award-winning author, and global authority on IT service management known for integrating human-centred design into ITSM practice.
Edge: ITIL Master, former ITIL Global Ambassador, contributing author to every ITIL 4 publication, and creator of Humanising IT™, a book and podcast series that has reshaped industry conversations from CIOs to service desk analysts.
LinkedIn: Katrina Macdermid LinkedIn
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Human-centred design | ITIL | Modern service experience
Benefit: Visionary, practitioner-tested guidance that reframes ITSM around people, both the users receiving service and the professionals delivering it.
13. Simone Jo Moore
Who: Award-winning consultant, writer, and speaker known for humanising IT and embedding ethical, emotionally intelligent practices into modern service management.
Edge: Dave Jones Award recipient, HDI Top 25 Thought Leader, contributing author to VeriSM and ITIL4 High Velocity IT, Editorial Director of The Youth Rise in Power and The Era of HumanisingIT docuseries.
LinkedIn: Simone Jo Moore LinkedIn
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Ethical IT | Emotional agility | Humanising IT
Benefit: Deep, multidisciplinary insight into service management by integrating neuroscience, organisational behaviour, and humane leadership.
14. Roy Atkinson
Who: Writer, analyst, and globally recognized service-industry influencer known for guiding organizations toward better service and service management through strong practices and smart technology adoption.
Edge: Featured by The Economist, Computerworld, BizTech Magazine, and more, contributor to major works on Digital Transformation and IT Change Management.
LinkedIn: Roy Atkinson LinkedIn
YouTube: Roy Atkinson YouTube
Key artifact
Why follow
Themes: Service management | CX–IT convergence | Digital-era leadership
Benefit: Credible insight from one of the industry’s most trusted voices on how customer service and technology shape modern service management.
15. Ian Aitchison
Who: Senior product management leader with a long track record scaling product teams inside global SaaS vendors across ITSM, ESM, ITAM, SAM, DEX, and EUC.
Edge: Known for shaping product strategy and contributing to the global ITSM community through speaking, writing, and co-hosting the Enterprise Digital Podcast.
LinkedIn: Ian Aitchison LinkedIn
Website: Aitchison Insights
Key artifact
Click here to view the complete post
Why follow
Themes: Digital experience | Product leadership | Automation and AI
Benefit: Practical, future-facing insight from someone who has built product organizations at scale and actively shapes conversations across the global ITSM ecosystem.
Putting the insights to work
A list like this is only useful if it changes what you do next quarter. Add two or three new voices to your daily scroll, pick a framework or idea that challenges your thinking, and try it out in your own service desk. Plug your favourites into LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and podcast apps and start implementing steps that fit your organizational needs.
ITSM is changing fast. So staying close to the people actually shaping it is one of the easiest ways to avoid blind spots.
Written by
Ahmad Zakaria
Ahmad Zakaria covers IT operations, hardware lifecycle management, and distributed workforce solutions at Firstbase. His content is built from real customer data, operator interviews, and hands-on experience managing devices across 150+ countries.
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