Do you think your organization needs a Chief AI Officer?
We do have challenges at the moment that require, for example, a Chief Transformation Officer who is looking and assessing across different organizational departments. One of the pillars which would be able to drive positive change and potentially also spark significant uplift could be AI.
What are the cultural changes required to be leading in AI in your industry?
We need to be open to flattening hierarchies to ensure the right team size and team fit, which is especially important when it comes to brainstorming sessions and first implementation sessions related to AI. So, this is definitely going to be a key enabler that we need to be ready for.
How disruptive do you expect AI to become in the consumer goods and retail industry and how much disruption do you expect for your own leadership role?
We as an industry are really being challenged to be much quicker when it comes to our offering in general, our personalization, and targeting the right audience with marketing tactics, which will be very disruptive for us. And for me personally, being in a leadership position, I have a strong mission to adapt and embrace this change. These challenges already exist in our organization very strongly, but I’m looking towards them positively since I know it will result in significant efficiency gains.
How do you personally embrace AI and prepare for the AI future?
I believe we should test and learn for ourselves because I believe you can only talk about it once you have explored all the different tools yourself. Training is important, too – I'm scouting for a relevant training program for myself and also for my team.
Do you think AI is rather an opportunity or a risk for consumer goods and retail businesses, and why?
I believe AI holds a significant opportunity for these industries, especially for the digitization of retail – it's something we have been neglecting for too long, and now we are really being confronted with the power of AI. Our products have been developed for over 110 years, have a strong historical aspect, and include refined techniques. Our product also entails a strong sense of craftsmanship. So, for me, it's important that the personal aspect and the historical aspect are connected to our brand and valued as such; I hope it's not forgotten when we think about AI optimization, efficiencies, automation, etc.
What are the key factors for your organization to get prepared for AI-related changes?
It´s a lot about training. We have a strong reliance on our HR teams to support us with that. At the same time, we are also reviewing and auditing our existing tech stack and our infrastructure to be ready to onboard new tools because I´m a strong believer in the quick test-and-learn approach – trying out different tools for different purposes. Whether it is connected to marketing, visual merchandising, or retail supply chains, we have many areas where we see strong efficiency gains because of AI.
