Do you think your organization needs a Chief AI Officer?
It makes sense to have someone within the organization who is a true expert in AI. AI is a big word – many people have different interpretations of it, so it's important that there is a standard in terms of using the technology, so that you can use it in many different areas of the organization. To align AI across the organization, you need to create a governance structure around it, otherwise, every department starts using AI in its own way and you can’t leverage learnings across the organization.
You also need to ensure a certain type of quality and that whatever you are going to test and learn, you can scale later.
What are the cultural changes required to be leading in AI in your industry?
I strongly believe in sharing experiences, results, tests, and whatever else we have worked on, for us to become better together. It's very important to build the right governance structure around AI, not just within the organization. I also think that you need to make sure that the board and other leaders in the industry are part of this and are supporting the use of AI tools.
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?
I don't see much disruption to my leadership role in my team because I think most of my team members are the type of people who already work with these kind of AI tools and are not afraid to use them.
But I see more disruption for my leadership role within the wider organization, as there is a lot of education to be done. We need to make sure that everyone is on board to use this technology and that they lose their fear of working with it.
How do you personally embrace AI and prepare for the AI future?
I'm a big fan of using and testing new technologies. In my area of responsibility, be it in the digital environment in e-commerce, or on the client and CRM side, I'm always happy to try out a new tool or technology to see what we get from it and if we can roll it out.
Do you think AI is rather an opportunity or a risk for consumer goods and retail businesses, and why?
AI presents a great opportunity for the luxury and consumer retail industry because it allows us to combine large volumes of data, detect patterns, and present our customers with more customized, personalized solutions and experiences based on their needs and behaviors. We need to make sure, however, that results are interpreted in the right way; it is a risk if someone doesn’t know if something is right or wrong.
What are the key factors for your organization to get prepared for AI-related changes?
One of the most important factors is to get the right talent, expertise, and knowledge into the organization. Working in the luxury industry, you typically don´t have a lot of analysts or data scientists, so we are just starting to acquire them. It´s important that we hire the right talent and make sure to provide a work environment in which people feel comfortable, a test-and-learn environment.
We then need to educate the rest of the organization, get everyone on board, and ensure we have the right tools in place. I think data cleanliness is also key.
