National Retail Federation

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿? Major consulting firms increasingly seem to think so. The pendulum has clearly shifted from “Every company needs a CAIO” to “The CEO must lead AI.” As someone who has long questioned the reflex to create a new executive role for every new enterprise priority, I welcome the shift. But I think calling the CEO the Chief AI Officer goes a bit too far. The CEO’s essential role is to serve as the company’s advocate and champion for AI, and to ensure that the board, executive leadership team, and workforce share the same definitions and understanding of the company’s AI strategy. A complete enterprise AI strategy has five elements: 1️⃣ The operating model—who is accountable for what 2️⃣ The high-level technology strategy 3️⃣ Prioritization and investment process 4️⃣ Success measures 5️⃣ Governance The CEO must ensure that these five elements form one coherent enterprise strategy. But that does not mean the CEO personally owns or manages all five. The CIO or CDTO should typically own the technology strategy. Business and functional leaders should own their AI priorities and outcomes. The CFO should help establish investment discipline and credible measures of value. Legal, security, risk, and audit should own critical aspects of governance. The CEO owns something different that is indispensable: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹. Only the CEO can resolve competing claims of ownership across the executive team. Only the CEO can ensure that accountabilities are explicit, enterprise capabilities are not fragmented, and every leader understands where their authority begins and ends. I discussed this distinction in a CEO session at National Retail Federation Nexus last week. My central message was simple: The board can endorse the AI strategy. The executive team can execute it. Employees can adopt it. But only the CEO can ensure that all three groups are hearing—and acting on—the same strategy. The CEO’s job is not to own every element of AI. It is to ensure that every element has an accountable owner. #EnterpriseAI #NRFNexus #OrganizationalDesign

What is stopping your business from scaling with AI? 🤖 It isn’t the technology. During his keynote at Nexus last week, “Break Your Business – and Rebuild It Better,” our Chief AI & Revenue Officer, Wesley Haar, ter, shared how AI is fundamentally restructuring the marketing landscape. True transformation requires moving past incremental gains and rebuilding the operating model for an agent-first reality. “The technology is ready. If you're looking at use cases, the tech is already good enough to do great work. The real bottleneck is us as humans,” he shared. Success in the post-agency era depends on getting teams to fully buy into changing their day-to-day work, collapsing content supply chains from months to days, and having the internal readiness to disrupt your business from the inside out. ⚡️ Thank you to Nexus for having us!

I loved listening to Gigi Guerra on National Retail Federation’s Retail Gets Real podcast! Gigi shared more on Target's approach to brand collaborations and what it takes to create partnerships that resonate with our guests. So much of the work happens long before a collection hits stores, and this episode highlights the strategy, collaboration and creativity that make these launches successful. Kate Spade, Roller Rabbit, Pokemon, Parke + many more! Worth a listen for anyone interested in retail, brand building and the power of great partnerships. 🎧 Cc: Emily Mackessy

49 days days until #NRF2026: Retail's Big Show Europe hits Paris on September 15th, 2026, packed with groundbreaking AI technologies addressing the top priorities on every retailer's mind. For a sneak peak at the top technologies featured in this year’s Innovators Showcase – check out these trailblazers powering everything from customer retention to online conversion: Shoptimus AI, NeuCurrent, Good Growth, Widgera, The Shelf Influencer Marketing Agency, Alpic, Gennoctua, and CartConnect.  And that's just the beginning… more of the lineup is coming soon. Mark your calendar and meet us in Paris. #NRF2026 #NRFEurope #InnovatorsShowcase #RetailTechnology #Startups #ConsumerTech #AgenticCommerce #AI

Brian Beitler of QVC Group talks keys to winning in retail and why industry collaboration matters at events like #NRFNexus.

#NRFNexus 2026 brought together leaders in digital, marketing and tech to exchange ideas, gain new perspectives, and build meaningful connections. A special thank you to our Title Sponsor, American Express, for partnering with us to create an unforgettable experience.

From bags and tumblers to snacks, skincare and more, our #NRFNexus Gifting Partners helped attendees stay fueled, refreshed and ready for every moment of the event.