Retail AI Meets ROI
Webinar Speaker: Fern Halper, TDWI VP Research, Senior Research Director for Advanced Analytics
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET
Retailers operate in a margin-constrained environment where growth must be precise, measurable, and defensible. TDWI research has found that generative AI has created enormous interest across industries, with 60% of respondents in a recent survey indicating they are building AI assistants. Agentic AI represents the next evolution, moving beyond passive assistance to autonomous, goal-driven systems, and we are seeing growing enterprise interest in how it can drive measurable ROI.
Many organizations are beginning to explore agentic AI to automate tasks and operationalize workflows. Yet for retailers, the challenge is not simply deploying agents; it is proving that AI can move from experimentation to sustained financial impact. As investments in data platforms, machine learning, and generative AI grow, executive teams are asking a simple question: Where is the return?
Join TDWI VP of Research Fern Halper and leaders from Databricks and Algonomy, along with one of Asia’s most respected retail CIOs, as they examine what it takes to turn agentic AI into a measurable performance engine for retail planning. This discussion will focus on how retailers can operationalize AI across planning processes, including grounding innovation in governed data, scalable architecture, and clearly defined business KPIs. Topics include:
- The current state of agentic AI and why it represents the next phase of AI maturity
- How AI-driven planning has evolved, from spreadsheets and machine learning to autonomous, agentic systems
- High-ROI retail use cases across inventory optimization, assortment localization, and pricing and markdown strategies
- How a unified data and AI foundation enables governed, traceable, and KPI-driven AI applications
- A practical framework for defining value, aligning AI initiatives to measurable outcomes, and scaling what delivers margin impact
Guest Speakers
Ravi Shankar
Chief Business Officer
Algonomy
Ravi Shankar is the Chief Business Officer at Algonomy, where he is focused on driving sustainable revenue growth and delivering measurable business outcomes for over 400 retail clients worldwide. With more than 20 years of experience, he is a seasoned SaaS executive with deep expertise in scaling AI-led retail solutions and enterprise-grade analytics applications. Prior to his current role, Ravi led Algonomy's global customer function as Chief Customer Officer, where he established the company's client success practice and nurtured several decade-long, multi-million dollar client relationships.
Bryan Smith
Industry Lead, Built On Partner Solutions
Databricks
Bryan is the Industry Lead for Databricks' global Built On Partner Solutions team, where he works with ISV partners to design and bring industry-focused SaaS solutions to market on the Databricks platform. With decades of experience spanning retail, CPG, consulting, and enterprise data strategy, he helps partners build differentiated offerings that align with real-world customer needs — and supports the go-to-market motions that drive adoption worldwide.
Paul Howe
Managing Director – Thailand & APAC
Ready Management Solutions
Paul is currently the Managing Director for Thailand and APAC at Ready Management Solutions, an IT consulting firm specializing in strategic advisory and business integration. He advises organizations on aligning technology strategy with business priorities and delivering large-scale transformation.
With more than 35 years of experience in business and IT operating models, Paul previously served as Global CIO for CP Group (CP Axtra/Makro/Lotus), leading enterprise-wide digital transformation and global technology portfolios. Earlier, he spent 15 years at Oracle as an Enterprise Solution Architect specializing in retail technology.
Fern Halper, Ph.D.