1.What role does marketing and communications leadership play in supporting your brand’s international visibility and competitive differentiation?

A brand is only as strong as the problems it solves for its clients.

That’s why everything we do at DXC focuses on innovating for our customers—solving the challenges they face today and preparing them for tomorrow.

In this context, marketing has moved beyond traditional branding and advertising to become a key lever for business growth, encompassing a broader range of strategies to engage with customers, build advocacy, manage experiences, and gather valuable insights to create authentic connections.

We shape global perceptions of our brand by strategically engaging audiences across diverse channels, ensuring our message resonates and builds trust.

By creating compelling content, telling impactful stories localized for different global markets, and using data to refine our strategy and make smarter decisions, we’re able to position our brand as an innovative leader and thought leader around the world.

At the same time, AI has completely changed the game and redefined what’s possible.

It has created efficiencies that give our marketing teams the freedom to focus on strategic priorities, rather than work in silos.

The technology has facilitated cross-functional collaboration among marketing, sales, product and strategy departments to improve business outcomes and drive revenue growth.

AI’s democratization — of both data and knowledge — has meant that teams of all sizes, budgets and skills have been able to put AI tools to work across the value chain and to increase creativity and experimentation across marketing departments and companies.

2.How is your organization supporting senior leaders in becoming recognized thought leaders in areas such as AI or digital transformation?

In today’s AI-driven landscape, authentic thought leadership is more important than ever.

We’re working side by side with the business to combine DXC’s strategic priorities with meaningful storytelling that engages audiences and builds trust, credibility and competitive differentiation in the market.

We take a deliberate, multi-channel approach that includes high-impact speaking opportunities at global conferences, industry forums and executive roundtables where our leaders can share insights on emerging technologies and enterprise transformation.

These platforms position DXC at the forefront of innovation.

Our marketing and communications teams also work in close partnership with leaders to develop compelling thought leadership content (from bylined articles and LinkedIn pieces to industry spotlights and strategic customer narratives) that reflect their vision and our broader innovation agenda.

Our focus is on industries where our experts understand the unique business processes and challenges companies face.

We share insights shaped by real client engagements, and we approach thought leadership as a collaborative effort— drawing on perspectives from partners, customers, industry and academia to enrich the conversation and create shared knowledge that moves the world forward.

3.As AI reshapes business landscapes, how are you translating technical capabilities into business impact narratives for customers and stakeholders?

We frame every conversation about AI around what matters most to our customers - their goals, pain points and opportunities - rather than solely on the technology itself.

AI becomes real when it’s grounded in purpose and focused on outcomes that truly move a business forward.

That’s why we bring it to life through real-world examples that matter to our customers.

Whether it’s reducing the processing time of insurance claims, automating hundreds of banking processes, predicting equipment failures before they happen, or providing insights that improve inventory forecasting, we demonstrate how AI delivers measurable outcomes that make a difference.

Many of our customers are benefiting by starting small with AI and then scaling up as they see results over time.

This theme is powerful because it meets customers where they are— acknowledging both the opportunities and uncertainties of AI adoption.

For example, Singapore General Hospital empowered doctors to make critical decisions on antibiotic use in 90% of the time; Equitable Holdings cut customer service response times by 80% with a GenAI chatbot built and deployed in just 30 days; and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage used AI agents to sift through decades of bibliographic data, linking millions of digital materials from more than 6,500 libraries.

These examples illustrate our commitment to real, measurable impact—showing how AI drives meaningful progress across diverse fields.

We focus our narratives on stories of progress—not perfection—highlighting practical wins, lessons learned and the human impact behind the technology.

Our approach embeds AI seamlessly into our customers’ operations, making it a core part of their business strategy and go-to-market, not just an add-on.

4.What KPIs or performance indicators do you use to measure the impact of global marketing and communications efforts on brand equity and market perception?

Our focus is on client centricity, a practice grounded in data, driven by listening and placing the customer experience at the center of every business strategy and execution decision we make.

Our strategy starts with first-party signals: real-time feedback, advocacy indicators and the insights our customers share with us every day.

This intelligence is more than informative; it’s the golden thread that shapes how we design experiences, evolve our go-to-market approach, and continuously raise the bar on relevance and responsiveness.

By connecting insights across the full customer journey, we’re able to reinforce trust, deepen loyalty, and ensure our brand remains relevant in a world of constant change.

We’re also using analytics and real-time feedback to fine-tune what we say, how we say it, and where we show up.

Whether through digital channels, events, or executive engagement, we’re focused on being timely, credible and value-driven in every interaction.

And through our DXC Client Insight Exchange, a new white-glove program that we launched in February, we actively listen to our customers, gather direct feedback, and prioritize their unique needs at every turn.

We also collaborate closely with the CIO’s office to uncover more agile ways of aligning efforts—not only in demand generation, but throughout the entire funnel, all the way to conversion to drive business growth.

This is where tight collaboration between sales, the CIO’s office and other teams becomes crucial.

Our focus is always on the customer and the unique value we provide.

5.How do you ensure alignment between corporate messaging, innovation roadmaps, and public narratives communicated by executives and PR and marketing teams?

We ensure alignment by fostering close collaboration across teams, creating regular opportunities for knowledge sharing and maintaining a deep understanding of our business and our customers.

We do this by bringing together stakeholders from industry, offerings, marketing, communications and executive leadership to co-develop a unified narrative that reflects both where the business is today and its future direction, while staying grounded in feedback from customers, employees, partners and other key stakeholders.

This shared foundation helps us consistently articulate our value—from internal teams to the boardroom to the marketplace—with a clear focus on customer impact, innovation leadership and strategic differentiation.

DXC helps keep some of the biggest companies in the world innovating and growing, thanks to its strong global footprint and local expertise.

And I’ve witnessed the amazing drive and tenacity that keeps our consultants, experts and engineers focused on our clients’ desired outcomes.

To that end, we ground our storytelling—whether from executives, in press coverage, or through marketing and communications content—in real progress and outcomes.

We elevate real-world examples and measurable outcomes to show how our technology delivers value today, while signaling where it’s going next.

This is how we build trust, reinforce our position as an innovation partner, and ensure that we’re speaking with one voice, across every channel.

6.How is your marketing and communications strategy adapting to disruption in global technology markets, particularly around AI and enterprise transformation?

It feels like every day there’s a new AI breakthrough or use case that captures our imagination and sparks our creativity.

But this next wave of AI won’t come from quick fixes or isolated projects.

Instead, it will be driven by leaders and teams who are building on early successes and embedding AI deeply across their entire organization.

At DXC, we believe AI must be pervasive, not just used by leadership.

That’s why we’re building a culture where everyone is encouraged to use AI to do more meaningful, high-impact work.

For example, AI is rewriting the marketing playbook, with agentic AI automating workflows and freeing marketers to focus on strategy, customer connections and personalized experiences.

Building on this shift, my teams are embracing a hands-on approach to AI — experimenting with new tools and techniques that not only optimize click-throughs, but also to inspire better thinking, deeper human insight, and create more resonant storytelling.

And we’ve cut content creation and video production time by 30%.

This has enabled us to uncover faster, more effective ways to engage our audiences, transforming the function and sharpening our team’s strategic and creative edge.

A ‘learning by doing’ mindset sharpens our strategies in real time, helping us adapt quickly to market changes and deliver more personalized, impactful experiences.

But AI alone can’t drive growth — a human touch is essential to unlock its potential.

In lead generation, for example, AI now qualifies prospects so sellers can focus on relationships and marketers on strategic creativity—proving this isn’t about replacement, but about being better, bolder and faster.

The result: a new breed of super learners who embrace every opportunity to cultivate new skills, are nimble in the face of change, and are empowered to pivot into new areas of opportunity and push the limits of what AI makes possible.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

1. How is your organization adapting its retail media strategy to capitalize on the projected growth of in-store retail media spending, expected to exceed $1 billion by 2028? 

Yes, in-store growth is largely driven by the rise of brick and mortar stores becoming more and more digital. While 99% of retail media ad dollars are allocated to digital, 83.7% of retail sales still occur in brick-and-mortar stores (source). 

We’re approaching in-store media the same way we approached on-site, off-site, and social. Our goal is to act as the orchestration layer that allows RMNs to both monetize effectively, and to manage in-house initiatives with third-party messaging. In-store inventory management allows retailers to execute across the full workflow required to support advertiser expectations and their own ad sales business. 

“The projected $1 billion in-store retail media opportunity reflects how fast physical retail is becoming part of the digital ad ecosystem,” said Evan Bowen, chief business officer at Placements.io. “We’re helping Retail Media Networks unify their in-store and digital efforts with our technology as the orchestration layer. We’re streamlining workflows, aligning messaging, and enabling smarter monetization at every touchpoint.” 

2. What challenges have you encountered in integrating platforms with in-store digital signage systems to streamline ad sales and campaign management? 

Integrating with in-store digital signage introduces complexity, especially when systems vary widely across retailers. Advertisers are demanding the same level of visibility and attribution they expect from digital channels, including performance metrics tied directly to sales outcomes.

We recently completed an integration with Vistar Media to help standardize these experiences. Our focus is on normalizing data flows and creating a seamless orchestration layer that helps retailers deliver campaign results with confidence and clarity.

“As in-store media matures, advertisers expect digital-level performance and accountability in their physical –not just digital– environments, too,” said Evan Bowen, chief business officer at Placements.io. “Our integration with Vistar Media is helping close that gap. By unifying reporting, attribution, and campaign management, we help retailers deliver the metrics advertisers want and the operational efficiency they need.”

3. How do you balance the introduction of in-store advertising with maintaining a positive and non-intrusive customer shopping experience? 

It's important to note that despite the surge in digital ads, brick-and-mortar stores remain dominant in retail sales, accounting for approximately 83.7% of U.S. retail sales as of 2024 (Fit Small Business). This shows the significance of in-store environments in influencing purchase decisions.

“Despite the digital boom, brick-and-mortar still dominates the retail landscape,” said Bowen. “That’s why retailers are investing in the full in-store journey, from pre-visit inspiration to on-site signage and checkout. In-store media is no longer a silo, it’s a measurable, attributable part of the marketing stack.”

Successful retailers own their customer journey using loyalty and omni-channel content experiences, and they know their audiences inceptionally well. The in-store experience involves pre-store, in-store, and checkout customer journey, all pieces owned by the retailer in a trusted customer relationship. 

In-store signage fits neatly into the customer journey, where measurement, engagement and conversion can be attributed for the sale like all other touchpoints. Placements enables retailers to integrate in-store into their marketing stack for optimal customer experience and attribution.

4. How is your organization leveraging data from in-store media interactions to personalize advertising content and improve targeting accuracy? 

“Placements.io is focused on enabling retailers to process and activate performance data from multiple channels, including in-store, to achieve campaign optimization,” said Bowen. “Placements’ orchestration of media, customer data signals, and ad serving options make this achievable for retailers.” 

5. What metrics are used to assess the impact of in-store digital advertising on customer behavior and sales performance? 

Nearly a third (31.5%) of shoppers make immediate purchases after in-store discovery, compared to 19.1% who do so after online discovery.

The big question is did a customer see, while in-store, the signage messaging? Some technology is in place to achieve these measures, however the ‘exposed vs not-exposed’ measure has a high margin of error. The next measure is did a customer, or customers, purchase the products advertised on in-store screens while they were shopping? Product sales data shows the lift % in each store, for each product and product category, versus a holdout control basis. 

Other metrics include dwell time, interaction times with touchscreen formats, basket size and propensity to buy. Capturing this success metric with attribution to in-store signage messaging varies by partner and retailer category. 

“Yes, nearly one in three shoppers make an immediate purchase after in-store discovery, but proving causality requires more than sales lift,” said Bowen. “We look at dwell time, basket size, and touchscreen interactions, but also whether advertised products move faster in exposed stores versus control groups. Bringing these disparate signals together gives retailers a clearer picture of what’s working and why, so they can optimize for real ROAS, not just impressions.”  

6. What plans are in place to expand your in-store retail media capabilities to adapt to emerging technologies? 

“Our first step was to work with a market leader like Vistar Media working within our AdSalesOS platform to drive data and product innovation based on requirements,” said Bowen. “Our roster of retail customers have been driving our product suite with their vendor partners and advertisers, while integrating analytics into their ad decision-making and measurement.”

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. How are digital marketing strategies evolving to meet the unique challenges of industries like law, insurance, and healthcare?

Industries like law, insurance, and healthcare operate in high-stakes environments where trust, compliance, and expertise are non-negotiable. That’s why our approach to digital marketing for law firms, insurance digital marketing, and healthcare clients at 5WPR is rooted in precision and authority. We’re leveraging data-driven strategies, like advanced audience segmentation, contextual content development, and reputation management, to ensure our clients cut through the noise without compromising regulatory integrity. It’s not just about visibility anymore; it’s about credible, high-impact engagement, at the moment that matters, that earns trust and drives business outcomes.

2. How does a unified approach to PR and digital marketing contribute to achieving organizational goals across different sectors?

When PR and digital marketing operate in sync, the result is not just amplified messaging, it’s measurable momentum. At 5WPR, we build integrated strategies that connect brand storytelling with conversion-focused tactics. Whether it’s building authority in legal services, driving lead gen in insurance, or scaling reach in health and wellness, our digital marketing agency teams work hand-in-hand with PR to align visibility with value. This alignment ensures that every media mention, social interaction, or paid campaign feeds into a cohesive narrative that supports long-term brand equity and immediate performance metrics.

3. How is the demand for personalized content shaping digital marketing approaches in sectors such as health & wellness and insurance?

Personalization has moved from being a differentiator to a baseline expectation, especially in nuanced spaces like health and wellness digital marketing, and insurance. Consumers want to feel seen, understood, and valued. To meet that demand, we’re building dynamic content ecosystems powered by behavioral data, lifecycle insights, and predictive modeling. Whether it’s a personalized wellness journey or a tailored insurance solution, we help brands show up with relevance, delivering the right message, in the right voice, at the right moment.

4. What challenges do organizations face in ensuring that digital marketing efforts comply with industry-specific regulations and ethical standards?

Regulatory complexity is one of the biggest hurdles in industries like healthcare, law, and insurance. From HIPAA and FINRA to evolving data privacy laws, the stakes are high. Our teams are proactive in navigating these challenges, integrating compliance checkpoints directly into our digital workflow. We tailor our strategies to reflect not just legal requirements, but also ethical standards, ensuring our clients maintain credibility and avoid risk while still delivering high-performing campaigns. It’s a delicate balance, but one we’ve built deep expertise around.

5. How can companies balance innovation in digital marketing with the need for transparency and consumer trust?

Innovation shouldn’t come at the cost of trust; it should enhance it. At 5WPR, we believe that the most effective digital strategies are those that blend creativity with accountability. That means deploying emerging tech like AI, automation, or immersive content, but doing so with clear value exchanges, ethical use of data, and open communication. Especially in industries where decisions impact health or financial security, brands have a responsibility to be both forward-thinking and forthright. Our job is to help them strike that balance through smart, responsible digital storytelling.

6. What trends are anticipated to impact digital marketing strategies in sectors like law, insurance, and B2B services over the next few years?

We’re seeing several transformative trends take shape: AI-powered legal search, decentralized insurance platforms, voice-activated claims processing, and more personalized B2B buying journeys. These shifts will require brands to be not only agile but also deeply attuned to client pain points. We’re helping our clients prepare by investing in long-form content, zero-click SEO strategies, and hyper-targeted paid media campaigns. Ultimately, future success will come from marrying technical innovation with human-centric design, something we’ve embedded deeply into our approach to digital marketing for B2B, insurance, and legal industries.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. What role does leadership play in ensuring innovation initiatives remain aligned with employee values and customer empathy? 

At Freestar, it starts with a clear vision and strong core values that serve as a compass for every decision we make. Innovation only works when it supports that vision and stays true to what our employees and customers genuinely need. Without that foundation, it’s easy to drift. With it, we can evolve while staying true to who we are.

Evolution and innovation are constants in our industry, and we've worked thoughtfully to build a culture in support of this. But we never innovate just for innovation’s sake. We firmly believe that innovations must be driven by what our customers and partners truly need. That means not chasing shiny objects, not working in silos, talking to everyone, and using stakeholder feedback to shape solutions. We know that sometimes there’s a difference between what the customer actually needs and what they think they want. It’s our job to understand them well enough to decipher that difference. The goal is to create value, not novelty, particularly given our business model where we only win when our partners win.

Leadership’s job is to help carve the initial path, guide pivots, bulldoze the hurdles, and create space for top-down vision and bottom-up insight to meet. When innovation is not just new, but meaningful and values-driven, that’s where the magic happens. At Freestar, we believe we are playing the infinite rather than finite game and always do our best to focus on long-term impact, not quick wins. 

2. How does your organization balance digital transformation with maintaining a strong human-centered company culture?

Digital transformation should enhance the human experience, not replace it. Technology makes the hard things easy and the impossible possible. AI and technology allow us to exceed human potential. But what sets an organization apart is the humans behind it and the customer service.

It’s pretty simple: work smarter, not harder. We use technology for what it’s great at—data collection, speed, automation—so that our people can focus on what they do best: building relationships, solving complex problems, and delivering the high-touch, white-glove service that we pride ourselves on. The key is knowing when to rely on tech and when to lean on people. For example, automation can make a simple transactional process seamless. But when nuance or empathy is required—like with a high-stakes issue or a critical client need—a human should step in. There’s a fine line between using AI to improve outcomes and losing the human element altogether. We’re intentional about always navigating the line with an unapologetic bias for the human side of things.

Ultimately, great technology is only as powerful as the humans behind it. Our culture is rooted in empowering our team with tools that extend their capabilities, again, not replace them. We encourage the use of technology to give time back, offer clarity, and make space to focus on the human-centered work that truly moves the needle for Freestar.  We also try to leverage technology to meet our customers wherever they would like to be met, providing direct access to our teams via tools like Slack and Zendesk, which actually enhances the human connection. 

3. In your view, what elements of the customer journey must remain human-driven despite advancements in automation? 

Ultimately, I believe that sales will always be human-driven. It isn’t just about offering solutions. It’s about uncovering the right problem to solve. Often, the challenge a customer states isn't the real issue. They may articulate a certain pain point or challenge, but not the true problem. That’s where that irreplaceable human intuition comes in. A great salesperson digests more than just words or survey data. They are reading the room, picking up on tone and body language, and gathering those subtle cues to get to the root of the concern. There’s a nuance to conversations that automation, no matter how advanced, simply can’t replicate. The ability to build trust, ask the right follow-up questions, and adapt in real time is key to creating long-term value and successful partnerships. 

AI can absolutely support sales by offering insights, uncovering patterns, and saving time on remedial or repetitive tasks. But the core human interaction is still needed. It’s those person-to-person moments that uncover the underlying needs, create tailored solutions, act as holdovers when the train derails, and ultimately drive success. At Freestar, that human element isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s an essential part of our business. It’s how we solve problems and build lasting relationships.

4. How is your organization innovating to improve customer experiences without making interactions feel impersonal or overly automated? 

We focus on using innovation to enhance the customer experience rather than replace the human connection altogether. Our approach to customer service ensures there’s always a human available to jump in, but only when the customer wants or needs that support. It's about finding that balance of being present without being overbearing.

A key goal for us is reducing friction. We always want to resolve issues in the fewest number of interactions possible. That means getting the right people involved quickly, clarifying the request early on, and offering thoughtful follow-up. No customer wants to hear, “We’ll get back to you soon”—they want the answer right away.

When it comes to utilizing automation, there’s definitely a sweet spot. We always ask: is this helping the customer, or just creating another step? Helpful automation—like being able to track a ticket in Zendesk or receiving a smart notification about travel delays—adds value. But too much automation can feel impersonal and even frustrating.

We talk internally about the creepy vs. convenience scale. If it feels like tech is reading your mind, that’s only great if it’s actually helpful — nobody wants to feel followed. Our goal is to stay on the side of convenience. It circles back to that idea of finding the right balance. We want to deliver faster, smoother experiences without losing the human touch that builds trust and long-term relationships.

5. How do you evaluate whether a new innovation might unintentionally erode human trust or connection? 

Evaluating whether an innovation erodes human trust often comes down to gut instinct. To do this, we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, asking: Will this improve their experience or be more frustrating? If our offering ends up feeling like a “call-your-cable-provider” to get answers, that’s a huge red flag. At the same time, we try to stay objective. Sometimes automation brings real value. But we always weigh that against the potential for subpar customer service. If the savings or speed improve the experience and build trust, it’s a win. But if it leaves people wishing a human were involved, we’ve missed the mark.

Internally, we focus on helping our team thrive alongside automation by showing them how AI can amplify their potential. It’s about demonstrating how tools like AI can make their work easier, better, and faster, and ultimately help them grow in their careers. We also invest in a broad ecosystem of support—learning opportunities, mentorship, book clubs, and programs that connect employees across teams and levels. This helps reinforce internally that growth isn’t just about tech, but about human connections and knowledge sharing.

While we lean into automation where it adds value, we’re intentional about keeping a human touch. We always want it to be clear to our customers and our team that effort and care remain front and center.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. What are the strategic considerations for agencies when entering emerging markets with value-led initiatives?

When entering emerging markets, it’s crucial to lead with empathy and education. At Sotavento Medios, we prioritize understanding the unique challenges and cultural nuances of each market before offering solutions. We look at factors such as digital literacy levels, infrastructure, consumer behavior, and the local economic landscape. Our goal isn't just to introduce SEO services, but to co-create value with local businesses. That means tailoring campaigns that make sense for where the market currently is—not where we think it should be. It's also about being patient and building trust, rather than pushing for quick wins.

2. What approaches can agencies adopt to establish credibility and long-term relationships with local SMEs?

Consistency together with authenticity produces credibility. Sotavento Medios believes that real SME relationship development begins with active listening to business challenges. We provide strategic recommendations which are both transparent and achievable from that starting point. Our approach avoids false commitments because we teach our clients about digital transformation while becoming their strategic partners through the process. Our commitment to SME growth becomes evident through  free audits and consistent support.

3. How can agencies design programs that support SMEs in their digital transformation journeys?

We help overwhelmed SMEs simplify their digital transformation journey by dividing it into four distinct phases starting from awareness through optimization to automation and scaling. Sotavento Medios creates adaptable SEO digital marketing packages with minimal barriers which enable SMEs to enter the digital space comfortably. Our SEO company delivers tutorials and dashboards to help business owners gain control and empowerment. The key to digital transformation success involves giving business owner confidence and clarity rather than just investing in new technology.

4. How important is local community involvement for agencies expanding into new regions?

Sotavento Medios integrates fully into new markets beyond basic market entry. Local ecosystem membership instead of outsider status helps build trust and generates lasting positive relationships with the community. Our presence in the market remains grounded because of our accountability to it. Our genuine impact grows stronger when we provide more support to our community.

5. How should agencies adapt their offerings in response to changing economic conditions in different markets?

Agility is key. SMEs frequently need to reduce costs during economic shifts which is why we use SEO and content marketing  to deliver high return on investment at affordable prices. Sotavento Medios provides flexible modular SEO packages that enable customers to adjust their services according to their current needs. During challenging times we provide extensive education to our clients about maximizing marketing value from their investment. We track local economic indicators to modify our messaging and pricing structure alongside service delivery mix for staying relevant and providing support regardless of the economic situation.

6. What trends do you foresee shaping the future of digital agency services in the next five years?

The upcoming future will feature customized solutions and clear visibility combined with unified systems. AI and automation will dominate workplace evolution yet human interaction will become an increasingly important asset. Sotavento Medios actively prepares to serve clients who need personalized solutions and instant data analytics with ethical marketing approaches in a future market. Our SEO agency develops brand strategies that combine performance objectives with sustainability and purpose-driven marketing because these elements will become essential to brand success.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. Your career has spanned multiple industries, from startups to global brands. What key moments or challenges shaped your leadership style and approach to driving digital transformation?

This answer is really driven by two different paradigms: failure, and success.

When I was 26 years old I became the head of eCommerce for Lucky Brand Jeans – and I was fairly certain as a successful 26 year old that I was in fact god’s gift to the internet. However, I had never worked with creative people - and like most 26 year olds - I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was. We crushed it from metrics perspective, but culturally I was a fundamental disaster. However, it did teach me how to work with mentally diverse teams.

A few years later, I had the opportunity to work at Schiff Nutrition under a gentleman by the name of Tarang Amin. In one of our first meetings, Tarang, who had been the global head of Clorox and was infinitely more experienced and successful than myself, said: “You don’t know anything about the CPG world, and I don’t know a lot about the digital world. Let’s learn from each other.” Tarang transformed me into the leader I am today, and I am forever grateful to be able to call him a mentor.

The moral of the story: Digital Transformation is all about how you influence and transform a culture as much as it is the 1’s and 0’s of a P+L. If you don’t make the entire company a part of the transformation, you are doomed to fail regardless of immediate financial results.

2. eCommerce is evolving at an unprecedented pace. What are the biggest technological gaps you see today, and how can the industry innovate to bridge them?

For a function that is so technologically enabled, it’s shocking to me how little AI, particularly Generative AI, has influenced the actual shopping experience. Many companies have done things such as AI-driven chatbots in customer service, but very few are actually changing and optimizing how the customer experience adapts. The fact that many shoppers still experience ‘0 Results Found’ when searching for products is an indicator of just how far behind the industry is, because AI solves that problem in an instant. Or let’s look at recommendations. So many brands are using decades old segmentation methodology or content-based filtering to generate recommendations. Yet there are generative AI solutions on the market that understands a shoppers behavior in real-time and make hyper-relevant recommendations. This is the core reason why I joined XGEN — I want to make generative AI a key part of every eCommerce leader’s strategic roadmap.

3. With AI revolutionizing online retail, where do you see the biggest impact in the next five years—personalization, automation, or something entirely new?

The promise of ‘personalization’ has largely been a fallacy in the eCommerce world. The large asterisk besides personalizations is: as long as we have data on what you did in the past. 

Let’s look at shopping recommendations as an example. You go to your Amazon results, and what do you see for recommendations? You need more dog food. More diapers. More chicken strips. Why? It’s what you bought last time, and it has a fairly predictable consumption cycle, so the recommendation algorithm starts to react to your past purchase history.

For true personalization to happen, recommendations need to move away from reacting to a shopper’s historical data to predicting their next move. AI, especially Generative AI, can handle this with ease. The models are continuously learning from real-time user interaction. Every click, hover, and page view is a signal that helps the AI understand a shopper’s preference and predict a future need. 

The real beauty of AI though is that it’s engineered to handle this level of personalization at scale. Every shopper will encounter an experience that is truly unique to them. That’s a game changer for an industry that’s struggled to deliver this to-date.

4. Customer expectations are constantly shifting. How should brands adapt their digital strategies to stay ahead without over-relying on trends?

There is an underlying paradox here that needs to be addressed — customers want two things:

1. Hyper personal shopping experiences
2. To not give up more data than is absolutely necessary

Crafting personal experiences when knowing nothing about a user is hard - so what brands need to do is give customers a REASON to give them data and then deliver on the promise of hyper personal experiences, all while ensuring their security and making them feel safe.

Staying on top of customer expectations isn’t difficult when you make customers the center of what you do as a brand. I’m going to sound like a stuck record here, but GenAI really is the solution for this. Let’s look at the way search is currently deployed. If I want to find something in a brand’s product catalog, I have to input some form of keyword to get a result. If that keyword doesn’t exist in their product feed, I get a ‘0 results found’ message. Maybe I’ll get some recommendations. 

When brands deploy a GenAI search, the results are no longer tied to the data in the product feed. For example, I asked my 6-year old daughter to tell me a “look” she’s always wanted for me to look up in one of our brand’s eCommerce sites. She said (as most 6-year old girls do): I want to look like a unicorn. 

So I typed that into the search bar, and I got dresses that all had elements to them that resembled unicorns. My daughter was beyond thrilled! If you know the brand I’m talking about, you’d know that not a single person on their merchandising team would have thought to put a ‘unicorn’ tag on any of their exquisite dresses. 

The AI model intuitively understood a few fundamental things:

1. It knew what a unicorn was (hello trend of the day)
   
   
2. It knew what products closely aligned to the “look” of a unicorn (glittery, sequenced, colorful, etc.)
   
   
3. It did not need any additional detailed information to deliver the results that delighted my daughter 

When you’ve got a powerful GenAI solution like that in place, you can continually stay ahead of the curve. 

5. AI-driven automation is streamlining everything from inventory management to customer service. What’s the next frontier for AI in eCommerce?

Generative AI. Mic drop.

6. Supply chain disruptions have forced retailers to rethink logistics. What innovations do you believe will define the future of resilient and agile eCommerce supply chains?

Such a hard question because macro things out of our control can throw a wrench into this, but I think that is at the core of what retailers need to think about more and more — flexibility. We have to be able to make, distribute and support our products as location agnostically as possible, and build automated systems to allow for the macro disruptions we can’t control.

7. DTC brands are disrupting traditional retail models. What strategies should legacy retailers adopt to stay competitive in this evolving landscape?

Well, I think true DTC brands have a huge advantage and disadvantage at the same time. The advantage? If you are truly DTC you have a remarkable amount of control.  Control over the narrative, the pricing, the promotions, the product distribution.  However, you are also LIMITED by the fact that you can only market in a direct to consumer way.  

A legacy retailer needs to do everything they can to have that same level of control.  How are you making sure your wholesale partners and driving your narrative?  Featuring the right product? Not discounting you to death?

In a world where the internet has democratized the ability to FIND a product - controlling your brand becomes infinitely more important — and gets more important everyday.

8. With the rise of sustainable shopping and conscious consumerism, how can retailers balance profitability with environmental responsibility?

This is a tricky question.  A number of studies have come out with two factors:

1. Consumers want sustainability/conscious consumption
   
   
2. They won’t pay a significant premium for it

Brands that engage in sustainability as part of a key messaging need to embrace the fact that it is a reason to believe in a brand, not one that consumers in general will pay a massive upcharge for.

9. Charlie, as President and a leader in digital, data, and marketing, what are the key leadership principles that have guided your success in transforming businesses?

1. Build diverse teams — people that think differently and thus allow you to think of the problem differently.
   
   
2. Best idea wins - low ego, metrics driven optimization
   
   
3. Have fun. We are spending 10+ hours a day with each other, we might as well enjoy ourselves.
   
   
4. Winning matters. We are judged on results.
   
   
5. Innovation is a constant as opposed to one-off implementations.
   
   
6. Transparency is a full time job. Be honest with one another - even when it’s hard.

10. Looking ahead, what’s the one eCommerce trend you believe industry leaders can’t afford to ignore in 2025 and beyond?

If you are not utilizing generative AI in your day to day operations - ALL your day to day operations - you are going to fall behind. We have embraced it in a customer service/post sale world - but we haven’t even started thinking about what it can do on the front end of a customer experience, or even as a customer acquisition tool. I truly believe we all need to help solve this problem together and we will make our profession that much farther ahead of everyone else technologically and even more customer centric than it is today.