• How is the role of the retail CIO evolving from technology operator to enterprise growth strategist? 
• Which strategic decisions made over the next 24 months will determine whether retailers become AI leaders or fall permanently behind? 
• How should CIOs balance investment across AI, cybersecurity, modernisation and customer experience when budgets remain constrained? 

• How can CIOs balance rapid AI adoption with EBIT-positive delivery?
• What separates retailers who get measurable ROI from AI spend from those who don't?
• How do you build a "business capability" view of spend rather than a project-by-project one, especially at scale?
• What's the single biggest reason AI investments stall before they reach ROI and whose job is it to fix it?

• How can organisations close the AI skills gap using internal academies, low-code and citizen development?
• How should leaders address burnout, mental health and growing retention challenges?
• How can responsible AI governance be embedded into everyday culture and workflows?
• How can fusion teams, blending internal talent with embedded external expertise, support faster, safer innovation with less risk?

• How is AI reshaping the way consumers research, discover and buy — and is agentic commerce about to change retail as fundamentally as e-commerce once did?
• Where are the highest-value, lowest-risk use cases for AI inside the retail business today?
• What leadership culture and skills will retail need to build for the next phase of AI-driven change?

What will retailing look like in 5 years? What will the customer journey look like in 1 year, 2 years or 5 years?

Join our speakers as they reflect on the insights shared through this event and analyse what this means for the retailers and IT team of the future.