Yang Luo’s initial interest in technology began when she immigrated to the United States from China at the age of 12 and did not speak a word of English. “Technology was a big equalizer for me,” she says. “When I went to a computer science and programming course in high school, nobody knew the language.” It gave Lou an opportunity to learn something new with his peers.
He joined luxury giant Tapestry eight years ago, in part to drive the technology transformation the company was undergoing through a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of Stuart Weitzman in 2015, and Kate Spade two years later. The purchase was included. Tapestry worked quickly to consolidate and harmonize all technology, across all brands, and for nearly all geographies, except China.
This means that almost all software, point-of-sale systems at retail stores, inventory management, supply chain, and all other technologies are synonymous across the business.
Lowe, who took over as CIO in September, says the advantage of this structure is that Tapestry is able to test a technology solution for a brand and, if they like it, roll it out to the rest of the portfolio. Get out. And the company is okay with occasional setbacks. “My mantra is that repetition is the new perfection,” Lowe says.
In her new role as Tapestry CIO, Lowe was poised to apply the same playbook to Capri — owner of the Versace and Michael Kors brands — which Tapestry was set to acquire for $8.5 billion. But Tapestry formally canceled the deal this month amid efforts by the FTC to block it on anti-competitive grounds.
“We always have multiple avenues and ways to enable our brands to grow,” says Lu, adding that Tapestry is confident in its business and “excited that the Street is just as confident. ” Tapestry’s shares rose 9 percent on Thursday after the deal closed.
With Capri now off the table, Lu can devote more time to innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, which she says can increase employee productivity and improve the customer shopping experience. is
A recent example is a new AI-enabled tool that creates more emotionally evocative descriptions for handbags and other accessories that go beyond simple product dimensions. “We were able to roll out quickly for one brand, Coach, and then see really high conversion and high revenue per visit,” says Lu, who later applied the technology to two other brands. What did
Tapestry Chat is piloting an internal version of GPT, a chatbot called Stitch, that pulls data from company industry research, policies and procedures to answer employee questions. The company is also starting to use AI to monitor and correct coding errors, explore relationships with AI image generators to create creative assets, and use AI and machine learning for price flexibility. is, which allows a retailer to command the highest possible price. Goods without seeing a drop in demand.
Another tool is called “Tell Rexy,” named after the dinosaur emblem often featured on Koch’s bags, wallets, and keychains. Store associates can audio record shopper feedback—including thoughts about products or even if the holiday music playlist isn’t hitting the right notes—and creative AI summarizes insights that are shared with the corporate office. are
Tapestry encourages the company’s workforce, including IT, to visit stores frequently and talk to associates and customers. “Every technologist needs to think about the business first,” says Lowe.
As for AI, cloud, and other technologies, Tapestry explores relationships with multiple vendors depending on business needs, including Amazon and Google. For AI, Tapestry plans to take three paths, according to Lu: build its own solutions, partner with vendors for Tapestry-specific tech, and buy off-the-shelf.
“It’s our job to tie it together seamlessly,” Lowe says.
John Cale
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good luckThe second annual AI 50 Innovators list is out today! You can see all the companies that made the list here, and read more about the trends in AI that made this year’s list in a story written by Truly You.
And if you’d like to join us for the Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco from December 9-10, you can find information and request an invite here. It will include top business and tech executives. Rohit PrasadAmazon Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist, Artificial General Intelligence; Liz ReidGoogle Vice President, Search; Christopher YoungMicrosoft’s Executive Vice President of Business Development, Strategy, and Ventures; and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernickwhich has its own AI startup.
News packets
Equinix CIO, CISO have left the company within weeks of each other. Milind Wagle, Chief Information Officer, Equinix; Dropped data center operator. After 14 years in September, Chief Information Security Officer Michael Montoya stepped down earlier this month. “The two departures are unrelated, and neither departure is related to a cyber incident,” a company spokesperson said. good luck Equinix’s VP of global IT infrastructure, Greg Ogle, is serving as interim leader of the information security organization pending the appointment of a new leader, the representative added in a statement. The IT department will be led on an interim basis by Nicole Collins, EVP of Business Operations.
ChatGPT outperforms human doctors in disease diagnosis. gave The New York Times A report on a study which found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 outperformed human doctors in diagnosing medical conditions, bested physicians who had no assistance from AI technology, as well as those able to use a chatbot. were The study was small—only 50 doctors were involved in the experiment—but it opens up interesting avenues for exploring the potential role of creative AI in medicine.
The IT outage halted British Airways flights. Flights from Heathrow Airport There was a delay Monday due to an IT problem that affected communications systems and delayed dozens of British Airways flights. Media outlets Reported The airline’s website and app also appeared to be down at one point during the outage, with delays mostly affecting domestic flights as well as flights to other parts of Europe and North America.
Big Tech’s Big Mistrust Week Bloomberg Reports that Justice Department officials will ask a judge to force Google to sell its Chrome browser and seek measures related to data licensing and AI, proposals Google says would harm users and developers. Separately, Elon Musk Edited a case In filing new antitrust claims against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which it co-founded, and Microsoft and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman as defendants. Musk, who runs his own AI company, accuses the companies of colluding to compete with Nix (OpenAI calls the allegations “baseless”). Meanwhile, the European Union slapped meta-platforms. $840 million fine for allegedly violating antitrust laws related to the Facebook Marketplace. The social media giant plans to appeal the decision.
The adoption curve
AI’s ROI focus varies by business size. Oh New survey More than 500 CIOs and IT leaders found that smaller organizations are far more ROI-focused, with 40% of tech leaders at companies with 250 to 500 employees saying they are willing to shelve AI projects that lack a clear ROI. is This is double what the big companies say. While smaller firms often have less budget flexibility for emerging technologies such as AI, this approach may seem short-sighted, as even the most rapid AI proponents argue that the real benefits will come from this experience. which exceeds the productivity of employees.
Measurement is also an area that C-suite leaders should be addressing more strongly. A survey by software provider Gong found that six in ten CIOs believe that either increased revenue or time saved in the workplace will justify AI investments, yet Only 32% actively measure both.
Jobs Radar
Recruiting Services:
– Carey International Group is Searching for a Chief Systems OfficerBased in Orlando, Florida. Posted Salary Range: $175K-$225K/yr.
– OTB is Looking for an IT Directorbased in New York City. Posted Salary Range: $175K-$180K/year.
– New York State Office of Information Technology Services is Search for Deputy Commissioner for TechnologyLives in Albany, New York. Posted Salary Range: $137.5K-$191.4K/year.
– Accordion is Seeking a Director of IT M&Abased in New York City. Posted salary range: $200K-$230K/year.
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