Agenda Day 1
8:00 am - 8:30 am
EVENT REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:30 am - 8:35 am
CDO RETAIL EXCHANGE WELCOME
8:35 am - 8:45 am
OPENING ADDRESS FROM THE CHAIR
Matt Large -
Data Leader,
UNiDAYS Ltd
8:45 am - 8:50 am
LIVE POLLS
8:50 am - 9:35 am
KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION: THE 2026 RETAIL DATA PLAYBOOK: FROM DATA GOVERNANCE TO SCALING AI - FUNDING, FOCUS, AND WINNING IN A FLAT-GROWTH MARKET
Matt Large -
Data Leader,
UNiDAYS Ltd
Matthieu Quenard - Strategy & Transformation Director, Shiseido EMEA, Shiseido Co Ltd
Dominik Olejko - Retail CX & Loyalty Expert, Top 50 Retail Voice 2026
Nick Punj - Head of Data & Automation & D&A Portfolio, River Island
Calvin Ferns - AI, Data & Analytics Lead, Crew Clothing Company
Hazel Finlayson - HEAD OF DATA INSIGHTS, Bella & Duke
With retail sales flattening, volumes declining and retail confidence still in negative territory, CDOs are being asked to deliver AI-led growth without much top-line tailwind. This panel unpacks how data leaders secure funding, prioritise ruthlessly, and influence the C-suite in a squeezed retail environment.
9:35 am - 10:05 am
PLENARY PRESENTATION: THE AGENTIC FLYWHEEL - HOW AGENTIC ANALYTICS WILL PROPEL COMPANIES INTO A NEW ERA OF AI-ASSISTED DECISION MAKING
Marcos Monteiro -
CEO & Co-Founder,
Veezoo
With AI models like OpenAI's GPT 5 Thinking and Anthropic's Opus being able to reason, Business Intelligence is on the verge of a paradigm shift. Once synonymous with dashboarding — or “PowerPoint for Data”— BI is now evolving into a system where AI actively helps us answer our most business-critical questions.
As AI advances, it won’t just assist—it will ask thousands of questions in the time it takes a human to ask one. But will we be able to trust its results?
• Hear how Veezoo are tackling the challenge of enabling thousands of business users at major companies to receive insights they can trust with the help of AI.
• Learn how Agentic Analytics will propel companies into a new era of AI-assisted decision making.
• Discover that trustworthy AI needs more than “throwing a model on top of the warehouse
Black Sheep Coffee is opening shops at pace while building its data capability from the ground up. In this interactive Think Tank, discover how the data function has evolved into a fast-growing capability, driving operational decision-making and preparing the ground for AI. Collaborate and discuss what “AI readiness” really looks like, how to structure data teams in high-growth retail, when to look externally vs. build in-house, and how to maintain trust in data as the business scales. Come prepared to share your own lessons learned, including what hasn’t worked, so everyone leaves with a clearer roadmap to their next phase.
Lean teams and cautious budgets mean many “data products” never make it past the pilot slide deck. This session focuses on discovery, adoption, and go no no-go criteria that keep your initiatives focused and impactful.
11:55 am - 12:25 pm
PLENARY PRESENTATION: DEATH OF THE DASHBOARD: CONVERSATIONAL ANALYTICS FOR AGILE RETAIL
Nicole Ferreira -
Global Senior Manager of Inbound Operations Analytics,
QVC
Static dashboards slow commercial teams in a high-velocity retail environment. Conversational analytics turns every colleague into a data-ready decisionmaker. This session explores how natural language interfaces, real-time insights, and human-guided AI can replace passive reporting with intelligence that moves the margin weekly. Learn what governance and data quality foundations must be in place to make it safe and scalable.
• Examine why dashboards miss the ‘why’ behind commercial shifts.
• Identify data foundations required before NLQ and co-pilots.
• Build decision support copilots for trading and marketing teams.
• Prove ROI quickly with adoption metrics and lightweight implementation.
12:25 pm - 12:55 pm
PLENARY PRESENTATION: THE NEW RULES OF DATA INTELLIGENCE IN THE AGE OF OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The old rules of data no longer apply. In the Age of Intelligence, organisations must go beyond siloed systems and fragmented insights to deliver truly personalised and trusted, omnichannel customer experiences. Success now depends on building a real-time, connected view of every customer — a dynamic Customer 360 — fueled by high-quality, unified data that drives retention, loyalty, and growth.
In this session, Reltio will outline the new rules of data that financial services companies must adopt to compete and win in the Age of Intelligence. Learn how data leaders — CAIOs, CIOs, and IT executives — can modernise their enterprise data foundation to ensure every customer initiative is powered by complete, consistent, and trusted information.
Attend this session to:
- Discover how a real-time Customer 360 and trusted data foundation improve customer retention and lifetime value.
- Learn how an agentic data fabric, built on unified and high-quality data, accelerates transformation across your enterprise.
- Gain practical, actionable strategies for deploying omnichannel, customer 360 experiences across financial services, ensuring your organisation stays ahead of the curve.
Representative of Reltio
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
NETWORKING LUNCH
Lightning Debates encourage quick thinking, concise expression, and active engagement. The debates are intellectual sprints, challenging you to articulate viewpoints on controversial issues effectively within tight time constraints. Vote with your feet, choose a side and defend your point of view.
2:35 pm - 2:40 pm
LIVE POLLS
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm
PLENARY PRESENTATION: FROM DATA ISLANDS TO INTELLIGENT INSIGHTS: HOW SEMANTIC LAYERS AND KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATIONS ENABLE AI-READY RETAIL DECISIONS
Cristina Rutgers-Astolfi -
Global Head of Analytics,
Ikea Customer Support
How do innovative retailers unlock smarter, faster business decisions in a world of disparate data and rapid AI adoption? Join us to explore practical, real-world approaches to centralising data, establishing shared semantic foundations, and preparing organisations for AI-driven insight — while navigating stakeholder resistance, legacy constraints, and the need for tangible business value.
*Hear lessons learned on centralising, reconciling, and democratizing data, achieving a single version of the truth and driving stakeholder ownership.
*Run through the practical steps and tool choices for designing and implementing semantic knowledge bases to enable trustworthy AI-driven insights.
*Discover tactics for winning buy-in, managing expectations, and shifting from reporting to actionable business insight.
*Explore strategies for integrating AI and third-party data, ensuring real-world value, interoperability, and controlled innovation across retail operations.
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm
INTERACTIVE “FAILURE FORUM”: THE GREAT AI COVER-UP: WHY 80–95% OF RETAIL AI FAILS (BUT SOMEHOW EVERY SLIDE DECK SAYS IT’S A SUCCESS)
This session is designed as a safe, interactive space where you can openly share and dissect real AI failures anonymously, work together to try to turn these breakdowns around or use them as a warning not to go there.
Building a durable data culture is an uphill struggle. Swap playbooks for KPI councils, enablement hubs, and adoption tactics that fit the multi-brand realities of retail.
5:30 pm - 6:25 pm
CHAMPAGNE HOUR & ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS: DATA & AI ARCHITECTURE BY MATURITY: ROUNDTABLES FOR FOUNDATION, INTERMEDIATE, AND ADVANCED RETAILERS
Simply choose the level of data and AI maturity most relevant to you and join the discussion. Bring Your Backlog- These roundtables turn the collective expertise in the room into your own roadmaps—focusing on the biggest obstacles to delivering data and AI value
6:25 pm - 6:30 pm
CHAIRPERSON’S CLOSING REMARKS
Matt Large -
Data Leader,
UNiDAYS Ltd
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION
