Retail is entering one of the biggest transformations in its history — and AI is at the center of it.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, Ruth Harrison, Global Consumer & Retail Goods Lead at Avanade, breaks down how conversational AI, intelligent automation, and AI-powered retail experiences are reshaping the future of shopping.

From AI copilots helping store associates in real time to hyper-personalized customer experiences, Ruth explains how the world’s leading retailers are preparing for an AI-first future — while balancing innovation with the human side of retail.

We also dive into:

• How agentic AI is transforming retail operations
• The future of AI-powered shopping experiences
• Why responsible AI governance matters more than ever
• How retailers can adopt AI without losing human connection
• The tools and strategies brands should prioritize before it’s too late

If you want to understand where retail, AI, and consumer behavior are headed next, this conversation is a must-watch.

#AI #Retail #RetailInnovation #FutureOfRetail #ConversationalAI #AgenticAI #ArtificialIntelligence #Shopping #RetailTech #CustomerExperience

Every company is becoming a technology company.

But most businesses still aren’t prepared for the cybersecurity, AI, and infrastructure challenges that come with it.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Roger Lewis, CEO of CMIT Solutions, to discuss scaling a national technology brand, the future of managed IT services, and how AI is changing business operations.

Since taking over CMIT, Roger has helped grow the company from $68M to $150M in revenue while building a service-driven organization designed to bring enterprise-level IT and cybersecurity support to small and mid-sized businesses across North America.

Before CMIT, Roger worked at IBM supporting NASA and the Space Shuttle program — experiences that shaped his philosophy around scalable systems, operational discipline, and mission-critical execution.

We discuss:

• The future of AI and cybersecurity for businesses
• Why SMBs are increasingly targeted by cyber threats
• How managed IT services are evolvingBuilding a franchise-based technology company at scale
• Creating a culture centered around service and trust
• What leadership looks like during rapid technological change

This episode is a deep dive into entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, AI, leadership, and the systems powering modern business.

#RogerLewis #Cybersecurity #AI #Technology #BusinessPodcast #Leadership #ITServices #Entrepreneurship #ManagedServices #Innovation #LegendsNLeaders

The advertising industry is going through a massive transformation.

AI, commerce, data, media, customer experience, and creative are rapidly converging — and traditional agency models are struggling to keep up.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Robyn Freye to discuss the future of agency growth, AI-enabled services, and why independent agencies are entering a powerful new era.

After helping scale major agency organizations and leading growth initiatives across the industry, Robyn recently joined CourtAvenue to help formalize and accelerate its next stage of expansion.

We discuss:

Why the agency industry is changing so quickly

The growing role of AI in marketing and customer experience

What enterprise clients are really looking for today

Why integrated capabilities matter more than ever

The rise of independent agencies versus traditional holding companies

Building scalable growth systems inside modern organizations

The future of media, commerce, experiential, and digital transformation

This conversation is a deep dive into leadership, agency innovation, AI, modern marketing, and the future of business growth.

#RobynFreye #CourtAvenue #AI #Advertising #Marketing #AgencyLife #DigitalTransformation #BusinessPodcast #Innovation #Media #LegendsNLeaders

What does it actually take to introduce a completely new consumer behavior into the market?

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Richard Mumby, CEO of Wip, to talk about building products that fit seamlessly into people’s everyday lives.

Richard’s career has centered around products that challenge traditional formats and rethink convenience, performance, and user experience.

Before Wip, he led commercialization efforts at Juul Labs and PAX Labs, helping scale products that reshaped entire industries.

Now with Wip, he’s focused on creating a cleaner, more portable approach to energy and focus through caffeinated pouches designed for modern consumers.

We discuss:

• Building a new category from the ground up
• The psychology behind habit-forming products
• What makes consumers adopt new formats
• Lessons from scaling some of the most talked-about consumer products of the last decade
• The future of convenience, performance, and functional products
• What founders misunderstand about consumer behavior
• How branding and product experience shape adoption

This episode is about entrepreneurship, innovation, consumer psychology, and what it really takes to create products people integrate into daily life.

#RichardMumby #Wip #Entrepreneurship #CPG #ConsumerBrands #Innovation #Startups #BusinessPodcast #Wellness #Performance #LegendsNLeaders

What would you do if you had to leave your country… and rebuild your life from zero?

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Olga Barabanova and Danil Kontsevoy, the founders behind Biky Bikes Corp. — creators of the lightest children’s bicycles in the United States.

After leaving their home, Olga and Danil rebuilt their lives as entrepreneurs in America and scaled an award-winning company in just three years.

We discuss:

• The emotional reality of starting over in a new country
• Building a company from scratch as immigrants
• Why children’s products are difficult to fund and scale
• How Biky approaches innovation and product design
• The future of connected and digitalized products
• Using technology to help address issues like missing children
• The mindset required to survive uncertainty and keep building

This conversation is about resilience, entrepreneurship, innovation, family products, and the determination required to create opportunity from adversity.

#BikyBikes #Entrepreneurship #StartupStory #ImmigrantFounders #Innovation #BusinessPodcast #Founders #Technology #Leadership #LegendsNLeaders

Retail has more data than ever before. So why do so many companies still struggle with inventory, forecasting, and seasonal planning?

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Matt Hopkins, Global Head of Retail Solutions at Board, to break down the hidden operational challenges reshaping modern retail.

Drawing from industry-wide insights and research around merchandise financial planning, Matt explains why fragmented systems, disconnected teams, and slow decision-making continue to hurt retailers in an increasingly unpredictable market.

• We discuss:
• Why seasonal retail planning keeps breaking down
• The real cost of fragmented merchandising and supply chain systems
• How AI and external data are improving forecasting
• Why agility is becoming the most important retail advantage
• The future of merchandise financial planning
• How retailers can respond faster to changing consumer behavior
• What modern retail organizations still get wrong about planning

This episode is a deep dive into retail innovation, forecasting, AI, supply chains, merchandising, and the systems powering the future of commerce.

#Retail #MattHopkins #AI #SupplyChain #Merchandising #RetailTechnology #BusinessPodcast #Forecasting #Innovation #Commerce #LegendsNLeaders

Streaming changed how people watch content.

Now AI is changing how advertising works inside it.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Kara Puccinelli from Nexxen to break down the future of streaming, connected TV (CTV), AI-powered advertising, and the evolving battle for consumer attention.

As platforms become more fragmented and viewing behavior rapidly shifts, advertisers are being forced to rethink how they measure performance, engagement, and impact.

We discuss:

The current state of streaming and connected TV

Why FAST channels are exploding in growth

How AI is transforming media buying and campaign optimization

Nexxen’s vision for predictive advertising using NexAI

Why attention metrics may matter more than impressions

The future of personalization in advertising

How brands can survive the next shift in media

This conversation is a deep dive into AI, media, streaming, advertising technology, and the systems quietly reshaping the future of digital attention.

#KaraPuccinelli #Nexxen #AI #Streaming #CTV #Advertising #AdTech #ArtificialIntelligence #Marketing #Media #BusinessPodcast #LegendsNLeaders

Advertising is changing faster than most companies can keep up.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with James Ramelli from Fyllo to break down the future of AI-powered advertising, audience intelligence, and what happens when privacy, regulation, and machine learning collide.

Fyllo has become one of the leading adtech companies focused on highly regulated industries like healthcare, finance, and politics — markets where precision, compliance, and data strategy matter more than ever.

We discuss:

• Why traditional advertising models are breaking down
• The rise of AI-powered targeting and contextual intelligence
• How privacy laws are reshaping digital marketing
• Why regulated industries are driving the next wave of adtech innovation
• The battle for consumer attention across platforms
• How AI changes the future of creative, campaigns, and customer acquisition

This episode is a deep dive into the future of advertising, AI, media strategy, and the technology shaping how brands reach people in the next decade.

#JamesRamelli #Fyllo #AI #Advertising #AdTech #Marketing #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalMarketing #BusinessPodcast #Media #LegendsNLeaders

Why do smart companies with talented people still struggle internally?

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Todd Holzman, founder of Holzman Leadership, to break down the psychology behind leadership, candor, culture, and high-performing organizations.

Todd has spent decades advising Fortune 500, FTSE 100, and Global 2000 companies, teaching leadership at Harvard and Columbia, and helping transform executive teams around the world.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• The real reason organizations struggle internally
• How honest conversations change companies
• The psychology behind influence and trust
• What separates good leaders from transformational ones
• Why “candor” might be the most underrated business skillLessons from coaching CEOs and executive teams globally

This episode goes far beyond business tactics — it’s about human behavior, communication, leadership, and the mindset required to create lasting impact.

#Leadership #ToddHolzman #Business #Psychology #Entrepreneurship #CEO #Culture #Management #Communication #LeadershipDevelopment #LegendsNLeaders

Before specialty coffee became mainstream, Todd Carmichael was building one of the most influential coffee brands in America.

In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, Todd Carmichael shares the incredible story behind La Colombe, the risks it took to scale the company, and why he decided to start building again with his newest venture: Loftiwater.

From traveling through some of the world’s most dangerous regions in search of coffee to transforming consumer expectations around cafés and ready-to-drink beverages, Todd helped reshape the modern coffee industry.

We discuss:

• The early days of building La Colombe
• What most people never see behind scaling a global brand
• The psychology of entrepreneurship and risk-taking
• How storytelling built emotional connection with consumers
• Lessons from exploration, business, and reinvention
• Why Todd believes innovation comes from discomfort
• His newest brand and what he’s building next

This episode is about obsession, creativity, resilience, and the mindset required to build something world-changing.

#ToddCarmichael #LaColombe #Entrepreneurship #Coffee #FounderStory #BusinessPodcast #Startups #Innovation #BrandBuilding #LegendsNLeaders