In this debut episode of The CEO Spot, Rick Watson sits down with Dipti Desai, Founder and CEO of crstl, for an unfiltered look into one of the most quietly powerful protocols in commerce—EDI.

From her early days as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley to building mission-critical infrastructure for today’s omni-channel brands, Dipti shares the journey that led her to found crstl—a SaaS network designed to modernize the way suppliers and retailers communicate.

We explore:

• The surprising origin story of crstl during the PPE crisis
• Why EDI is more like the English language than a piece of legacy tech
• The difference between the application layer and the protocol layer—and why it matters
• How penalties, complexity, and digital transformation are reshaping supplier operations
• Why crstl doesn’t charge by seat and how it's enabling real collaboration at scale
• The future of B2B commerce in an age of AI, API, and protocol convergence

Whether you’re a founder, brand operator, or just EDI-curious, this episode unpacks how structured data exchange is fueling the future of retail—and why ignoring the "boring" infrastructure could be your biggest mistake.

Today on our show:

• NRF Files Suit Against NY State Law
• Why Is There No Best Practice for ECommerce Org Structure
• Amazon Quietly Cornering Market on Robot Patents
• LuluLemon in Markdown Hell

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Klarna CEO Claims They Will Be a Super App
• Walmart Investor Event Sheds New Light
• Should You Put a Chatbot In Front Of Your Retail Store
• Musings from CommerceNext and Mirakl’s Summit

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Saks Global Still Sounds in Trouble
• Facebook Says eCommerce is Great -- For Other People
• Jassy’s AI Memo Was a Snoozefest, In a Good Way
• Amazon Extending Prime Day Doesn’t Give me Warm Fuzzies

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Palantir Partners with Bolt
• Amazon Releases AI Video Generation Tools
• Sezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive Practices
• Walmart Releases New AI Tools

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Shopify MCP Server Raises More Questions Than Answers
• Could the AI Race Become a Hardware Race?
• Temu Half Off - Just In Time For Summer

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Salesforce to acquire Informatica
• Social Commerce Panel Reveals Influencer Importance
• Lowes Launches Its Marketplace
• Tariff Feud Event with Passport Recap

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

In this special CEO spotlight edition of the Watson Weekly, host Rick Watson welcomes Scott Eckert, newly appointed CEO of Mirakl, for an inside look at how his leadership is poised to accelerate Mirakl’s role at the heart of modern commerce.

With a distinguished career spanning innovation leadership roles at Dell, Rethink Robotics, and Walmart’s Store No. 8, Scott brings deep experience navigating the intersection of scale, agility, and emerging technology. Now at Mirakl, he’s guiding a platform that is redefining how retailers, brands, and third-party sellers thrive in an increasingly ecosystem-driven world.

💡 Key Themes Include:

• Scott’s journey from enterprise innovation to platform leadership
• Why now is a pivotal moment for marketplaces and retail media
• Mirakl’s vision: enabling, not owning, the commerce ecosystem
• How AI and first-party data are reshaping competitive advantage
• Building a flywheel for retailers, sellers, and consumers alike

💬 Scott also shares:

• What drew him to Mirakl at this stage of his career
• His priorities for Mirakl in the next 12 months
• What U.S. retailers must get right when launching a marketplace
• Why platform thinking beats platform ownership in today’s landscape

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Rapid Fire Headline Update
• Shopify Releases Its Summer Editions

- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today’s Watson Weekly is a special edition that is one of a series of three interviews  recorded at Shopware’s Partner Day on April 24th, 2025.  These were recorded in the basement of a German beer hall and restaurant, so I think those interested in the digital commerce complexity of serving manufacturers and distributors should find it a lot of fun.

In the final installment of our Shopware Partner Day series, Rick Watson chats with Ashley Laing of Pimcore to uncover how product information management is reshaping complex B2B ecosystems. From managing fitment data in industrial catalogs to orchestrating multi-channel content for sales, customer care, and ecommerce, Pimcore is tackling the data mess head-on. Ashley shares his global journey from consultant to VP, explains how AI is transforming catalog digitization, and offers strategic guidance for companies that are "too hard to do business with." Expect practical takeaways for building buyer-ready systems and future-proofing your product data stack.

📘 Curious how regulated complexity meets composable tech? Don’t miss Shopware’s whitepaper: Winning B2B in Regulated Industries

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly