Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

Retail is no longer about transactions, it’s about designing experiences that create joy.

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Prat Vemana, Chief Information and Product Officer at Target, about how one of the world’s largest retailers is redefining customer experience across digital and physical channels.

Prat shares how Target is embedding design into every layer of the organization, leveraging AI to power conversational commerce, and building a unified, multi-channel journey that blends convenience with inspiration.

Key highlights include:

Why Target views itself as “in the business of joy”

How UX is evolving into an enterprise-wide capability

The shift from search and browse to conversational discovery

Building AI-ready data through semantic and contextual layers

Deploying agentic AI to accelerate decision-making at scale

What does it take to turn a portfolio of legacy retail brands into a scalable technology platform?

In this episode of Technovation, Kumar “Kartik” Kartikeya, SVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Catalyst Brands, shares how he is building a shared operating model across data, AI, and customer experience to unlock enterprise value at scale.

Leading technology for a $9B multi-brand retail ecosystem, Kartikeya explains how selective centralization enables faster innovation while preserving brand identity.

Key insights include:

How shared data and AI capabilities drive cross-brand scale

Why “one plus one must equal three” in platform strategy

The role of Consumer 360 in personalization and growth

How AI is improving both employee productivity and customer experience

Why CSAT is the most important KPI

Most enterprises struggle to see beyond their immediate priorities. Toyota built a system to solve that.

In this episode of Technoventure, Ro Gupta, Managing Director of Woven Capital, explains how Toyota uses a “speedboat” venture strategy to identify and act on emerging technologies before they become obvious. Drawing on his experience as both a founder and investor, Ro shares how corporate venture capital can unlock not just financial returns, but strategic foresight.

Key topics include:

The “speedboat” model for enterprise innovation

Inside-out vs. outside-in investment strategy

How Toyota partners with startups at global scale

The future of mobility across AI, energy, and space

Lessons from operating at both startup and enterprise levels

AI disruption is no longer a future scenario, it’s already reshaping the workforce. In this episode of Technovation, Andrew Yang, Founder & CEO of Noble Mobile, author of Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? shares why job displacement is accelerating faster than leaders and policymakers can respond.

A former presidential candidate and founder of the Forward Party, Yang has been warning about automation’s impact for years. Now, he explains why those predictions are becoming reality, and what must change.

Key highlights include:

Why AI is already eliminating white-collar jobs

The case for taxing AI instead of human labor

How universal basic income could stabilize the economy

Why policymakers continue to lag behind innovation

Lessons from launching Noble Mobile to challenge incumbents

AI is becoming the missing layer that transforms agriculture from a physical practice into a data-driven system.

In this episode of Technovation, Feroz Sheikh, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Syngenta, shares how AI, data, and digital platforms are reshaping how farmers make decisions and how innovation scales across global agriculture.

Key highlights include:

How AI completes the evolution of agriculture’s “jigsaw puzzle”

The role of interdisciplinary teams in driving innovation

Real-world AI applications across R&D, supply chain, and farming

Democratizing advanced science for farmers worldwide

Using data at scale to predict and prevent crop disease