Future of eCommerce, The Customer Experience, & AI Value Creation | Chandhu Nair | Stories in AI

Chandu welcome to stories in ai how are You today Hey i’m i’m good ganesh and thank you For inviting me over i’ve always been a Fan of stories in ai and uh you know It’s a privilege to be part of it Now it’s it’s uh i’m grateful that you Actually could find time in between Getting infected with coed and moving And you know big jobs and everything Going on so thanks so much for taking The time Why don’t you get started with uh give Us your life story you know talk about Your background a little bit let the Audience get a view of what’s your Background what shaped it and to got you To where you are today Oh absolutely thank you Well you know so um just like most folks From southern part of india you know Uh i grew up um You know learning computers uh and Picked up my computer engineering degree And landed on a software engineering job You know that’s where i started but you Know luckily it was on a very Uh very small startup kind of ecosystem We were building out at that time what Would be we didn’t know at that time What would be powering up you know the Back end for core big e-commerce Platforms okay this was early 2000s um So stop so definitely come from an

Engineering background that’s where i Started and That company went through uh multiple Acquisitions you know obviously uh you Know was part of enforcers at the stock But it kind of gave me the opportunity To kind of go to uh consult and Implement this in large retailers so Purely by luck is kind of how i landed In the retail ecosystem and i’ve been There for the last uh 20 years Uh with various roles of uh you know From being an engineer to a consultant To an architect a management side of Things to uh you know product management Um kind of the big thing in terms of you Know with digital native companies Coming into play so i took into more of A product role when i Switched to staples i would say about This point probably about you know 14 15 Years ago i’m aging myself here a little Bit Um But but you know it’s been a phenomenal Journey i spent about 10 years of my Retail career there i’ve seen kind of The ups and downs of uh you know uh the Office supplies industry if you will in Uh and staples yeah um Uh and you know took a took mood into Product move into core ecom running the The core ecom strategy and the business Side of things

Uh but always been a you know uh I like to i like to kind of look at Myself as a connector i like to connect The dots where you know where you have Gaps in customer journeys and what the Customers are looking for uh whether That is through looking at data that is Looking at Experiences looking at actually speaking To the customers if you will Um and then you know um took a break uh Took uh you know uh Started doing you know the startup bug Did catch me uh again so went on to kind Of build another startup on data Analytics space um and also had a Consulting uh gig i’ve been very close To the boston startup ecosystem right From you know my time at staples and i Moved to boston What i did was you know Looking at a lot of startups coming out Of boston boston is a great ecosystem Staples at that time it also kind of Engaged me for looking at startups both From a m a perspective also from Strategic partnerships perspective and So the bug is Literally did bite me hard so i you know That and i started a you know small Syndicated fund you know to to look into The Startup ecosystem had a startup on the Side

Uh through kind of that work you know uh Landed in An engagement with uh with lowe’s and uh One thing led to another you know found An opportunity to uh Uh i would say build startups with you Know within a very large company and you Know 100 year old you know company Undergoing digital transformation And that’s where i am i’m heading up uh Our customer engagement and ">marketing Products and technology at lowe’s it’s Been a it’s been a great journey But you know always keep learning always Listening to what the customers are Saying always listening to the Technology landscape um that’s why i Listen to stories in ai because i get to Hear from a lot of leaders perspectives And how they look at it No no thank you and i love how you Describe yourself you’re a connector of Sorts right like connecting the dots and I like how you actually brought it back To the with your retail and omni channel Experience connecting the dots in the Customer journey to make that experience Really solid right and it’s pretty Amazing right you know we we You know we had the e-commerce boom and Then we had covet and we had the bigger E-commerce omni channel boom right Because it truly became omni-channel Postcode because you know the the i

Think the big thing in my view what Happened with coved was the dislocation Of where the economic activity is what Was the physical or geographic locations Right people started working remote and You know when you’re like a you know a Large retailer and you know store is Important but online and the omni Channel experience across the two become Became even more important right Postcode so i want to explore a little Bit of that evolution of the the the E-commerce in general but also just the Future of multi-channel omni channel Kind of commerce right so with you so Why don’t you you know from your vantage Point you’re in this amazing place and By the way like you know you’re you’re It’s fun you actually describe your Background what you do and stuff and It’s a little nuance that i noticed Which i think the audience would Appreciate right you’re you’re Responsible for data and infrastructure And technology right but then you’re Like look it’s all about the customer Experience and those are just building Blocks that you need to actually support That experience that came through when You were actually even describing what You do so pretty amazing but explore a Little bit for me uh the future of this You know e-commerce i mean where are we Today and what does different from and

Like we we all know what we’re reading The news and stuff but someone is Looking at it understanding customers at A great level Uh explore that for me what’s the future Of e-commerce Yeah hey it’s a great question now i i Don’t you know i’m gonna maybe kind of Predict my thoughts into here and you Know we’ll see how this plays out over The next Five years so um you know if you think About you know um Digital native e-commerce like amazon Coming into play like very uh you know Early 2000s i mean a lot of the Retailers didn’t really see uh you know Digital native companies as a big threat And suddenly you know the realization Had you know kind of i would say Mid to late 2000s and it’s like oh We got a problem right And and it really boiled down to the Convenience factor that um that you know Any of these you know digital native Players brought into the equation Um the in what really started doing you Know in general was to kind of say hey Should i just go and create that model Yeah and i think that’s and that led to A lot of the you know you sit back in um Yeah You know retail conferences from 2000s You’ll hear omni channel multi-channel

Like that has been a journey it still Comes up almost every every every Conference you can’t kind of stay out of There but the real In my perspective to look at it is Really like uh you know where is the Customer how do you meet the customer Where they are Right i mean and and if you look at the Customer and the customer of the future If you will they’re gonna value uh they Look they’ll look at a few things one is You know am i getting value Is there How convenient is it for me to to get What i need or solve my problem and then Are you respecting my privacy right that Is going to be a big big factor and i’m Going to anchor in a little bit on that Because that’s going to change the way Not just from a technology standpoint Like how you know how shopping and Commerce will evolve And that you know becomes the Ingredients for a true uh you know a Hybrid commerce you know or or you know An omni-channel kind of way of thinking Um And then pandemic actually kind of Created that shift if you if you think About it uh i mean that shift was always Happening and then suddenly you don’t Have access to physical world because of Obvious you know health considerations

And whatnot we suddenly realize a lot of That can be digitized and we can access You know those things and There there’s behavior shifts that Happen in the in the customer and the Consumer base which is gonna some of That is gonna stay right so now the Digital world the the successful Companies um In the space to me are the ones that Would always Find bright balance of having the right Physical and uh And and the digital experience and and With those three things i said like how Do you uh how do you make sure that the Customer feels like they get the value That they’re looking for Are we solving their problem how Convenient is it to solve the problem And are you respecting their data and Privacy which is the underlying factor Of everything so so so in our world like Lowe’s world i mean it’s always been a You know A very hybrid journey if you think about How you do home improvement projects so You just talked about me i had a big Recent move to charlotte from boston uh And i have a ton of home projects Happening in the new home where i just Landed in And when you think about it so i’m kind Of eating my own dog food right but for

Those you know how to how does each of These shopping journey and experiences Work through yeah so if you if you think About a home improvement journey or you Walk into a low store for the most part It’s very different than walking into a Target store and you know your most Question would be hey can help me find Mel corp where producers or some product Defined You walk into a low storage it’s it Would be like hey can help me fix my Leaky faucet like what do i need to do To do it so it’s really A problem that you need to solve when You think about You look through that you know question Our associates are phenomenal they they Have the you know their expertise in the Space is what we are proud of right and That that is part of the core culture And core anchor point of the company so So if you think about that that could Lead into a you know the real project That the customer is trying to do is Could be actually upgrading their Bathroom and that thing and how do you Help them upgrade that bathroom all the Way from inspiration of you know like Looking at how the bathroom should look Like the uh the expertise that is needed And that journey so every you know Vertical within kind of the retail Industry will go through that evolution

But to me the core three indicators of Value convenience and privacy uh is Gonna be uh yeah you know whoever kind Of kind of kind of finds the right Balance is gonna it’s gonna take the Lead No it’s it’s pretty awesome and i think I wanna just Rephrase it from my understanding right One as you said like you started out Saying it’s about The the customer of the future not so Much retail future of retail not so much Future film home improvement it’s about The customer of the Future Really i think connected with me and and Meeting the customer where they are in The journey right and i can only imagine Like you know an average like you go to A target you’re looking for products Right and but when you walk into it like You said a lowe’s or a home depot You’re trying to actually solve a Problem right i got to fix my leaking Faucet is i’m not looking for a faucet I’m looking to fix my leaking faucet Right so i think it’s it kind of I can only imagine from a Data and customer experience perspective It adds a dimensional challenge now the Good news is like you mentioned you have Your associates right which who are Knowledgeable or on the ground

So even the way you would shape probably Solutions to address and assist these Customers is going to be how do you Empower the associates to do a better Job how do you still not lose the human Tie i think it’s a fascinating you know Data problem or ai problem that i’m Actually interested in but i i don’t Want to lose the the three points you Mentioned which is like how do you Provide value in every interaction that You have with the customer right be it Helping them solve a problem to finding A product to you know finding the Nearest store to find a product how do You make sure that you balance their Privacy and needs of you know owning and Managing their their customer data And then you know how like you said how Do you actually empower that at a place That they are right you know meeting Them where they are so pretty awesome so Um how is Lowe’s looking at it from us one Question is like so home improvement you Know completely the meaning of that Completely changed people are spending More time at home you know retail real Estate prices are through the roof Around the country so people are doing More stuff inside What’s that dynamic like in that space And what’s what do you see as a future Of home home improvement or you know um

Yeah give us a view of the the industry View of the land No i i absolutely i think i think you Know like i said the pandemic did create That tailwind for us right or uh and Like you said i mean you’re spending so Much time in your home so the home is The place where you have your gym where Your your offices yeah you’re Entertaining people at home right so a Lot of that created that you know the You know people are and plus Obviously the home prices are increasing So it’s a great asset to continue to Invest in right so so all of that Factors are are are have created that Tailwind and now for us and it is it you Know and the other important part you Know when you look at this landscape is That emotional connection Everyone has fit their home right so There is the ongoing maintenance of a Home but there is also the emotional Connection there is more you want to do You’re raising your family and every Time you have a kid you want to do Something in your house to make it you Know you have a new member in your Family so so all those aspects From our perspective well we expect some Of the the tailwinds to shift you know As as you know escort kind of goes away And You know there’s all kinds of questions

On the the economy and all that stuff Happening but We do still feel you know uh fairly Confident about you know people and Their investment in their houses and And and their ongoing need to and their Emotional connection with the house Continuing to make investments of their House to Uh to be there and very candidly and and Not just because and i i like i said I’ve worked in you know obviously the Apparel industry worked in the office Supplies industry and i’ve Looked at the home improvement industry I mean It’s it’s very different dynamics that I’ve seen across these industries you Know and you know it’s hard to compare Because they are very important yeah but What i’ve seen is you know in in the Home and pro industry in our in our base You obviously have Uh what we call some diy customers People who their products are and then You have your professional or pro Customers who are the contractors that You hire when you you know if you’re Like me you know i have very limited diy Skills so i look for some pro pros to Come and help me and do stuff right so So you cater to the to those and we can See the dynamics of both you know kind Of continuing to

Uh Make further and further investments in The in the home in the whole market if You will and and The other aspect of it is also you see a Lot of millennials now wanting to get in Obviously buying their first home Like i said think about the customer of The future like if you’re a millennial You got to think about now how to manage Your home how to you know it’s it’s it’s A very different generation now starting To be a homeowner And you know the real uh you know aspect For us is how do we help them be that And continue to have that emotional Connection with their home and how does Lowe’s become part of that how does Those be top of mind when when they Think about their home that’s that’s Really kind of our uh Our approach and our our challenge Really so No it’s it’s you know it’s awesome i was Telling you know All you have to do is just make people Get married because my wife has about 16 Projects that she’s lined up and said Okay we need to do all this thing right Because we’re not going anywhere we’re Staying at home so Uh but but now it’s fascinating how you Say i think the home improvement market Is

It’s it’s like i believe like you know Outside in view it’s like we moved from Home improvement was all about just home Repairs at a time right it was like Fixing what is broken right so now Saying like it becomes You know over the last the aesthetic Revolution if you will that happened Over the last 10 years or so is you’re Just moving that from saying it’s a it’s An expression that you’re doing when You’re improving homes and making Changes it’s uh this whole notion of how Do you actually do more with less and You’re trying to add more capacity Comfort kind of capability into those Home things too and then the other the The classic Driver for companies like lopes and and And You know home depot and stuff one was Construction because it’s always you Know all-time high we’re still doing it Lumber supply chain aside right but That’s a big thing and then the other Part of this is like hobbyists right There’s a lot of hobbyists that just With kobe and everybody have a lot more Time and they’re gonna start doing a lot More i think it’s like you guys have Just tailwinds and i was just looking Like you’re you you when you when you Compare to the declines that we’ve had On the tech stocks compared to like you

Know the home proven retail you’re like Just 20 down from six months ago that’s Pretty amazing right so definitely a Resilient market and you know future Growth in there Um Let’s shift into some examples of value Creation using data and ai i mean you i Mean you and i earlier when you talked You talked about so many different Projects that you guys were doing i Would love for you to share some of Those examples of how you you know apply Data and ai For in a retail omnichannel environment For loops and share those stories No absolutely nice and and thank you i Think the the you know you talked about You know You know you paraphrase what i was Saying in terms of like you walk into The store and associate kind of helping You so think about Understanding the intent of the customer Right from what they’re asking you know That leaky faucet kind of thing to what Are they really looking for now i’ll Take that simple back to you know our Digital world and put an example of how You want to think about it and how we Think about it and some of the things we Have done which is Just think about you know just the Search you know you come tools.com and

Try and search for a product and in most Of the searches can be that same Question so how do i get You know the knowledge graph of every Associate that they can answer To the intent that the customer has and Capture that and respond to that so that We’re really helping the customer on you Know can you help me with that leaky Faucet problem versus you know uh just Searching for a leaky or a faucet to Find right so So so those are some of the things that We we are doing differently when you Think about just simple things as Search in ecommerce world right Understanding intent yeah understanding Intent like leveraging ai and and kind Of deep learning techniques in the word You know uh That’s just one and think about you know Um Voice and visual search because uh home Is very visual yeah people like to kind Of see you know how things work uh we Recently launched measure your space Through our app where you can you know Uh because a lot of times How frustrating is it when you have to Go to a store and you want to you know Kind of look at different things to be Put in your store because that is your Let’s say patio furniture but you know You’re not exactly you haven’t had the

Measurement there and that right so how Or how does it actually you know look in That space uh can i use ai can i use uh Aohart and uh you know uh To have the customer feel that so Because that is actually reducing the Number of trips to hassles and we used To do it before with projects to be Taken and Customers still have to have you know 10 10 or 12 clips to you know complete that Whole project so how can i reduce it how Can it make it convenient and sometimes The value is not really around you know The the The price itself it’s really about Convenience that also is that that is Brought into it So so that’s you know some of the Examples that we you know that we’re Looking at and then you know in terms of Uh it talked about the privacy and the Customer data so we really want to uh The other angle that we are looking at Is We want to really you know instead of Trying to figure out about Can i see you as a customer through our Through third-party ways of finding a Variety of we want to ask you about it We want to then keep it right you know You know in a privacy safe place so that It’s only between lowe’s and you and i’m Gonna you know give you recommendations

To help you with your bathroom project Rather than asking somebody else market To understand about you right i mean And and i think that is gonna be the Some of the privacy laws and changes That is coming in so we are fully Gearing ourselves to do that so i kind Of know you know you you know you you Prefer lg brands i mean for a reason for In your specific space so i can now Know when next time you’re coming in you Don’t have to start from scratch you Know it is a continuation from the last Time you had the conversation with Lowe’s now you have some ways to get There but that is the that is the that Is you know some of the thinking and the Approach and how we are applying a lot Of uh you know kind of Kind of core data principles and aoi you Know um On top to help with it and and just to Try and keep it simple and align to the The overall business strategy and where The customer is going is super key i Think that’s why some people get lost Because it’s a lot of shiny objects on Ai that you can go after yeah yeah like I said it’s i’m just we’re just Anchoring to you know i think the value The convenience and the and the privacy Aspect from a customer perspective No it’s it’s actually interesting um Like one thing i i do have like you’re

It’s you’re not a brand new company not A digitally native company that was just Born yesterday right so you have a lot Of legacy systems a lot of historic data A lot of different you know uh Interaction points like point of sale Systems to you know knowledge that’s in People’s heads in the in the floor Um how do you know for your Ai journey if you will for lowe’s Did you all have to step back and get You know spend a couple of years getting Your data master data in place and did You have to go through a whole you know Exercise to get the foundation in place Before you started or just give me a View of how you guys approached it what I was saying was from a data perspective It was a similar story and you know um So there was a lot of infrastructure in Place but we had to make sure that our Basic Data principles are in place like you Know um What are the core data assets cataloging Those data assets and making it Available how do you democratize some of The data so that people start trusting This data and and the ai layer is kind Of sitting on that on that framework so You can create now It’s not like a big bank approach you’re Not like saying oh let’s wait for the Whole thing to be done so you can start

Creating value right so it was a very Agile iterative approach so there were Areas like i said we unlocked and saying Hey like some of the search example or You know some of the uh the the voice You know uh voice search example that i Was talking about so we started Unlocking you know where wherever the The data assets were clean and and good To go we started unlocking those some Areas were much harder obviously because There was you know you know i wouldn’t Even go to specifics but you know we had To we had a pool there was where we Would pull data from Thousands of databases to one place so It’s not like we had lack of data we had A lot of data in fact surprisingly a lot Of data and then clean up that data Catalog them in the right way and and And make it available for the Organization first And and you know and really kind of help It help the you know data drive some of The strategies so we so that’s that’s Really kind of how we approach it and And i think The The bells and whistles of ai are are you Know are always there you know which i Think uh will continue to create some of That will become Mainstream but I i still go back to are we truly

Solving a customer problem Uh yep that’s there and if it is not i Mean it just becomes like a A fancy project which is you know which You know i think there is the There is the momentum and the hype and The interest from as a geek you know we All like to leak out right so You kind of have to find the balance of Where it is like You know kind of leading the way we want To test a few things out there which is Kind of kind of the way the market is Leading to but the core premise is Really is it solving the the fundamental Customer problem Um so we that’s In a way platforms Productizing it and what products are Solving what customer problem having a Good okr based framework to solve those Customer problems is is really you know The simple way of putting ethics That’s awesome you know like you know in Fact you you’re you touched upon so many Interesting things there like what but Definitely the the the higher headline There is like well make sure you’re Solving a problem that either increases In your case increases convenience you Know access And then respects their privacy right or Gives them value if you will So makes a lot of sense and the last

Thing which you mentioned was also how You think about platforms and then Products on that platforms that actually Then go solve a problem and going from That experimentation to find out you can Actually solve a problem and you’re Adding value to now productionizing it Right One of the challenges that you know Everybody you know in the industry They’re facing is with ai especially It’s a Multi-person team sport right it’s ai’s And it’s just not one thing you don’t Hire a bunch of ai engineers to go make Things happen right you have to worry About your product manager your customer Experience designer your you know Your business units you know who are Actually talking through this your It teams the the whole Infrastructure around it and stuff too What are some of the lessons when you Guys when you’re part of this digital Transformation journey at lopes what are Some of the organizational lessons right How do you set teams up how do you Operate how do you get buy-in you know Give me a flavor for that i think that’s Something the audience would love to Know that right how does a company like Lowe’s manage this right Yeah no absolutely and i think that is a Big critical part i think you know we

Could almost say digital transformation Is more a cultural transformation right So that’s because Just the technology or the underpinnings Or ai is not going to really move the Needle you know it’s always a people Process technology uh you know aspect of The transformation that that really Moves through and so so some of the Things you know i’ll hit upon a couple Of learnings there’s been a lot of Learnings some the hard way some you Know much more easier or you know Obviously with guidance from some of the Some some of my peers or mentors or Whatnot uh But but some of the hard lessons are you Know uh When you have uh You know When you start organizing and change the Foundation layers of like you said like You know as you change the foundation You you start seeing there is a Lot of low-hanging fruits and a lot of Upside with these low-hanging fruits so How do we make sure that we have a Common framework to Prioritize and measure uh the Objectivity around each of these is a it Will be a challenge you know you know in A in a you know A typical environment um so we had to Work across the organization to set up

Like i said a nokia framework you know It came all the way from right from the Top from our ceo from arvind And then kind of instituting that across The organization so we know like as we Make the right kind of investments Technology people process wise it is Driving uh you know real customer value And you know real you know business Growth through that process right so so That was definitely a top top-down Approach that we had that that was Cascading so those are some of the Learnings as we evolved uh it it changes All aspects of the the fabric i mean Right from the way the planning happens To the to the way you know uh You know your your capital allocation Happens to the way execution of Initiatives happen to the way you’re Measuring and doing things right and and Also you know like i said the other way Is look we can’t really Uh We threw in 300 000 associates across Our store network that is really then They are helping our customers And they are a big part of anything that We do so you It’s important to bring people along the Journey Who are you know who are actually Interacting with our customers day and Day they have much more insights about

Our customers believe it or not then Most technologies are that can be out There sometimes right so because they’re Very close to their customers they’ve Seen them day to day they see their pain Points they’re addressing their pain Points so so bringing those folks along And also having like a A strong change management a good Communication process so that it’s it’s If you want to be truly army channel Yeah i mean just just lighting up Everything digitally you know and Turning the switch on is is not a good Way to approach it because it will get Very little adoption So bringing everybody along and that’s Why it’s a very important cultural Transformation and and incentivizing Behaviors across the company Uh to uh to be on channel Is is is a is a big way to uh you know To drive that change and accelerate that Change so those are you know those are Some of the Some of my lessons you know from from Here and my past life as well i mean It’s a like i said and some of them are Hard learnings and some of them are uh You know kind of the easier ones a hard One i would say you know several years Ago in in One of my previous gigs um We were one of the early companies to do

Uh buy online pickup in store and i was So thrilled about launching that online You know we went in we placed a few set Of orders the first few orders came in i Walked into the in you know so we had a Small group of you know folks you know That walked into the store uh and you Know to see how the experience was Because we wanted to see how the Customer was doing it and you know the Customers came in picked up the product And the store manager was all good i Mean packed everything it was all good And then he just turned the screen you Know to me it was a green screen i still Remember and it’s like hey that that That stored in you know that still Didn’t make it My books you know so so His point is like okay well you know Look i invest the time and my my my Labor in that store you know to make This happen but i’m not incentivized to Do it in any ways right so so it is a Big part of like you know so you Suddenly have to think now they are part Of the solution you can’t keep them Outside that solution right so that is a You know just to kind of put it as a Tactical example i thought i’ll share That No no it’s fascinating i think you know Like especially with technologies like Ai right where you’re trying to mimic a

Cognitive function that people otherwise Do With automation right there’s always That human aspect of uh you know how do You make sure you get their trust in the Process how do you incentivize them to Actually be part of the solution and so Forth especially for like you know You’re you’re yes you’re in a home Improvement business but you’re in a People business with 300 000 people Right so it’s it’s first um it’s very Very critical you know i As you know i have a We we have a healthcare company Healthcare tech company and one of the Things that we always constantly ask Ourselves is when you start working with The clinicians who are looking at data Automated through state-of-the-art Natural language and so forth like nlp And ml systems and stuff They’re trying to answer the simple Questions they’re trying to say look can I trust this data that you know you Haven’t changed it in the process of Actually moving from the electronic Medical record to this couple of Sentences or a summary that i see Um do can i is this going to make my job Easier or is it going to make it more Harder because i’m never going to trust That data so all these things that you Have to worry about that you know i

Think the I i had uh direct pandey the The founder of nutanix on the show last Week and He was talking about like you know ai And design are two sides of the same Coin right so machine learning and Design one is about salt it’s the math The design is the part that actually is The the you know if you look at left Brain right brain kind of thing this Sound is about making it adoptable Making it easy to consume and changing The experience and so forth and you’ve Got to get both right you can’t just Have one right right Yeah yeah no i think that is a You you know you you spot the thought That i thought i i’ll share which has Always been there so if you think about Product management’s evolution you Always have to have product ">marketing And adoption there but when you think About ei based products i would almost Start with an adoption path And and then design the product around That um to your exact true Right because because Most people don’t understand you know Unlike unless you know their geeks like Us that are on nlp and nlu and what We’re doing all of that and they’re not Interested they it is all greek and Latin and it doesn’t really matter uh to

Them so so so so then how do you bring Adoption to uh Uh to these core folks who are really The drivers behind you know the The customer value add that that’s Happening you know through whatever We’re doing and and when it’s that Hybrid kind of kind of situation how do We bring that in is is really you know Kind of the The critical part of all that you got to Think about and it’s a very different Way of looking at product management in A for ai and probably like our future Product management anything about it Yeah so yeah you just bought that Awesome So the one question i have is like uh You know you were i think post code the One thing that happened was the equation Changed right people used to live their Life offline right in the physical world And then all of a sudden you know covet Happens and now we all literally spend More time online than we do offline Right And that changes the whole thing and There’s the evolution of you know thank You facebook for giving us the the Driving the promotion of the topic which Is the metaverse right i think but but i Do believe like the having that virtual Worlds and this hybrid physical digital World if you will like online universe

If you will the metaverse Can substantially improve the experience That you were talking about the access That you were talking about and so forth What are your thoughts on it what are Your plans around the meadowverse and You know just give give me a lay of the Land how you see that technology i mean Is that anything new is that you know Old old wine and new bottle like give me A view of the land no i think i think it Is It is going to be a new and different World that all of us will have to go Through and i probably shy away from the Specifics of what we’re trying to do we Got some interesting ideas uh But but i’ll share kind of my Perspective on you know kind of meta Words and Like we talked about the custom of the Future which is uh a lot of young kids You know my you know you your kid i have A young kid you know they all grow up in A very different world where digital is Their first world in a way um And if you think about you know the First adopters of metavoice is going to Be a lot of the gamers who are out there Right so they live in that world and you Can see some other i mean the adoption And what’s there so If you truly are going to say hey we’re Going to meet the customer where they

Are Where are the customers going to be in The future It’s a simple way to look at it right so And and and it could be f you know some So There’s a potential of some form of Other words you know being there and i Think it will be there that’s my Personal opinion uh now The the challenge for all of us who sit In the real world which is the current World and all the things that is real Around us is how do you parse Between the hype And and the reality of anything that is New that is coming up right so How do you balance your investments in People capital around each of these Things right so and then there is you’ve Talked about experimentation how do you Test and experiment different things so I think you will see a lot of uh You know experimentation happening you Know uh in the ">marketing media world There’s a lot of metaphors Experimentation happening with brands You can see there’s a lot of ideas Around you know um You know what i would call as uh Loyalty in that kind of space you know Leveraging meta words to you know reward Members whatnot that i’ve seen in the Industry right so

Now Our our thought process again like What’s customer problem are we going to Solve and do we meet the you know is our Customer base currently in that world That’s the first question you gotta ask And if it is you know uh what do we need To do for them now is our customer of The future being in that world and that What should our footprint be And then that will go down to uh Yeah how do you make the your Investments in the infrastructure part Of these new digital world versus the You know the application layer or the High player i would call it of the space So so most times when you have such Paradigm shifts happening in technology Uh which is what where we are between Metaverse and a lot of the web three and And aspects of it We may have to start making our Investments in some of those core Infrastructure that is leading to it so You have the flexibility when it scales Up to be in that space quicker and Experiment quick in that space so that’s Just kind of my general thinking and Uh yeah but uh yeah i think it’s a Fascinating space for me it’s a topic by Itself that we can go on and on Can i just yeah we’ll maybe we’ll come Back and do that again in a future show When you guys are ready to talk about

The plans afterwards but i i do believe Like i’m a proud investor in a company Called super world And they’re trying to bring uh bring you Know how do you bring the physical world And your what you own and think and feel Um and and uh and want to promote into The virtual they’re kind of the gateway To the metaverse if you will so they’re Doing fantastic and how they’re actually Really creating a community more than Anything of people who want to take the Physical world onto an online experience If you also it’s fascinating uh chandu This has been so fascinating thank you For sharing you know all the different Aspects everything from how you see the World and how you know the future of the Future customer not just the future of Retail and Home improvement to talking specifics on The projects and examples that you did To the organizational uh you know Structure and and processes that Probably help you drive these digital Transformation at scale there’s been a Fascinating discussion where can the Viewers and listeners get in touch with You where can they find you on the Internet Oh absolutely hey first off thank you Again for welcoming like i said it’s Been a fanboy of stories in ai and uh You know happy to share my thoughts and

Perspectives it was a great discussion Definitely happened to come back and do Uh something more meta words when we are Ready uh i will check out super world by The way uh and uh yeah Yeah definitely an area of interest for Me we should be exchanging notes on a Lot of uh you know some of these Investments on syndication of these Investments for sure uh but look i think Uh You can find me in linkedin you know uh Chandler i can post the link you know i Can share that with you again so you can Post it yeah or in twitter at uh at nair Chandu my first time so you will find me There as well but Hey i think you know uh but always you Know if your questions reach out to me Through that i’m always uh looking for Like-minded people to have chats with And ganesha has been it’s been great and We’ve had multiple conversations with Cough and whatnot around around this Stuff but you know we got to meet up Sometime you know maybe in child or Austin now that yes irl yes we gotta Meet up irl for sure yes chandu thanks So much for taking the time i really Appreciate it had a blast likewise thank You again You