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Episode 17 features Mani Grewal, Senior Technical Product Manager, partnering with the team responsible for driving AI strategy at Yelp. Mani shares insights from her tech journey, spanning engineering to product management at CVS Health and RepairPal, to break down how AI is reshaping search, why businesses must now optimize for AI agents alongside human buyers, and how human value in the workplace is shifting from execution to strategy. Plus, she discusses her mission to uplift underrepresented voices in tech, her AI coaching, and her book, Mastering AI Prompts: A Complete Guide for Product Managers. Also, check out the Agent Experience Index from Fullstory, to see if your site is AI-readable.

This "Sweet 16th" edition of the Agents of E-commerce Podcast brings us Tom Davis, a seasoned pro with lots to share from his time with brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Sirius, Puma, and Cartier.  Tom has a unique approach to working with multi-national, omnichannel brands that he has honed over his 27 years since his early days of trying to sell the vision of eCommerce to retailers in 1997.  For those interested in contacting Tom he can be reached via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmdavis/.

Episode 15 brings us Jared Blank and our discussion of some of the sins that permeate the marketing landscape.  We discuss the good, the bad, and the just plain silly. This drove Jared to create Gobbledy, his platform, newsletter, and podcast.

Episode 14 brings us Ron Northcutt, Director of Developer Advocacy with Acquia.  He talks us through the newest and potentially most revolutionary of E-commerce frameworks, "Composable Commerce".  What it is, what it isn't, and what it has to do with Legos and Lunchables are all included in this episode.  Plus, for fun, you can check this out too.

Allison Ferguson, Principal Consultant Loyalty and Activation from Merkle, joins us for episode #13 where we discuss how brands are responding, or not, to COVID-19 and their relationships with customers. Allison brings a wealth of experience through her current work and client-side experiences. You can reach her at:  [email protected] or via the Merkle Loyalty Channel.

Laura Elaine Sympson joins me for Episode #12 to discuss what's to come in this year's holiday season. With businesses struggling with COVID-19, these are challenging times, but this is the podcast we all need right now.  Laura brings her decades of experience from the earliest days of E-Commerce through to her time with retailers such as Eddie Bauer, Office Depot, West Marine, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Craig Smith joins me for episode #11 for a deep dive into the world of Ted Baker. Over Craig's 24-year tenure he shares his experiences helping to build and evolve the brand and it's digital experience from a branded site to omnichannel e-Commerce. What a tale he weaves! You can find Craig on LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]. Enjoy!

Episode #10 brings us a wealth of knowledge, activism, and edutainment with Rachel Miller, Founder/CEO of Cora Ball and co-Founder of the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean. Rachael and I discuss our shared history, last name, her passion, and mission while spreading the word on the dangers of microplastics and what we can do to have an impact.  We discuss her journey to founding Rozalia Project and more recently, the amazingly successful Kickstarter and now E-commerce site for the Cora Ball.

Episode #9 brings a conversation with Scott Hames, former Chief Marketing and Analytics officer with Bed Bath & Beyond. We go into the evolution and trends in what really creates customer loyalty and discuss personalization and how retailers are organizing to be more customer-centric.

In episode #8 of the Agents of E-Commerce Podcast, we go where few podcasts are willing to go. We go into the world of the courtship between companies and the vendors that pursue them. I call it dating because there are many corollaries between the two rituals. My guest this week is James Koran, Principal Consultant at Archweb Technologies. James is game to go with this dating analogy and sheds light on the vendor perspective to this relationship. We have suggestions on how best to approach the vendor evaluation process, from a client perspective to build a productive relationship. You can also follow James on Twitter @JKoran.

Episode #7 of the Agents of E-Commerce Podcast is a special Holiday 2018 edition titled, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. My guest is the always charming and insightful Gary Penn, Vice President of E-commerce & Digital with Nixon. We go broad and deep with some AMAZING conversation as we discuss "The Good", what to focus on and leverage in this challenging season, "The Bad" what to avoid in regards to your investment and attention, and "The Ugly" technologies that have potential but have yet to live up to the hype. Gary leverages his decades of experience leading amazing brands including prAna, Quiksilver, and True Religion. Lastly, here is a link to the Apple Business Chat discussed in this podcast. So give a listen!

Episode #6 of the Agents of E-Commerce Podcast brings us a conversation on Customer Loyalty with Jenn McMillen, Loyalty Guru and founder and CEO of Incendio. Jenn has a wealth of knowledge and experience that she shares including topics such as Loyalty vs. Rewards programs, trends in Loyalty Design, and her experiences crafting programs for GameStop, Godiva, and Blockbuster to name a few.

Episode #5 of the Agents of E-Commerce Podcast brings a conversation on Computer Vision with Ted Mann, founder of SnipSnap and CEO of Slyce. With the incredible power of the advanced cameras that everyone carries around in his or her pockets (your phone), new experiences and engagement opportunities await retailers and customers.  We discuss Ted's history as a founder and CEO and how Visual Search fits within the context of computer vision developments over the past decade.  Check out Ted's company, Slice.it or experience Slyce firsthand powering the Home Depot, Macy's, and Tommy Hllfiger visual search within their apps. You can also follow Ted on twitter @turkeymonkey. I probably should have asked him about that twitter handle...Next time.

Episode #4 of The Agents of E-Commerce Podcast is a conversation with Jeff Knechtel, Senior Director, Product Management with Exchange Solutions, @jknechtel on Twitter. Jeff and I have a spirited chat on many aspects of The Internet of Things (IOT) and how it is changing our lives and our shopping, not necessarily in that order. Jeff has some great insights on how to get into this growth area, what's Amazon's play, the other players, and even Kinght Rider! All that in under thirty minutes! So have a listen and please share with others, because sharing is caring and feel free to ping me ([email protected]) with ideas for other topics of interest, or if you, yourself would like to join me for an interview on the interwebs of podcasting!

Episode #3 of The Agents of E-Commerce Podcast is a conversation with Brenda Higuchi, SVP of Analytics and Optimization with Exchange Solutions. We have a great conversation on Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in the context of our everyday lives and E-commerce.  Brenda goes deep into helping us understand how AI and ML capabilities are being leveraged by consumers and retailers.  Lots of good examples and stories including Google's ability to carry on a human conversation: https://youtu.be/lXUQ-DdSDoE. Tons to discuss and learn here so happy listening!