From Yahoo Finance: 2025-04-17 05:27:00

Todd James, former Chief Data Officer at Kroger’s 84.51°, launches Aurora Insights to help businesses navigate AI challenges. With experience in scaling analytics at Kroger and Fidelity Investments, James aims to integrate AI into operations and address executives’ concerns about getting started and moving forward.

James emphasizes that AI must be embedded in business strategy and culture to have a transformative impact. Companies need to view AI as a tool, not a solution, to reposition and drive meaningful outcomes. He believes successful AI implementation involves restructuring operations to inform and automate decisions at scale.

James highlights the importance of starting AI initiatives with a focus on business problems, workflow, and people. He warns against oversimplifying AI and emphasizes the need for a strategic approach to leverage data and capabilities for meaningful outcomes. Companies that prioritize AI as a tool in combination with other capabilities see the most success.

In the AI race, James sees two tracks: one for adopting commoditized AI platforms for the new normal, and another for strategic differentiation. Success in the latter depends on proprietary data, data science assets, and the ability to operationalize data quickly to drive business change. In-house teams are crucial for strategic differentiation to retain expertise.

At Kroger, James led the rollout of a platform focused on scale and democratization of AI. He believes in empowering teams to use AI effectively and sees democratization as a key strategy for AI integration across the organization. A focus on technology capability allowed for the implementation of AI solutions across the organization. A switchboard helped select large language models based on performance and cost. Engagement and education efforts trained corporate and technology roles on data acumen. Measures were put in place to capture value and improve operations, like dynamic matching for grocery pickup orders, reducing lead time and associate workload. AI implementation led to reduced store lead times and improved customer experience. Discussions are ongoing about AI’s impact on the competitive landscape, with a focus on cross-industry insights and the importance of companies transitioning to AI to stay competitive and mitigate risks.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Why Kroger’s former chief data officer is starting an AI-focused firm