Middle East retailer Apparel Group appoints Krishnan Gopi as Group Chief Transformation Officer

Krishnan Gopi has joined Apparel Group, a fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate based in Dubai, UAE, with operations across the GCC, as Group Chief Transformation Officer.

In a LinkedIn post, Gopi, whose CV includes being founder of AIMAA (AI Maturity Assessment & Alignment), said: “Excited to step into my new role as Group Chief Transformation Officer at Apparel Group, one of the largest retail conglomerates in the Middle East, with a clear mandate to future-proof the organisation.”

He added: “Opportunities like this don’t come often - the kind that let you help shape an organisation’s next chapter of growth and transformation. We’re reimagining our strategy, growth levers, products, services, and the markets and industries we operate in - while strengthening the people, processes and technology foundations powered by AI and exponential technologies that will fuel our next wave of innovation and growth.”

“Together with our executive leadership and passionate teams across the group, we’re excited to build what’s next for our organisation. Looking forward to engaging with enterprise partners, ecosystem players, startups and exponential tech players to partner with in this wonderful journey.”

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH proudly presents the first edition of its AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.

This is now open for entries. Deadline for submissions is Friday, 5th December. It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Check out categories and entry forms here.

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.