VenHub appoints former bp exec Tarang Sethia as Executive VP, Product and Technology
VenHub Global, a specialist in autonomous smart store technology, reports that Tarang Sethia has been appointed Executive Vice President of Product & Technology.
“From our first concept design to the initial smart stores available today in multiple communities, we have been committed to continuous technology innovation and advancements that drive consistently improving performance and create more value for store operators and the customers they serve,” says VenHub Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shahan Ohanessian.
“Tarang brings to VenHub significant expertise and skill sets in leading product development teams that have helped transform global legacy retail operations into complex technology driven enterprises. His leadership of our technology development will help drive continuous innovation for our smart stores and further enhance the value we provide to operators and consumers.”
“I am excited to welcome him to the VenHub team as we continue to move quickly on our technology road map to make autonomous retail trusted infrastructure, not an experiment.”
Sethia brings more than 20 years of experience building and leading product and technology organisations, including executive leadership roles at bp and 7-Eleven, where he headed up retail technology transformations.
At bp, he helped build a retail operating system as a service, including the Earnify ecosystem, enabling independent retailers to modernise loyalty, payments, and digital engagement through an AI first platform approach. At 7-Eleven, Sethia played a key role in scaling the 7Rewards consumer ecosystem, proprietary payments and PoS platforms, and R&D initiatives exploring autonomous and computer vision enabled retail formats.
“Throughout my career, I have led teams focused on product development and innovation that transform legacy retail enterprises into high growth, capital efficient, technology powered businesses,” he says.
“From my first interaction with a VenHub smart store, I instantly recognised the elegance and power the solution offers to usher in a new era of autonomous retail that benefits consumers and retail operators. I am looking forward to working with Shahan and the team to further position VenHub as the leading provider of unattended retail experiences.”
RTIH AI in Retail Awards
VenHub was among the winners last month at the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, picking up the Most Innovation Retailer gong.
Our 2026 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “According to Amazon’s Andy Jassy: AI is a once in a lifetime reinvention of everything we know, and the largest technology transformation since the cloud.”
“Whether that’s overstating it or not, we're certainly seeing an increasing number of innovative, potentially game changing developments in this space across both traditional and digital retail spaces. And that is reflected in tonight's finalists, who are boosting customer experiences and tackling retailers' painpoints across the likes of physical stores, online, omnichannel, supply chain, and payments.”
“To quote one of our judges: I have to admit, judging these awards was so difficult. So many that would have been worthy winners. And great to see how AI has moved firmly into delivery mode. Firmly into delivering for customers and driving huge innovation.”
Congratulations to our 2026 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended our Thursday, 29th January gathering.
Stay tuned for an indepth review of the awards ceremony in the next edition of RTIH magazine.
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