Walmart EVP and CTO Vinod Bidarkoppa announces his departure from US retail giant

Vinod Bidarkoppa is departing Walmart, where he spent the past six and a half years, holding a number of positions during that time, most recently Executive Vice President and CTO, Walmart International.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After an incredible journey of over six years, I am transitioning from my executive leadership role at Walmart. Reflecting on this chapter, I’m deeply grateful for the people, the opportunity to help drive transformation and see the purpose come to life globally.”

“Through various roles, it has been a privilege to lead technology across the full breadth of the enterprise, from the agility of Sam’s Club, to the massive scale of Walmart U.S. and the 18-country complexity of the Walmart International business.”

He added: “I'm proud of the part I played in helping position Walmart as an AI enabled enterprise and a technology powerhouse. We built and scaled one of the world's largest e-commerce and retail technology platforms, deploying AI driven capabilities globally, enabling growth and efficiency while creating frictionless customer and member experiences. And just as importantly, we built teams and a culture of innovation that will continue to shape Walmart's future.”

“To the mentors, colleagues, and world class teams I’ve led: Thank you. Your encouragement, talent and commitment made this journey meaningful and fun. It has been an honor to build this future alongside you. Looking ahead, I am entering a period of strategic evaluation, focusing on board, advisory, and executive roles in public and/or private enterprises, where I can help organisations grow and navigate large-scale digital and AI transformation.”

Walmart Mexico

Walmart de México y Centroamérica, the largest retailer in Mexico, is expanding its collaboration with Vusion to deploy the EdgeSense connected store platform across its Walmart Express stores and begin the transformation of its Supercenter fleet.

This initiative builds on a global collaboration between the pair, following the deployment of Vusion’s connected store technologies across Walmart US stores.

Under this agreement, Walmart Express stores will be fully deployed with EdgeSense technology by the end of 2026, marking the first large scale roll-out of the platform in Latin America. Following this phase, Walmart Mexico also plans to expand the deployment to Walmart Supercenters.

Across the initial deployment, Walmart Express stores will be equipped with more than 1.7 million electronic shelf labels and over 180,000 EdgeSense smart rails. Walmart Mexico will also begin a pilot deployment in its Bodega format, evaluating how EdgeSense technology can support additional store formats as part of the company’s long-term connected store strategy.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.