RTS 2026 conference review: CPTO job title reflects the centrality of technology in modern retail space

A Chief Product & Technology Officer is a senior executive whose merged job title reflects how central technology is in 21st century retailing, merging as it does strategic what and how to build decision-making, plus innovation alignment imperatives. This was the main takeaway for conference attendees at Retail Technology Show 2026 last week, listening to Tapi Carpets’ CTPO Tasher Khaliq. 

The rise of the CPTO job title could also be said to be reflective of cost cutting drivers in modern retail, which is facing tough times and the need for customer-centricity in modern shopping whether that is digitally focused, in-store or - as is increasingly the case - omnichannel.

“We know modern shoppers often start online, desiring a fuller understanding of what they want before they go to a store,” said Khaliq, in conversation with RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencer Andrew Busby on the Sparks Stage at RTS 2026.

“That is why we have invested in technology that can accommodate a customer picture and then show them how different flooring scenarios might look virtually,” said Khaliq. “Good results come from understanding the customer and the context.”   

“We’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about how warm it is in our stores and customising displays,” he added. “We’ve thought about what customers see and touch and the in-store journey, creating a pathway to a sale.”   

Tapiness

Tapi Carpets describes this omnichannel customer centric experience approach as ‘Tapiness’. It is designed to offer different colours, underlay, flooring and a multitude of other options to potential customers, and once won, it spans to delivery and installation options and service updates. All in the search for an excellent CX.   

“Clean data is extremely important in Tapi’s approach,” said Khaliq. “Every operational task and customer-decision is positively impacted by clean data. By focusing on your data points and how you use them you cannot go far wrong.” The same applies to CX provision and feedback mechanisms.   

Multifaceted technology career

In a wide ranging discussion with Busby, Khaliq also discussed his career. He was previously responsible for technology at Photobox and Trinny London, which is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty brand founded by celebrity Trinny Woodall in 2017.   

“I started out with a digital, social and online only brand, helping it to grow to a presence on three continents, opening an Australian warehouse in six weeks,” he said, while explaining that they proved you don’t have to accept there ‘isn’t a place for you’ in a market, provided you target the customer and serve them well you can win.    

Khaliq’s move from digital to a bricks and mortar business, with omnichannel capabilities, has no doubt been beneficial to the business as Tapi seeks to pivot towards accommodating all types of customers. This is a common trend in 21st century retailing. There are more and more technologists making similar moves from the digital to the physical world in order to help larger, more established businesses with their digital, data and alignment activities in a quicker fashion.   

Artificial intelligence and cyber threats    

In answer to what technology is presently exciting him, Khaliq said artificial intelligence. “AI is exciting,” he said, while also admitting it’s scary - in terms of the potential cybersecurity concerns emanating from the Mythos AI tool controversy.

Anthropic has said it is investigating a claim, made in a Bloomberg report, that a small group of people recently got access to its Claude Mythos model, which the AI firm has itself said is too powerful to release to the public. The reliance on third parties is greater than ever in a hyper connected world, where cyber threats are prevalent.

“Security-as-a-Service is a thing now (as is checking your partners),” said Khaliq, while stressing that security has to be prevalent for all teams, not just the cyber security one. 

Returning to the AI theme he was confident models could make good decisions for businesses if models and implementations are properly designed and introduced with appropriate training and clear enough aims.

“But in the era of agentic AI you have to keep on top of the agents (and remain discoverable), validate your systems, and work on installations,” he said. 

“I find it frustrating in my everyday personal life, for instance, when an AI tool marks something as done when I know very well it isn’t! I never want that to happen to Tapi customers.”    

As ever, training your model is crucial and checking your connections. “Everyone can be an ‘engineer’ in the future,” he concluded, in regard to tasking AI tools such as ChatGPT.

But the better the prompt, the better the response, which is why AI staff training is so vital. “Training your model is also key.”    

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.