Treat AI as an enterprise mandate, not an IT initiative, urges AS Watson Group CEO Dr Malina Ngai
Speaking at the Global Summit of the Consumer Goods Forum, Dr Malina Ngai, Group CEO at AS Watson, argued that AI transformation is not an IT programme, rather it is a CEO mandate. Presenting on the subject ‘CEO AI Playbook’ for retailers and manufacturers, she shared that while many organisations have identified AI use cases, few have addressed the real barrier to scale: culture and system design.
“AI does not transform companies. Leaders do,” she said. “Culture moves when everyone moves. If AI sits in IT, it fails. If every function moves together, it scales.”
Ngai challenged the traditional cascade model - CEO to IT to training to business units - calling it too slow for today’s environment. Instead, she outlined a CEO led synchronised approach in which all businesses and functions adopt AI simultaneously, supported by IT and HR. AI is horizontal, not vertical. Everyone moves in parallel, embedding AI directly into workflows, decisions, and performance management.
“This is not about experimentation at the edges,” she said. “It is about enterprise wide execution. Traditionally, we start with a defined investment. We build a business case, implement the solution, and drive initial adoption. Once deployed, we measure productivity gains and calculate ROI. The focus is on achieving a fixed financial return within a set timeframe. Value is captured once - not compounded.”
"At AS Watson, we begin with Value Creation - identifying high impact AI use cases aligned to strategy in each function. Once value is proven, we drive adoption across workflows to embed it operationally. As adoption deepens, we achieve Value Scaling - expanding across functions, geographies, and additional use cases . That leads to measurable Value Realisation which funds and accelerates the next wave of value creation. This is how ROI becomes compounding value.”
A key part of the keynote was the introduction of the formula: Agility = Acceleration - Friction. Acceleration comes from technology investment and ambition. Friction comes from complexity, silos, slow decision rights, and misaligned incentives.
“Agility is not a talent issue. It is not a capability issue, not a software issue,” Ngai said. “It is a leadership choice and a system design issue.”
She added that most companies overinvest in acceleration while underinvesting in friction removal, leaving AI initiatives stalled in pilots rather than scaled across the enterprise.
“The question is not how to add more speed,” she said. “It is what friction leaders are willing to remove.’
Closing the session, Ngai positioned AI as a defining leadership test for the industry. “AI will not transform the company because you bought it. It will transform your company because you led it. The return on AI doesn’t come from the tool. It comes from the courage to change how the company works. GenAI will not just change how retailers and manufacturers work - it will change how we work together.”
“Retail will become more human, not less Technology will be invisible. Customers will remember how we made them feel, not how advanced our systems were. In an environment defined by margin pressure, supply chain volatility, and shifting consumer expectations, the message resonated clearly: AI driven agility is no longer optional - it is structural.”
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.
