VP of IT Customer Facing Applications
EssilorLuxottica
Tommaso Tebaldi is Vice President of IT at EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest eyewear company, where he leads the Retail Applications competence center. His team supports more than 8,000 stores across 16 retail banners in 25 countries, including LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Target Optical and Pearle Vision.
He partners directly with retail business leaders to build technology roadmaps, manage IT spend, and support expansion into new markets, all while holding to a single global platform strategy.
An early adopter of generative and agentic AI in retail operations, he has led the deployment of production AI systems at EssilorLuxottica. Tommaso sees AI as a "cognitive exoskeleton" that amplifies human capability rather than replacing it, and he is putting that idea to work in retail IT. His teams use AI agents to enable AI-assisted fast track that delivers business applications before unthinkable short timelines.
Tommaso began his career in Milan, with roles at Siemens, Intesa Sanpaolo and EssilorLuxottica, before moving to the United States in 2015. He holds a degree in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and co-created "AI & I," an exhibit on generative AI and its impact on society, presented at the 2024 New York Encounter.
Sunday Jan 10
10:45am - 11:15am
Today's store associate wears more hats than ever - serving customers, fulfilling digital orders, managing inventory, supporting pickup, and more. As these responsibilities continue to expand, retailers are rethinking how technology can simplify work rather than add complexity. This session explores how mobile tools, AI, and connected workflows are helping frontline teams work more efficiently, make faster decisions, and deliver more consistent customer experiences across physical and digital channels. Hear how retailers are equipping associates with the information and capabilities they need in the moment, while creating a more agile store operation that can adapt to changing customer expectations and evolving business needs.
