Vlad Rak
Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
DICK'S Sporting Goods
Vlad Rak currently serves as executive vice president, chief technology officer, a role he has held since joining DICK'S Sporting Goods in April 2020. In this role, Vlad is responsible for the company's technology product design, management, engineering and foundational platforms and services.
Prior to joining DICK'S, he served as senior vice president and chief technology officer at Merck. Throughout his career, Vlad also held senior technology leadership roles at notable companies such as Nike, The Walt Disney Company and others.
Vlad graduated from Jacksonville University with an undergraduate degree in computer information systems.
Speaking in:
Sunday Jan 12th
11:00am - 11:30am
River Pavilion, ReturnPro Stage
Customers are dissatisfied with buying from faceless AI-generated bots. They want to buy in person from people who know what they’re selling and understand what customers need. Yet, customers still want access to information, whether it’s product information, stocking information, or the latest promotions. Retail sales associates who can easily access that data are positioned to win and build customer loyalty. Take a journey with Samsung and a retailer partner to see how connected store associates are using handheld technologies to access relevant, timely information, deliver happy customers and drive retail sales. Hear how these devices also empower sales associates to stay connected to their peers and employers, help engender goodwill and reduce turnover. Then see how on-device AI can be a tool to build connections between customers and retailers, and how generative AI functions help educate and enable conversational interactions, personalized results, and ultimately, sales on the retail floor.
