Every search, purchase, promotion, delivery and store visit generates signals about what customers want and how retail businesses are performing. The challenge—and increasingly, the competitive differentiator—is turning those signals into better decisions at speed and scale.

CDO Magazine proudly announces the inaugural Top 30 Retail Data Changemakers 2026, recognizing senior executives transforming how North America’s leading retailers use data, analytics and AI across the enterprise.

Customer expectations can shift quickly. Digital and physical channels must work as one. Inventory decisions ripple through stores, distribution networks and customer experiences. And advances in AI are creating entirely new ways to understand demand, engage shoppers and run the business. 

The executives recognized this year are leading that transformation from inside some of the industry’s largest and most influential organizations. Their responsibilities span enterprise data and AI strategy, data science, analytics, platforms and engineering, customer intelligence, governance and the deployment of AI into critical business functions.

The impact reaches directly into the retail experience. It can influence what products customers discover, how accurately demand is forecast, where inventory is positioned, how offers are personalized, how quickly orders are fulfilled and how associates make decisions. Behind those experiences are the data foundations, AI capabilities and organizational changes required to make them possible at enterprise scale. 

“Retail is where data and AI meet the customer in real time,” says Anthony Losanno, Managing Director of CDO Magazine. “The leaders recognized in our inaugural Top 30 Retail Data Changemakers are applying that intelligence across the retail value chain—from anticipating demand and optimizing inventory to personalizing experiences and reimagining how customers discover, shop and buy. Their work is changing both the customer experience and the economics of retail.” 

The Top 30 Retail Data Changemakers 2026 includes executives from Amazon, Walmart, CVS Health, Costco Wholesale, The Home Depot, Walgreens, The Kroger Company, Target, Ahold Delhaize USA, Lowe’s, Albertsons, The TJX Companies, Dollar General, Best Buy, Sherwin-Williams, Sobeys, Ross Stores, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Rakuten, Tractor Supply Company, Gap Inc., Chewy, Canadian Tire, Staples, lululemon, eBay, Skechers USA, Advance Auto Parts, Exemplar Luxury Group and Schnuck Markets. 

Together, these 30 leaders offer a view into where retail is heading: toward businesses that can understand customers more deeply, anticipate demand more precisely, respond to change more quickly and apply intelligence across an increasingly connected set of decisions. 

Join us in celebrating the CDO Magazine Top 30 Retail Data Changemakers 2026 and explore the full list of executives shaping what’s next for data and AI in retail.