ai-in-retail
(2)
Ruti Zisser
Ruti Zisser is the Israeli-American founder and CEO of RUTI, a slow-fashion label she started in her Palo Alto garage in 2009 after a career in tech. Built on three rules - cool, flattering, practical - the brand grew from imported Israeli labels and living-room trunk shows into a chain of boutiques, a $6M Series A for an opt-in facial-recognition personalization platform, and a viral hit with its 'On the Loose' barrel-leg pants that helped push revenue past the $40M mark and open a Madison Avenue flagship.
Molly Hartney
Molly Hartney is Chief Digital Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Rack Room Shoes, the family-owned footwear retailer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She joined in 2021 as CMO and, after driving a reported 40% increase in customer retention and a 36% improvement in productivity, was promoted in July 2025 to a newly created CDO role that merges marketing with the company's digital sales and omnichannel strategy. With more than 15 years across retail and consumer products - including senior marketing and digital roles at Funko, The Mine (a Lowe's company) and Lowe's itself - she is known as a growth-focused brand builder and an advocate for applying AI responsibly to marketing, personalization and inventory.