In today’s day and age, any CIO worth his salt must know how to leverage technology to create value for the business. No longer are CIOs department heads of a support function. Instead, they are in the driver’s seat and are more than just subject-matter experts.
According to International Data Group (IDG)’s ‘State of the CIO Study 2022’, 58 percent of workers outside of IT describe their company’s CIO as a “strategic advisor who proactively identifies business opportunities and makes recommendations”.
CIOs today have taken their rightful among their C-Suite peers, helping companies transition to the digital age and generate revenue through technology and innovation.
In this special feature, IMAGES Business of Fashion showcases the torchbearers of retail technology. This week, the spotlight is on Vishal Kapil, Group CIO, GMG.
About Vishal Kapil
With over 21 years of experience in retail and technology industries across emerging markets, EU and US, Vishal Kapil is a popular face in the industry. He has been passionately working for the positive impact of digital & technology transformation on business and consumer ecosystems.
An MBA in Marketing & Management Control Systems from Punjab University (1999-2001), Vishal has extensive experience in technology leadership, change management, managing offshore technology delivery centres, enterprise tech delivery, business transformation initiatives and solution architecture in consumer goods & retail industry segments.
He has played a key role in business transformation in companies he’s worked at, using using all technology at hand, building teams with outstanding domain knowledge and focusing on outcomes.
Vishal is a people-oriented leader. He’s always looking for opportunities for his team to create something new. He also makes sure that their work life balance is maintained.
Current Role & Responsibilities
Vishal is currently Group CIO at GMG, a global well-being company involved in retailing, distributing and manufacturing a portfolio of leading international and home-grown brands across Sports & Lifestyle fashion, everyday goods (Grocery, Food & Consumer products), health/pharmacy & beauty, properties and logistics sectors. The company has operations in 12+ countries and manages 120+ brands with 9300+ strong GMGers.
Before this he was CTO of Marks & Spencer India (July 2019 – March 2023). As CTO, Vishal’s main role was to define technology strategy. This included multi-year planning, building a strong technology operating model and capabilities that builds scale in business, and relevance in customer centric proposition and IT leadership with multi-country responsibilities.
He also managed strong engineering and business-oriented teams that deliver high value transformative results in omnichannel businesses.
Prior to Marks & Spencer India, Vishal has held plumb posts at top organisations including Director Technology, Adidas – Adidas & Reebok, India & Emerging Markets (February 2016 – July 2019), Tech Delivery Unit Leader, eCommerce, Digital Ops at Accenture (May 2011 – January 2016), Senior Manager, Consulting at Siemens (February 2009 – April 2011) and Lead Consultant, Wipro, Telecom & Media Vertical (May 2007 – February 2009).
He has also served as Manager (South India Region) at BBC from 2006-2007. Apart from this, he has been part of illustrious organisations like 21st Century Fox and Times of India.
From Strength to Strength
Vishal says his strengths are that he has always been growth & customer oriented, he’s a keen learner and a hard worker and that he loves action! He is always focused on solving customer and enterprise problems.
He says he he hates it when people don’t learn from their mistakes, pass on their responsibilities to others and are not tolerant of situations. He also doesn’t like it when people look for reasons on why something cannot be done instead of finding out how to do it and getting it done.
He says he aspires to remain purpose driven, and be known for creating large scale business propositions and also for the contribution he has made on transformation topics.
Game Changing Technologies
Vishal’s top 3 game changing retail technologies include:
- Commerce technology ecosystem
- AR & mixed reality
- New data frameworks & technologies
He adds that the technology teams of Zolando and Alibaba have always inspired him.
The Future of Retail
On the future of the retail industry, Vishal says, “Lots of folks will develop specialised skills while being aware of connected ecosystem and how their work impact others. Retail companies will accelerate to become technology companies and technology companies will become retailers.”
