Three senior tech executives discuss how technology is reshaping their companies

Franziska Bell of Home Depot, Fiona Tan of Wayfair, and Sam Dozor of Rokt spoke at the Safir Arjan Most Influential Executives Dinner: Technology and Data.

Chief technology officers gathered in New York City on Tuesday night for a panel discussion at Ambassador Arjan's Executives of the Year Impact Dinner: Tech & Data to discuss the ways technology has changed the way their companies operate.

Franziska Bell, CTO and Executive Vice President of The Home Depot spoke on a panel at the Arjan Ambassador Forum. Fiona Tan, CTO of online marketplace giant Wayfair. and Sam Dozor, CTO of global e-commerce company Rokt, which sponsored Tuesday's event.

Bell emphasized "always based on the consumer experience," thinking about how to adapt to new and emerging technologies, or what he called the "art of the possible."

Bell explained that one of the new AI tools The Home Depot has implemented is Magic Apron, an "AI home improvement expert," which can help customers find items in the store, answer product questions and respond to user-uploaded images.

Programs like Magic Apron, which Bell says has been rolled out in 2,000 U.S. stores, stem from assessing the "friction" in customer experiences and trying to reduce it with technological tools.

However, he did not ignore the vital roles that humans play alongside technology.

"I'm a big believer in AI teams," Bell said. "This is where magic really happens."

Tan also talked about the customer experience at Wayfair and how it uses technology to help consumers find what they want from the company's wide selection of products.

"A lot of times people don't know what they're looking for, they can't describe it, so maybe we're offering you a journey that resonates," he said. We also need to innovate and provide them with an experience that speaks to them more."

When it comes to hiring new employees who can meet customer experience goals and integrate AI into their work, Tan emphasized the importance of "adaptability" in young candidates who can seamlessly adapt to the rapidly changing technology landscape.

Tan also said it is important to pair younger generations with older generations who have more experience in their companies.

Dozor said now is the best time for companies to invest in technology.

"The time is here," he said. Now is the time and we all have to live it."

One of the ways Rokt is doing this is by expanding the types of tasks its employees can do using AI. "It's amazing to see engineers writing code to build product specifications and designers," he said.

In this spirit, he explained, Rokt takes a forward-looking approach to its work, always thinking about what the future holds for its employees and what they can do.

"Time is changing rapidly, and people can live in the past, present or future," Dozor said. We have chosen to live another six months."