Source: CNBC — 2026-08-11
Summary
Target named Chandhu Nair, formerly Lowe's SVP of stores, data, AI, and innovation, as its first-ever Chief AI Officer, joining August 24. The move coincided with Target elevating Purvi Shah to SVP of user experience — explicitly pairing AI strategy with product design leadership — with stated priorities of inventory efficiency, employee tools, and executive decision-making.
Key Takeaways
- This is Target's first-ever Chief AI Officer role, joining a growing wave of major retailers (Walmart, Gap, Best Buy) creating dedicated C-suite AI leadership.
- Pairing the new CAIO appointment with elevating an SVP of user experience at the same time signals Target wants AI strategy and product design decided together, not siloed.
- The three stated priorities — inventory efficiency, employee tools, executive decision-making — span operations, workforce, and leadership tooling, rather than being narrowly focused on customer-facing AI features.
- Nair's background at Lowe's spanning stores, data, AI, and innovation together suggests Target is betting on operational/retail-systems experience over a pure research or model-building background for this role.