




n every era, there emerges a set of leaders who
redefine what it means to inspire, innovate, and lead withconviction.Aswestepinto2025,ayearalready shaped by rapid technological advancement, shifting workplace dynamics, and global interconnectedness it becomes ever more important to spotlight those who are not just adapting to change but driving it with vision and purpose.
This edition of Insights Success titled, The Trailblazing Leader to Watch in 2025 proudly features Chaitanya Kumar, a name synonymous with resilience, foresight, and transformative leadership. His journey stands as a reminder that leadership is not simply about holding a position of authority, but about igniting possibilities, unlocking potential, and creating meaningful impact in everysphereonetouches.
His story reflects the qualities that the modern world demands: agility in the face of uncertainty, empathy that bridges diverse communities, and a relentless pursuit of innovation As industries continue to evolve and organizations strive to stay ahead in highly competitive landscapes, leaders like him demonstrate how purposedrivenleadershipcansparklastingchange.
Beyondhisprofessionalaccomplishments,whatsetshim apart is his commitment to authenticity and people-first values.Heexemplifiesthebeliefthatleadershipisnotjust aboutachievingmilestones,butalsoaboutinspiringothers to dream bigger, push boundaries, and contribute to a collectivefutureofprogress.
Through this feature, we aim to capture not only his achievementsbutalsothephilosophythatfuelshissuccess a philosophy rooted in courage, clarity, and unwavering determination.
As you turn the pages of this edition, I invite you to discover the story of Chaitanya Kumar, a trailblazer who embodies the spirit of leadership we all aspire to see in 2025andbeyond.
HappyReading!
THE SIGNATURE STORY
Chaitanya Kumar Seri
Engineering Customer-Centric Advertising at Global Scale
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
From Traditional to Transformational Mastering AI-Driven Product Leadership
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
ROI Strategies for 2025
The Economics of Retail Media Innovation
Managing
Art
Business
Business
Digital
Co-designer
Marketing
Chaitanya Kumar Seri Product Leader in Advertising Technology
Imagine a scenario where a customer walks into a Walmartshopandinstantlythirtyscreenswith4Kvideo displaysspringtolifeinsynchronisedcolour,providing highly personalised messages that inform their purchase decisions.Halfwayaroundtheworld,anAmazonadvertiser's campaign instantly modifies its bidding strategy in response to millions of data signals without requiring human intervention.ChaitanyaKumarSeriisthemanresponsible fortheseincrediblylikelyamazingexperiences.
"Howdo76%ofbuyingdecisionsoccurinthestore,andyet advertisers can't speak with consumers at that point of purchase?" What started out as an effort to address a simple issuehasgrownintoamultibillion-dollaradtechjuggernaut. Seri didn't just take advertising online; he transformed it by developing methods so inventive that they seem to predict whatconsumerswillwantbeforetheyevenrealiseit.
Engineering served as the foundation for Seri's foray into advertisingtechnologies.HeworkedatRobertBosch,where hedesignedembeddedsafetysystemsforairbagcontroland auto-braking,whilestudyingElectronicsandCommunication Engineering in India. These and other mission-driven innovations served as the foundation for his approach to developingscalabletechnologicalsolutions.
While pursuing his MBA from the Indian Institute of ManagementAhmedabad(ranked39thintheworld),hewas inspired. At that time, he had an interest in advertising and productmanagementsincehebelievedthattechnologymight benefitbothbusinessesandusers.
DuringhisearlyyearsatTechMahindra'sGlobalLeadership Cadre, where he worked on developing solutions for recommendation systems, streaming services, and context targeting,Seriwasintroducedtocutting-edgeadtechnology
Hegainedthefoundationalknowledgethatwouldserveasthe basisforhisAdTechcareerfromthisfirstexposure.
RevolutionizingRetailAdvertisingatWalmart
Seri initiated his revolutionary effort within Walmart in the roleofProductLeadforAds.Knowing76%ofbuyingoccurs within stores, he observed a massive gap in the market that disappointedadvertisersandconsumersalike.
He introduced a groundbreaking concept: flipping 100,000 in-store fixtures at 5,000 locations into dynamic ad space, building the United States' largest retail chain of DOOH screens Not only did this provide digital ad space for availability, it transformed how brands interact with customersatthepointofbuyingdecision.
ThepiècederésistancewastheTVWallAdssystem-cuttingedge4Kvideoadson30+synchronizedscreensinmorethan 5,000 stores. Using this technology, brands were able to design engaging experiences to build product awareness, track seasonal trends, and remind consumers about price changesinreal-timewithinstores.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Seri's project provided a multi-million-dollar stream of fresh revenue to WalmartandpositionedWalmartasaretailmediagiant.The success gained broad industry acclaim with centerpieces in first-rate publications such as The Wall Street Journal and AdWeek. Most importantly, it proved Seri's capability to dissect marketplace requirements and develop cutting-edge, high-scalesolutionsthataddressquantifiablebusinessgoals.
BesidesTVWallinnovation,Serialsointroducedend-to-end advertisingsolutionsinWalmart.Theycompriseddisplayads on more than 70,000 self-checkout lanes, sponsored ad experience on the Walmart app, search-sponsored productlinkedWalmartCashcoupons,andvideoadsoncheck-in
I focus on building expertise at the intersection of customer need and business value. “ “
page for curbside pickup orders. Every product had specific customer journey touchpoints, ranging from awareness and considerationtoultimateconversion.
NowaPrincipalProductManageratAmazonAds,Serihas translatedhisvisiontoaglobalscalewithaclearmissionto makecampaignsetup,management,andoptimizationeasier with the latest artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies His project at Amazon is the future of advertising tech where science-driven, predictive systems replacehumanapproachestointelligenceandautomation.
One of Seri's greatest accomplishments atAmazon has been creating Smart Event-Based Bid Rules. This computerized tool radically improves how advertisers operate campaigns during high-volume retail shopping holidays such as Prime Day,BlackFriday,andDiwali.Thistechnologysubstituted812 hours of human input with intelligent, programmatic actionsusingproduct,shopper,andperformancesignals.
The intelligence of the system is not just automation Advertiserscandefinemanualrules,intentrules,orcomplete agentic AI-based rules fueled by deep learning and explainability-fueled generative AI for recommendations. Multi-layered solutions enable the system to deliver campaigns with simplicity, complexity, and intelligence, so allpossessenhancedadvertisingoptimizationabilities.
Its commercial success has been outstanding. It has established a whole new multi-million-dollar product category that is now well known publicly through Amazon Ads and deployed internationally across over 20 different marketplaces. Its global deployment demonstrates that Seri canconsiderbeyondsinglemarketsanddesignsolutionswith genuineglobalscalability
The4RAdTechFramework:AStrategicPhilosophy
What distinguishes Seri from the majority of product managers in the ad business is his methodical approach to learning and solving hard problems. He has built what he refers to as the 4R AdTech Framework that offers a methodical approach for thinking through effective ads on anyplatformandchannel.
Theplanbreaksupwinningadsintofourcolumns:theRight Contentwithpersonalizationengines,theRightPeoplewith accurate targeting, the Right Time through understanding seasonality and peak shopping times, and the Right Place throughplanningomnichannelexperiencesinstore,curbside, app,anddesktop.
This approach is also now the basis of Seri's product development strategy, influencing the way he develops new ad formats, develops automation solutions, and brings solutionstohundredsofmarkets.Itdemonstrateshiscapacity to develop scalable models of innovation. It's a crucial capabilityforleadersatscale.
The architecture goes beyond operation considerations to enable return on investment for publishers in responsible sales lift models and enables ongoing compliance with increasingly sophisticated data and privacy legislation. This end-to-end approach demonstrates Seri's understanding that best-in-class advertising technology requires meeting performance,privacy,andregulatorycompliancedemandsin balance.
Seri's focus on innovation also translates into authoritative intellectualpropertydevelopment.HehasappliedforaU.S. patent(USPTOPublicationno.:20250037473,dateoffiling: 2023)underthetitle"In-storetrafficmeasurementinTVwall
Leaders succeed by aligning teams around a clear vision and then empowering them to own execution. “ “
section using security cameras and computer vision techniques." His patent for computer vision-powered impression measuring in DOOH advertising serves as evidence that he can innovate in ways that go beyond the technicalboundariesofretailmediameasurement.
ThepatentisjustoneofnumeroustrendsacrossSeri'swork: bringing bleeding-edge technologies such as computer vision, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to practical,commerciallyapplicableadvertisingsolutions.His workconsistsofemerginginteractiveadformatswithnovel solutions, channel-agnostic campaign platforms, computer vision-based impression measurement, and advanced sales liftandomnichannelattributionmodels.
Whentakenasawhole,Seri'sproductintroductionsprovide overwhelming proof. His product launches have generated around$1billioninadvertisingrevenue,whichdemonstrates boththesuccessofhiscompanyanditsinfluenceontheglobal market. Thefigurereflectsnotonlythecreationofdollarsbut alsotheestablishmentofindustrystandardsandnewmarket segments.
His portfolio touches on multiple ad forms and mediums: Walmart's original video TV ads, impact-ier TV Wall synchronized4Kvideoads,in-channelDigitalOut-of-Home displays, connected TV (CTV) ad forms, placement-driven streaming platform ads such as for Netflix, sponsored interactive ad forms, shoppable video products, dynamic creativesolutions,andretail-nativebrandnarrativeforms.
Seri's extensive knowledge of the advertising industry, his abilitytocreatevalueforbothadvertisersandconsumers,and hisabilitytosetindustrystandardsarealldemonstratedbyhis experience across formats, platforms, automation, and measurement.
Seri'sleadershipphilosophyisaderivativeofhisengineering degree and business school experience, crossing analytic rigor with strategic thought He leads himself on three principles as a leader: clarity, empowerment, and fact-based decisionmaking.Hisexperienceisthatleadersaresuccessful bygettinggroupstoworktogethertowardsaclearvisionand thenempoweringthemtodriveexecutionwithinthatvision.
Thisphilosophywassuccessfullyusedtodrivesophisticated, multi-functional initiatives. To roll out Walmart's StoreAds platform,Serisucceededingettingtheprivacy,engineering, revenue,andstoreoperationsteamstoworktogethertowards asharedobjectiveandalsoprovideeachteamwithautonomy to implement in its area of expertise. His application of systematicdecisionframeworksthatbalancecustomervalue, advertiser ROI, feasibility, and revenue opportunity guaranteesequityandstakeholdertrust.
MostimpressiveisSeri'sdedicationto"leadingbyinfluence, notauthority."AtWalmartandatAmazon,hehasdeveloped cross-functional collaboration between legal, engineering, and design teams through openness and issue-solving conversation. The very same philosophy is applied to mentoring inexperienced product managers, with a goal of enabling others with templates instead of prescriptive feedback.
In addition to the requirements of high-product-leadership positions, Seri has also created a learning and selfadvancement culture. He has been certified in Artificial Intelligence and Applications of Machine Learning and Product Management at Cornell University and Welch Way courses in Operational Excellence, Innovation and Agility, andCreatingaWinningStrategy
My guiding principle is to ensure advertising enhances, not disrupts, customer experiences. “ “
Leadership is less about authority and more about influence, trust, and creating value for others.
Afterworkingandstayingindifferentplacesforfiveyearsin India,twoyearsinNewYork,sixyearsintheBayArea,and now Seattle, he has formed a global perspective through extensiveglobalexperience.Alloftheseenhancehiscapacity tocreategoodsofinternationalscaleandunderstandavariety ofmarketconditions.
Seri achieves balance through having organized personal routines, such as regular physical routines like running and weightlifting, which he attributes to keeping him smart and dynamic.Hisblendingofworkandlifeisconsistentwithhis overallphilosophyofcreatinglastingsystemsthatcanmake bothprofessionalsuccessandpersonalwellnessfeasible.
According to Seri, ad technology of the future will have an open, quantifiable, and customer-focused lens that enhances user experiences rather than detracts from them. He is particularly excited about the applications of generativeAIgeneratedadcreative,agenticAIsystemstooptimiseself-run campaigns, and computer vision for measurement in retail settings.
His default is cracking tough problems at the intersection of technology and advertising, i e , the reinvention of advertisingasavalueexchangethatinformscustomersabout applicable products while allowing brands to expand sustainably.Thesizeofpossibleimpactinthisareacontinues tomotivatehisinnovationwork,fromreachingmorethan220 million weekly Walmart shoppers through in-store advertising to streamlining campaigns on billions of daily Amazonauctions.
With digital technology unfolding at a speed never before imaginedintheannalsofhumanhistory,leaderssuchasSeri embodytheintersectionoftime-honoredretailcommerceand the AI-driven future of customer interaction. His blend of technical acumen, vision, and ability to act makes him an archetypalpioneerinthewakeofanindustrytransformedat itsveryfoundation.
The journey of Seri, a former embedded systems engineer whobecameaglobaladvertisingtechnologyleader,isproof of the power of continuous learning, strategic thinking, and innovationthathascustomersatitscenter.Hisworkhasnot onlybuiltrobusteconomicvaluebuthasalsoraisedstandards for brands and retailers on how they should interact meaningfullywithcustomersacrossvarioustouchpoints.
Seri is a leader who recognises the business need and technological promise of capturing innovation in an era of technologicalconvergencethatisreshapingentireindustries. Intheend,hisstoryisoneofleadershipinspiringotherswhile achieving measurable results, of vision realised as impact, andofdifficultsituationsresolvedwithgrace.
Seriispositionedasavisionaryleaderwhowillcontinuetobe importantinbrandandconsumerengagementinthefutureof an increasingly digital environment. He’s committed to creating scalable, accountable, and customer-focused solutionsintheever-evolvingadtechnologyfield.
Artificial intelligence has traveled a long way since
being a science fiction jargon to becoming the foundation of contemporary business strategy Acrossallsectors,AIisnotonlyappliedtoautomatetasksbut also to construct goods that can foresee demand from customers in advance, deliver personal experiences, and discovernewsourcesofvalue.
Underlying this shift is AI-based product leadership, an endeavor which combines traditional product management with strategic application of AI to develop intelligent, responsive,andethicalsolutions.
AIproductleadershipissomuchmorethanpluggingmachine learning or prediction algorithms into some sort of existing product.Instead,itisatotallynewmodeloftheproductlife cycle—starting from discovery and design to development, deployment, and continuous optimization with AI as an underlying enabler. Individuals working in this profession mustpossessthecapabilitytomergecustomerempathywith technologyvisioninawaythatproductstheycreatenotonly turnouttobeinnovativebutalsoviableandcredible.
Compared to the classic product leadership that tends to depend on market understanding and intuition, this new one incorporates advanced data modeling, natural language processing, and decision-making through automation.The workcombinestechnicalcompetence,businessacumen,and people-focuseddesign.
One of the signature elements ofAI product leadership is a data-first culture. Without properly governed, clean, and trustworthy data, AI applications cannot possibly succeed. Leadersmustmakesurethattheirorganizationsareinvesting inqualitydatainfrastructureaswellasstaffingupteamsthat canderiveinsightaboveandbeyondsimplereporting.
Justasimportantisacustomer-firstattitude.AIisnotanend. Rather, it must make actual human lives better whether by forging customized healthcare solutions, anticipatory financialassistance,orsmoothandnaturalmarketplaces.The question always reduces whether AI makes life simpler, faster,andmorerelevanttothecustomer.
Function collaboration is also not negotiable. AI products cannotbemadeinsilos.Theyrequireinterdependentworking relationshipsamongengineers,datascientists,designers,and strategists. Product leaders that are able to bridge the two teams build innovation and ensure that the end product is usableandgoal-alignedwithbusinessobjectives.
Lastbutnotleast,moralresponsibilitymustbeembeddedin alldecisions.ThemoresophisticatedAIbecomes,thegreater thedangerofbias,obscurity,andexploitation.Goodleaders make their products transparent, fair, and understandable, generatingtrustwithcustomers,aswellasstakeholders.
To thrive as AI-facilitated product leaders, professionals nowadays must acquire a set of skills It is becoming increasinglynecessarytobefamiliarwithtechnology—notto the point of being a data scientist, but enough to possess the rudimentary knowledge of machine learning, natural language processing, and model training. Such an ability empowers leaders to communicate convincingly with technical teams and make their own decisions with sensitization.
Visionisnotlesscrucial.Leadersmustbeabletoseebeyond short-termproductcapabilitiesandoutintothefutureofhow businesses will change and what customer expectations will shift over the long term. That vision for the future, aligned with understanding with customers, ensuresAI is applied in important,notgimmicky,applications.
Soft skills are equally crucial. Team leadership through change, developing resilience, and managing the fear that typically follows AI introduction requires emotional intelligence and establishing trust There needs to be confidence established in the technology and even with the individualstheyworkwith.
While the potential is immense, AI-powered product leadership does not come without challenge Many organizationsarestillstrugglingwithissuesofbigdatafrom low quality to scattered sources. Others experience talent shortages, locating or being unable to develop leaders who have expertise in product strategy as well as in AI. One commonchallengeischangeresistance,asteamsfearthatAI will render them obsolete or introduce unnecessary complexity
Regulation is also a source of complexity. Governments all overtheworldestablishsystemstooverseeAIutilization,and leadershavetobeagileenoughtobringtheirproductsinline withevolvingstandardsandkeepinnovating.Theseissuesare resolvedwithforesight,communication,andagility
For organizations that must implement AI-based product leadership, learning is typically where the process begins. Learning foundational AI for leaders and teams establishes confidence and alignment Simultaneously, investing in elasticdataecosystemspreparesforadvanceduses.
Scaling small—through pilot pilots—allows teams to pilot, learn,andresponsiblyscaleAIsolutions.
Nolessimportantisestablishingethicalvaluesfromanearly stage.Honest,straightforward,andfairsolutionswillnotonly be regulatory compliant but also win customers' confidence. Andfinally,leadersmustestablishanexperimentalculturein which the teams will be willing to experiment, learn from mistakes,andprogressivelyrefinetheirway.
Where technology is at the heart of product leadership with AI,itishumantouchthatmaintainsit.Brilliantleaderscreate teams of humans to look at AI as something that is not threateningthembutempoweringthemandmakingcreativity andhigher-valueworkpossible.Theycreateaculturewhere machines and humans complement each other and not compete with one another, and where customer feedback loops are constantly fed back into product development. Along the way, they ensure AI is an extension of human potentialandnotareplacementforit.
AndastheabilitiesofAIgrow,sowilltheburdenofproduct leaders. Leaders tomorrow will be utilizing AI to forecast marketchanges,workingwithcustomers,andeventailoring leadershipstylebasedonteamcomposition.Andinthefuture, AI-driven product leadership will never be a matter of masteringtechnology—itwillbeamatterofchoreographing ecosystemswherehumansandAIareinharmony.
Being a product leader with AI is more than a technology pitch.Itrequiresvision,agility,andunwaveringcommitment tohumanityandmorality Withthedataorganizingprinciple of customer value, teamwork, and continuous learning, leaders today can build products that are intelligent, ethical, and breakthrough.Those who take up the challenge will not onlydriveorganizationalsuccessbutforgethebusinessfuture inanAIworld.
Retail is undergoing one of its most significant
changes in decades. No longer dominated by price battles, in-store promotions, and mass marketing, the business is increasingly governed by digital experience anddata-drivendecision-making.
At the forefront of this change is retail media innovation, a phenomenon that's transforming how retailers, brands, and consumersinteractandhowdollarsflowthroughthesystem.
Retail media networks (RMNs) have become within a short timeoneofthemostdesirableadvertisingsaswellasretailing tools.AtrendinitiatedwithgiantslikeWalmartandAmazon is now unfolding over fashion retailers, grocery chains, and even specialty stores. RMNs allow retailers to make their websites, mobile apps, and loyalty clubs viable advertising grounds.
The biggest difference from past decades is the use of firstparty data. While third-party cookies are more and more boundup,consumerprivacymoreandmoreatstake,retailers' ownknowledgeofbuyingbehaviorhasbeenpuregold.Retail media innovation is worth more than a new revenue stream it turns retailers into data giants capable of delivering precision unthinkable just a few years ago to advertisers.
Thevalueofretailmediaextendsfarbeyondthemachineryof ad management. It's changing the economics of retailing itself. To retailers, it translates into more-margin dollars unconnected to turnover of merchandise. To brands, it translatesintodirectaccesstoconsumerswhenconsumersare literally thinking of purchasing. And to consumers, it eliminates irrelevant ads and provides them one-to-one recommendations that can actually enrich their shopping experience.
This profitability trifecta constructs a new kind of marketplace with profitability, relevance, and effectiveness dependent on one another. In so many senses, retail media innovationisthewin-win-winscenario.
DataastheFueloftheEcosystem
Therealenginebehindthistechnologyisdata.Tradersamass hugevolumesofinformation—whatthecustomerbuys,how oftentheybuythings,whentheyshopthroughouttheday,and evenwhatofferstheyrespondto.Intherighthands,thisdata isapowerfulmeansofpredictivetargeting.
Let us take the example of a consumer who regularly buys plant-basedproducts.Byretailmedia,theycanbetargetedfor advertisements for related products—say oat milk or plantbasedcheese—whentheyareinthebestpositiontobuy.
Totheadbuyer,itisavoidingwasteful spend. To the consumer, it is an improvedshopperexperience.Andfor the retailer, it makes every digital touchpointprofitable.
Contrary to other channels of media where, previously, advertisers used to payformassreachwithindeterminate results, retail media is founded upon systems that connect spending with results Sponsored product placements, display ads, digital instore signage, and even video advertising on site through retailers can be charged on a cost-per-click or cost-per-impressionmodel.
This flexibility enables retailers to tailor their products to different types of brands, from multinationalconsumergoodscompaniestospecializedstartups.Advertisersalsobenefitastheyhavegreaterinsightinto how their advertising spend converts to genuine sales, somethingthathasprovedtobehardtomeasureintraditional marketing.
Retail media innovation, as it should be, has its drawbacks. Thesmallerandmiddle-marketretailerscannotcompetewith the technology capabilities of the giants. Measurement behaviors also remain spotty, so advertisers struggle to truly compareperformanceacrossanoceanofretailnetworks.And as great as personalization is, there always exists the risk of over-targeting, which makes consumers uncomfortable and destroystrust.
These problems lead to a need for responsibility being weighed against innovation. They must invest in scalable technologies, come to agreement on common systems of measurement,andensureconsumerprivacyisretainedatthe forefront of their agenda. Otherwise, long-term retail media sustainabilitycouldbeindanger
Innovationinretailmediaofthenextgenerationhasnolimits. What began on websites and mobile apps is now entering smartdevicesinstores,socialcommercewebsites,andeven
connected TV. Consider a situation where a smart fridge recommendsproductsthatareonsaleaccordingtotheeating behaviorofahouseholdthroughretaildata.
This shift is building a trillion-dollar opportunity over the next decade. While ad dollars continue to move away from traditionalmediaandintoretailuniverses,retailingitselfwill haveadifferenteconomics.Retailerswillbecomeimmuneto booms and busts, and brands will continue to define the distinctionbetweensellingandadvertisingintoanend-to-end plan.
Through all the economic chaos and technological innovation, something that will never be forgotten is that media innovation in retail is about people. People aren't looking to be targeted rather, they're looking to feel understood.Themosteffectivestrategieswillbethosewhich respect privacy, pre-empt, and enhance the shopping experienceandnotjustinterruptit.
Ifproperlydone,retailmediaismorethanamoneygenerator alongside others. It is a way of building greater trust and loyalty, of turning relationships into transactions. Retailers whohaveagraspofinnovationmixedwithcompassionwill makemoneysureenough,butalsobuildlastingrelationships withcustomers.
The retail media economics signify a new chapter in the history of commerce.The retailors are discovering lucrative ways to monetize their information, the brands are discovering improved avenues for advertizing, and the consumers are having more pertinent and more engaging experiences. Problems still exist, but the course is evident: retailmediaisnotonlyrevolutionizingthemarketingefforts butre-engineeringtheveryfabricofretailing.
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