Andrew Rothwell, founder of Tyro and Hydrophis and tapestry board member, sits down with Chris Bartlett on data governance, AI, and where the human relationship still matters in retail.
A wide-ranging conversation about the structural shift in how retailers think about data - and what doesn't change even when the technology does.
Andrew Rothwell built two of Australia's most consequential fintech companies before joining tapestry's board. In this conversation he and Chris work through what's actually changing in retail data, what's hype, and what stays the same when the dust settles. Three threads run through it:
Data governance has shifted from a back-office function to a strategic asset. Andrew argues that the retailers who treat their data as governed inventory - counted, owned, traded on their terms - are pulling ahead of those who treat it as exhaust.
AI changes what work looks like; it doesn't change the work. The category manager's job is still to make a category profitable. What changes is the assistant in the corner of the screen - and the speed at which the diagnostic conversation can happen.
The customer relationship is still the only durable moat. Andrew's line, halfway through, is the one Chris keeps coming back to: "You can automate the analyst. You can't automate the relationship."