Author: CIO Times

Candice Moodley is a dynamic leader and a trailblazer in South Africa’s corporate landscape. Currently serving as the Corporate Services Executive at the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), she brings a wealth of experience in marketing, communications, and corporate services management. 

With a background that spans from being a teenage television presenter to excelling in executive roles, Candice’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. Her expertise in integrated marketing strategies and her commitment to fostering impactful business solutions have made her a respected figure in her field. Beyond her professional achievements, Candice’s story reflects resilience, innovation, and a passion for empowering others.

From Teen TV Presenter to Executive Powerhouse

Candice’s professional journey spans over two decades in strategic leadership roles across corporate services, with a strong foundation in marketing, communications, and human resource management. She began her career in marketing and communications, where she learned the value of clarity, empathy, and stakeholder engagement—principles that continue to shape her approach to corporate services today.

Candice’s early career is a testament to her versatility and talent. Discovered at the age of 13 by multimedia journalist Manu Padayachee, she became the youngest continuity presenter in South Africa, hosting for East-Net on M-Net. Her journey in television continued with a decade-long stint at K-TV, where she gained recognition for her engaging presence and where, amongst her many highlights, she lists the honour of co-hosting President Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday celebration at Kruger National Park as her most  cherished. These formative experiences laid the foundation for her dynamic career, blending media, communication, and leadership.

Having gained her BA LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand, her draw from the legal field to corporate services later was the opportunity to influence the heart of organisational performance—its people, systems, and values. Over time, she realised that successful organisations are not built solely on strategies and numbers but on culture, purpose, and people-centred leadership. Her evolution from communications into corporate services was, therefore, a natural progression, driven by a desire to build environments where individuals can thrive and where organisational goals are achieved through collaboration and capability development.

As Corporate Services Executive at the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), Candice leads a multi-functional portfolio that includes Human Resources, ICT, and Marketing and Communications. This breadth of responsibility requires a leadership style that is adaptive, values-based, and inclusive. 

Leadership Journey

Candice’s background in marketing and communications has been instrumental in shaping a people-first, values-driven approach to leadership. It taught her the power of storytelling, the importance of brand integrity, and the necessity of clear, consistent communication—lessons that apply directly to corporate culture and internal operations.

“In corporate services, you’re often the custodian of the employee experience. I see every policy, internal campaign, or IT system as a communication tool that either builds trust or erodes it. As such, I’ve prioritised initiatives that enhance internal communication, employee engagement, and change management,” shares Candice.

Furthermore, her communications background has helped her position EWSETA’s work externally with greater clarity and resonance. Whether it’s showcasing the organization’s impact through media or ensuring its values are embedded in the brand narrative, the cross-pollination of these disciplines has added immense value.

Building Bridges Between Skills and Sectors

The EWSETA is a legislated public entity mandated to facilitate skills development in South Africa’s energy and water sectors. Its work is critical in addressing the current and future skills gaps that threaten sustainable service delivery and economic growth within these sectors. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and is guided by national imperatives such as the National Skills Development Plan (NSDP) 2030, and various sector masterplans and frameworks.

At its core, EWSETA serves as a bridge between industry needs and workforce readiness. It partners with key stakeholders across Industry, Government, Public Sector Education and Training sector, Civil Society, and more to facilitate impactful training programmes, develop occupational qualifications, support workplace-based learning, and promote career awareness in areas critical to the just energy transition, climate resilience, water security, and inclusive economic participation.

“Our approach is demand-led and responsive. We work closely with government, employers, academic institutions, and communities to identify priority skills and co-create solutions that are innovative, practical, and impactful,” says Candice.

The Challenges

One of the most persistent challenges in corporate services, shares Candice, is aligning internal capacity with the scale and pace of external demands. In a dynamic environment like EWSETA, where skills development is at the forefront of national priorities, the pressure to deliver rapidly and efficiently is high.

Balancing compliance with agility is another challenge. As a Section 3A public entity, EWSETA is governed by stringent legislative frameworks, yet it must also be agile, responsive, and innovative to remain relevant and effective. This duality requires robust systems, sound governance, and a culture of accountability.

Ensuring that EWSETA’s brand remains true to its promise to its stakeholders, is also a challenge that Candice and her team take up every day.  To be an “authority” comes with certain assurances to the stakeholders, and as corporate services, they need to ensure daily that they are upholding those assurances in how they communicate, deliver, and serve.

To overcome these challenges, as an entity, EWSETA prioritises people development, stakeholder-centricity, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement to drive its high-performance culture objectives. This requires strengthening the HR policies, driving the digital transformation, building the EWSETA brand, and cultivating a performance-driven culture that is based on the entity’s four core values of respect, integrity, teaming, and excellence.

Innovation for Skills Development

EWSETA has, over the past several years, been focused and intentional about ensuring that its initiatives are impact-driven and respond to the strategic imperatives of the country.  Meeting quantitative targets is important but is no longer the key driver in determining skills initiative support.  Instead, it has become more about the end goal for the beneficiary and the needs of the energy and water sector.  

Its Partnership Model was one of the first innovative approaches adopted that has ensured that collaboratively, EWSETA and key strategic partners across a broad range of local and international entities are able to make a real difference to the skills landscape through a capable and strengthened workforce.

More recently, EWSETA has introduced several strategic initiatives that are reshaping the skills development landscape:

• The PowerUp Platform – a digital skills platform designed to connect the RE industry with our PSET Institutions, facilitating employment and Work-Integrated Learning opportunities in renewable energy sectors.  
• Professionalisation of the Water Sector – supporting Regulation 3630 through the development of qualifications and training programmes for municipal water professionals.
• Green Skills Development – through collaboration with industry and TVET colleges, it is advancing training in green hydrogen, solar PV, and energy efficiency.
• Women Leading in Energy and Water– a flagship programme that has provided bursaries and leadership development to women in the sector, contributing to gender transformation and economic inclusion.

“These innovations reflect our commitment to responsive, future-focused skills development,” says Candice.

Collaboration for Achieving Goals

Collaboration is central to EWSETA’s mandate. The organization works across multiple spheres—government, academia, industry, and civil society—to ensure alignment with national priorities and to co-create sustainable solutions.

EWSETA engages actively with government departments such as the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to ensure its work supports infrastructure development and public service delivery.

It is also involved in strategic partnerships with Catchment Management Agencies, Water Boards, municipalities, state-owned enterprises such as Eskom and key industry players who are moving rapidly into the renewable energy space like Sasol, and leading universities like Stellenbosch and the University of the Western Cape.

EWSETA’s international collaborations, such as the Platform of Vocational Excellence (PoVE) in Water Management, have opened doors for cross-country learning and curriculum innovation.

Shaping the Future

Candice lists down the following trends that are shaping the trajectory of the energy and water sectors :

• Just Energy Transition: There is a growing emphasis on transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy in a manner that is socially inclusive and economically empowering.
• Digitalisation and Automation: Smart technologies, AI, and data analytics are transforming utility operations, necessitating new skill sets through upskilling and reskilling.
• Climate Change and Resilience: Water scarcity and infrastructure challenges demand more innovative, sustainable management strategies.
• Youth and Gender Inclusion: There’s an urgent need to involve young people and women in sector transformation through targeted skills development.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Addressing the scale of the skills challenge requires collaborative funding and implementation models.

“These trends require that we future-proof our workforce and ensure training is agile, accessible, and industry-aligned,” she says.

Catering to the Industry Needs

Candice opines that adapting to the evolving needs of the industries requires a mindset of continuous learning and systems innovation. SETAs like EWSETA must:

• Stay ahead of industry shifts through proactive sector research and stakeholder dialogue.
• Build flexible, modular curricula that allow for stackable qualifications and micro-credentials.
• Leverage digital platforms to broaden access and enhance learner and stakeholder engagement.
• Foster employer-led training by integrating more workplace-based learning and internships.
• Ensure training is not only technical but also incorporates soft skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“We must move away from the misconception that SETAs are just ‘funders” and play our rightful role as strategic partners, developers of enabling platforms, and policy advocates,” she insists.

Integrating Sustainability into Training Programs

Sustainability is not a peripheral issue—it is central to the future of both sectors and is central to EWSETA’s vision of “Creating a Sustainable Tomorrow, Today”. Energy and water are enablers of socio-economic development, yet they face threats from mismanagement, overuse, and environmental degradation.

Candice believes that training must, therefore, embed sustainability principles across all programmes—from renewable energy to water conservation. This includes:

• Teaching circular economy and resource efficiency practices.
• Focusing on preventative maintenance of infrastructure.
• Incorporating climate-smart technologies and indigenous knowledge systems.
• Encouraging innovation in waste-to-energy and green infrastructure.

EWSETA is embedding these elements into its sector skills plans and is working closely with the industry to anticipate future occupational shifts.

Sharing Leadership Lessons

Candice shares that the most powerful lesson she has learned is that leadership is not about authority—it’s about stewardship. A leader is entrusted with the well-being of people, systems, and purpose. It’s a responsibility that demands empathy, courage, and consistency.

Another lesson is that transformation takes time, but impact requires urgency. You must learn to lead with vision and manage with discipline.

“Through my work, I hope to leave a legacy of inclusive leadership, empowered teams, and systems that outlast individuals. I want to be remembered as someone who helped create environments where people felt seen, supported, and set up to succeed,” says Candice.

Vision Ahead

Over the next five years, Candice envisions EWSETA becoming a true centre of excellence in skills development—agile, innovative, and deeply embedded in the industries it serves.

Some of the more pertinent strategic focus areas for the organization include:

• Enhancing its digital capabilities for more responsive service delivery.
• Strengthening TVET college capacity to deliver demand-led training.
• Expanding its footprint in rural and underserved communities.
• Deepening its focus on green skills and the hydrogen economy.
• Embedding a high-performance culture internally through modern HR systems and talent development strategies.

“Personally, my goal is to mentor the next generation of HR and corporate service leaders, build stronger internal systems, and position EWSETA as an employer of choice,” concludes Candice.

A Quote to Live By

A quote that deeply resonates with Candice is from African leadership scholar, Reuel Khoza:

“We must lead with moral authority, not positional power, and build legacies, not empires.”

Quote: “I believe in empowering people, fostering trust, and ensuring that every team member understands their contribution to the bigger picture.”

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Dinner table discussions have an uncanny way of sparking eureka moments, often when we least expect them. The act of verbalizing thoughts, hearing others’ viewpoints, and engaging in back-and-forth discussions can lead to breakthroughs—whether in personal decisions, creative endeavors, or professional insights. Many great ideas emerge not from solitary reflection but from the interplay of minds around the dinner table, where the warmth of shared meals fosters open thinking and unexpected revelations.

For Tally Mack, CEO of Bravo Store Systems, the dinner table was where her tech journey started. In this interview with CIO Times, Tally shares what inspired her to adopt technology, how her work is reshaping the way small businesses operate, and what keeps her going strong every day.

CIO Times: Can you share in brief your professional journey? What inspired you to step into this industry?

Tally Mack: My journey into tech started at the dinner table. I’m a fifth-generation pawnbroker, and my dad, Steve Mack, ran a 50-store pawnshop enterprise. Growing up, I watched him struggle with the limitations of existing technology, trying to manage inventory across multiple locations, track compliance requirements, and scale operations with systems that were built for single-store operations.

When I was in college, Cloud technology emerged. He partnered with two former employees, who became Bravo’s co-founders, to develop the first versions of what would become our platform. He saw that technology could fundamentally change how small businesses operate at an enterprise level – not just digitizing existing processes but enabling entirely new ways of doing business. That vision of using technology to unlock operational capabilities that weren’t possible before is what drew me to Bravo initially.

Bravo was in market while I was in law school, and in my second year, I started selling and supporting it. I fell in love with our platform, and watching stores adopt Bravo and transform their businesses was exciting. I took the Nevada bar and joined Bravo full time the next day. 

“The real inflection point came when I realized we weren’t just building better pawn software – we were fundamentally changing the lives of thousands of small business owners, their employees, their families, and the underserved consumer communities that rely on pawnshops for financing. Customers would literally come up to me at trade shows and say, “Bravo makes my job fun again.”

Now, as CEO, I’m leading Bravo through what I believe is the most significant transformation in business operations since the internet. We’re not just adopting AI tools; we’re rebuilding every aspect of how our team works, how our customers work, and how our entire industry functions. My inspiration comes from seeing our developers ship features in days instead of weeks using AI-assisted coding, watching our support team resolve complex issues instantly with AI agents, and knowing that every person on our team is becoming exponentially more capable.

CIO Times: Brief us about the company and its services. What sets Bravo Store Systems apart in the point-of-sale and ERP software industry?

Tally Mack: Bravo Store Systems is the AI-first point-of-sale and ERP platform for specialty retailers – pawnshops, gun stores, shooting ranges, and secondhand retailers. We’re not just a point of sale – we’re building the complete operating system that allows every person in these businesses to work at superhuman levels.

“What sets us apart is our aggressive, all-in approach to AI integration. While other companies are adding AI features as nice-to-haves, we’re fundamentally rebuilding how work gets done.”

Our platform uses AI agents to handle compliance monitoring, inventory categorization, pricing optimization, and customer communication automatically. Our customers’ employees aren’t just using better software – they’re operating with AI capabilities that make them 10x more effective.

For example, our AI can analyze thousands of market data points to suggest optimal pricing in real-time, automatically generate compliance reports that used to take hours, and handle routine customer inquiries through intelligent chat systems. But the real magic happens when these AI capabilities compound – when our customers’ teams can focus entirely on high-value activities because the AI handles everything else.

We serve over 2,000 customers with this AI-first approach, and the productivity gains are staggering. We’re not just improving efficiency; we’re enabling entirely new ways of operating that weren’t possible before.

CIO Times: How does Bravo Store Systems contribute to the success of specialty retailers like pawnshops and secondhand stores?

Tally Mack: We give every employee in these businesses AI superpowers. Think about what happens when a pawnbroker can instantly evaluate any item using computer vision AI, automatically generate accurate loan amounts based on real-time market data and handle all compliance documentation without thinking about it. That person isn’t just more efficient – they’re operating at a completely different level.

“Our AI agents handle the repetitive work that used to consume 60-70% of staff time. Inventory management, compliance reporting, customer follow-ups, pricing updates – all of this happens automatically. This means our customers’ teams can focus on what humans do best: building relationships, making complex judgments, and growing the business strategically.”

The results are significant. Our customers are seeing dramatic increases in transaction velocity, not because they’re working harder, but because AI is handling everything that slows them down. They’re making better buying decisions because AI provides instant market analysis. They never miss compliance deadlines because AI monitors and manages all requirements automatically.

But here’s what’s really exciting – we’re just getting started. As our AI capabilities advance, we’re enabling these businesses to operate in ways that were impossible before. Small shops can now compete with large chains because they have the same AI-powered operational advantages.

CIO Times: As CEO of Bravo Store Systems, what are the most rewarding aspects of your role?

Tally Mack: The most rewarding part is watching our team members discover what they’re capable of when they’re augmented by AI. I have developers who are shipping features they never could have built before, support team members resolving issues that used to require escalation to senior engineers, and salespeople having conversations with prospects that are informed by real-time AI analysis of their business needs.

“But it goes deeper than productivity gains. We are fundamentally changing career trajectories. When someone can focus on creative problem-solving instead of routine tasks, they can access expert-level knowledge instantly – that’s when careers take off.”

A junior developer on our team can now tackle complex problems because they have AI pair programming assistance. A support representative can provide expert-level technical guidance because they have AI agents that can instantly analyze their challenge and suggest solutions.

I’m obsessed with developing each person’s career, and AI is the ultimate career accelerator. Seeing our customers experience this same transformation is equally rewarding. When a small business owner tells me their team is accomplishing things they never thought possible, that’s validation that we’re not just building better software – we’re changing how work gets done.

CIO Times: What are the key responsibilities of your role? What are the biggest challenges you face in your role, and how do you navigate them?

Tally Mack: My primary responsibility is leading Bravo through the AI transformation – not just adopting AI tools but fundamentally rebuilding how every person in our company works. This means reimagining every role, every process, and every customer interaction through an AI-first lens.

“The biggest challenge is the pace of change. AI capabilities are advancing so rapidly that what seemed impossible six months ago is now standard practice.”

We have to move aggressively to stay ahead while ensuring our team can adapt to constantly evolving tools and capabilities.

I navigate this by creating what I call “AI-first culture” – every hiring decision, every process design, every strategic initiative starts with the question: “How can AI make this 10x better?” We’re not just training our team to use AI tools; we’re hiring people who think AI-first and can adapt as capabilities evolve.

Another major challenge is change management across our customer base. We’re not just updating software features; we’re changing how entire businesses operate. Some customers embrace this immediately, while others need more support to understand how AI can augment their teams rather than replace them.

I spend significant time ensuring our team has the resources and support they need to continuously level up their AI capabilities. This means constant learning, experimentation, and iteration. We fail fast, learn quickly, and apply those lessons immediately.

CIO Times: How do you approach strategic decision-making in a fast-evolving industry?

Tally Mack: I approach strategic decisions through what I call “AI-accelerated intuition.” We use AI to analyze massive amounts of data – customer usage patterns, market trends, competitive intelligence – but the strategic insights come from combining that analysis with deep industry knowledge and rapid experimentation.

“Our decision-making process is fundamentally different now. We can test ideas, analyze results, and iterate on strategy in days instead of months.”

AI helps us model different scenarios, predict customer responses, and identify opportunities we might miss otherwise.

But the key is maintaining human judgment at the center. AI provides incredible analytical capabilities, but strategic vision, cultural understanding, and relationship intuition are still fundamentally human skills. The magic happens when you combine AI’s analytical power with human strategic thinking.

We also make decisions much faster now because we can gather and analyze information instantly. When we’re evaluating new market opportunities or product directions, we can get customer feedback, competitive analysis, and market data in real-time rather than waiting weeks for traditional research.

CIO Times: What strategies do you use to build and maintain strong relationships with clients?

Tally Mack: Our relationship strategy is powered by AI, but it’s fundamentally about human connection. AI helps us understand each customer’s business deeply – their usage patterns, their challenges, their growth opportunities – so every interaction is informed and valuable. Our customers are small businesses, and we don’t want to waste a minute of their time. 

“We use AI agents to handle routine customer communications, but this frees up our team to focus on strategic relationships.”

When our customer success team talks to clients, they’re not troubleshooting basic issues – they’re discussing business growth strategies, new feature opportunities, and industry trends.

AI also helps us anticipate customer needs before they articulate them. We can identify when a customer might benefit from a new feature, when they’re likely to expand their usage, or when they might be experiencing challenges. This allows us to be proactive rather than reactive in our relationship management.

But the foundation is still trust and understanding. Our customers need to see that we’re using AI to make their businesses more successful, not to replace human judgment or relationships. When they see their own teams becoming more capable through our AI-powered platform, that builds deeper loyalty than any traditional relationship strategy.

CIO Times: How are you leveraging the power of technology to your organization’s benefit? What innovations are you most excited about?

Tally Mack: We’re operating as an AI-first organization across every function. Our development team uses AI for code generation, testing, and deployment. Our customer success team uses AI agents to resolve issues instantly. Our sales team uses AI to analyze prospects and personalize outreach. Our marketing team uses AI to create content and optimize campaigns.

But the real innovation is in how we’re building AI capabilities into our platform. We’re developing AI agents that can handle complex business logic – automatically adjusting pricing based on market conditions, identifying potential compliance issues before they occur, and managing inventory optimization across multiple locations.

“I’m most excited about our work on predictive AI that can help our customers make better strategic decisions. Imagine an AI that can analyze local market conditions, seasonal trends, and inventory patterns to recommend optimal buying strategies for the next quarter. Or AI that can predict which customers are most likely to default on loans and suggest intervention strategies.”

We’re also building AI-powered business intelligence that makes every employee at our customers’ businesses more strategic. A front-line employee can now access insights that used to require dedicated analysts.

CIO Times: How do you ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty in a competitive market?

Tally Mack: Customer satisfaction in the AI era is about making our customers’ teams dramatically more capable. When someone can accomplish in an hour what used to take a full day, when they can make better decisions because they have AI-powered insights, when they can focus on high-value work instead of routine tasks – that creates loyalty that goes far beyond traditional software satisfaction. We want to solve customer issues faster than ever before, with consistency in every interaction, and a 5/5 CSAT with every resolved case.

We ensure this by continuously expanding our AI capabilities based on customer feedback and usage patterns. “We’re not just maintaining software; we’re constantly making our customers’ teams more powerful. Several times a year, we’re shipping new AI features that solve problems our customers didn’t even know they had.”

We also focus on AI education and enablement. We don’t just provide AI tools; we help our customers understand how to integrate these capabilities into their workflows effectively. We provide training, best practices, and ongoing support to ensure they’re getting maximum value from our AI features.

The key is demonstrating continuous value through AI advancement. Our customers stay loyal because they see their own capabilities expanding as our AI gets better.

CIO Times: What lessons have you learned from your journey as a leader in the industry? What legacy do you hope to leave through your work?

Tally Mack: The most important lesson I’ve learned is that technological transformations are fundamentally about people, not systems. Whether it was the internet revolution, the eCommerce boom, mobile transformation, or now AI, the companies that succeed are those that focus on making people more creative and successful, regardless of what technological wave is happening.

I’ve learned that leading through any transformation requires staying focused on human potential while adapting to new capabilities. I can’t lead effectively if I’m not personally experiencing how new technologies change work, but the goal is always to amplify what people can accomplish.

“The legacy I hope to leave is making every person who works with Bravo – whether they’re on our team or using our platform – happier, more creative, and more successful in their work.”

I want every business that partners with us to thrive, not just during this AI era, but through whatever technological revolution comes next.

Technology will continue evolving, but the fundamental goal remains the same: using whatever tools are available to help people and businesses reach their full potential. That’s what drives me, and that’s what I want Bravo to be known for long after specific technologies become obsolete.

CIO Times: Are there any upcoming projects or expansions planned for Bravo Store Systems?

Tally Mack: We’re building what I call the AI-first point-of-sale experience – a complete reimagining of how people interact with business software. Instead of clicking through traditional navigation menus and forms, our customers will accomplish their work through conversations with built-in AI assistants that I like to think of as “superhumans.”

“Imagine walking into your store and saying, ‘Show me yesterday’s top-performing inventory categories and suggest optimal pricing for today’s new arrivals.’ The AI doesn’t just execute these requests – it provides context, suggests improvements, and learns from each interaction.”

We’re also expanding into adjacent markets where our AI-first approach can create similar operational advantages. The key is finding industries with similar complexity and compliance requirements where our conversational AI platform can deliver dramatic productivity gains.

We’re developing partnerships with other AI-first companies to expand our capabilities. Rather than building everything in-house, we’re creating an ecosystem where our customers can access best-in-class AI tools through our platform, all integrated through natural conversation rather than traditional software interfaces.

CIO Times: How do you envision the future? What will your and the company’s goals for the next 5 years?

Tally Mack: Over the next five years, I see Bravo becoming the definitive example of how AI can transform traditional industries. We’ll be the platform that proves specialty retail can operate at the same technological sophistication as any other sector.

“From a technology perspective, I expect AI to become so integrated into our platform that every action our customers take is augmented by intelligent automation.”

Their teams will operate at superhuman levels because AI is handling all routine tasks and providing strategic insights for complex decisions.

Personally, my goal is to continue building a company culture where AI amplifies human potential rather than replacing it. I want every person on our team to be more capable, more strategic, and more fulfilled because they work with AI rather than against it.

I also want to establish Bravo as a model for how AI-first companies can maintain human-centered values while pursuing aggressive technological advancement. The future isn’t about choosing between AI and human capabilities – it’s about combining them to achieve things that weren’t possible before.

CIO Times: What does Bravo’s market leadership position mean for the future of specialty retail, and how are you ensuring this leadership drives innovation across the entire industry?

Tally Mack: Our market leadership position creates a responsibility to demonstrate what’s possible when specialty retail embraces AI at the foundational level. We’re not just serving our existing customer base – we’re proving that industries historically underserved by technology can leapfrog directly to AI-first operations.

What makes this particularly exciting is the ripple effect. When a small pawnshop owner can suddenly operate with the same AI-powered insights as a major retailer, it doesn’t just change their business – it changes customer expectations across the entire industry. Other companies are forced to evolve or become obsolete.

“We’re essentially creating a new competitive landscape where success isn’t determined by size or traditional resources, but by how effectively you can integrate AI into your operations.”

This means we’re not just building for our customers – we’re establishing the standards that will define how specialty retail operates in the AI era. Our innovation sets the pace for the entire sector, and that’s a responsibility we take seriously. The future belongs to companies that can combine deep industry expertise with aggressive AI adoption, and we’re committed to staying at the forefront of that transformation.

CIO Times: What is that one quote you absolutely live by or find helpful?

Tally Mack: “Solve today’s problem today.” I use this constantly with our team because while we’re building for the AI future, we can’t lose sight of executing with excellence on what’s in front of us right now.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of what AI will enable six months from now, but our customers need solutions today. Our team needs clear priorities today. Our market leadership position depends on consistently delivering value today. This philosophy keeps us grounded in execution while we’re pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

“The magic happens when you combine forward-thinking vision with relentless daily execution.” 

We’re anticipating where AI will take our industry, but we’re making concrete progress every single day on solving the problems our customers face right now. That’s how you maintain market leadership while driving transformation.

Read her digital magazine and discover how she’s shaping the future of tech.