Asha Saxena, CEO and founder of Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA), is passionate about the integration of artificial intelligence into business, and making the sector more diverse and inclusive of women. At the recent Total Retail Tech event in Nashville, hosted by our sister brand, Total Retail, Saxena delivered a keynote presentation titled, The AI Factor: How Retailers Can Extract Value From Data.

In this interview with Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli, Saxena shares the mission driving WLDA, how to address the challenges faced by women in technology, and how male allies can help. Saxena’s recent book, “The AI Factor,” puts machine learning and AI into easy-to-understand context for business owners, and she addresses how retailers in particular can use these technologies to spur growth.