The report that opened the day ·
Coresight Research Presents the IMPACT Framework Report
Max Kahn, Steven Winnick, John Harmon and Jiayue Zhao, Coresight Research
About the AI IMPACT Framework Link to the conference report to come
Recap · September 28, 2026
Coresight Conference How AI Is Redefining The Possible
One day at Tractor Supply’s Store Support Center, just south of Nashville, the day before Shoptalk Fall opened.
The day
100+ industry leaders, 13 sessions, one day in Brentwood.
Coresight Research convened retail leaders, AI innovators and technology pioneers at Tractor Supply’s Store Support Center for keynote conversations, innovator case studies and panels, all built on its AI IMPACT Framework.
- Industry leaders
- 100+
- AI expert speakers
- 40+
- Sessions
- 13
As announced on the event site before the day. Attendance figures to come.
- When
- Monday, September 28, 2026
11:00 AM to 6:30 PM - Where
- Tractor Supply Store Support Center
5401 Virginia Way, Brentwood, TN 37027 - Partners
- Tractor Supply Company
Soles4Souls, charity partner
Speakers
On stage in Brentwood.
40+ speakers and moderators, from retailers, technology partners, academia and Coresight Research. Portraits marked with initials are to come.
Deborah Weinswig
CEO & Founder, Coresight Research
Claudia Cividino
President, Jared Jewelers and Diamonds Direct
Glenn Allison
VP, AI Platforms, Tractor Supply Company
Buddy Teaster
President & CEO, Soles4Souls
Tom Hutchins
CTO, Dollar General
Neil Tenzer
SVP and CMO, Tractor Supply Company
Aparna Galiasso
Head, NA Retail & CPG Business Development, AWS
Justin Honaman
Global Head, Retail & Consumer Goods, AWS
Hannah de Boer
VP of Brand Marketing, Eberjey
Brian Backer
VP, AI Enablement, Ferguson
Gordon Kelly
Executive Vice President, UDig
Mark Blaze
President and CEO, Greater Nashville Technology Council
Gautham Vadakkepatt
Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Central Florida
Patrick Spear
COO, Alley-Cassetty Companies
Maju Kuruvilla
Founder & CEO, Spangle
Barry McGeough
Former VP of Innovation & Strategy, AMG Companies
Hejar Oncel
CIO, Follett
Bridget Roman
Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Cloudinary
Chris Rose
CEO, GUNNER
Erik Ulin
Managing Director, 0600 LLC
Mariya Zorotovich
General Manager, Consumer Industries, Intel
Howard White
Global Head of Frontline AI, Zebra Technologies
Joseph Martino
VP, Information Technology, Primaris Reit
Robin Raskin
Founder, The Virtual Events Group
Michael Diedrich
VP, Store Productivity, Tractor Supply Company
Jeffrey Rightnowar
Senior Director, Client Strategy, Simbe Robotics
Vijay Alagarasan
VP, IT Digital, Retail & Services, Tractor Supply Company
Ashye Marcus
Global GTM Industry Lead, Retail, Stripe
Chris Silver
CTO, JustFood for Dogs
Joe Laszlo
Head of Insights, Shoptalk & Groceryshop
Faisal Charania
CEO & Director, Dogwood Brands Company
Audrey-Laure Bergenthal
Founder, EUVEKA
Roopi Crowley
Managing Director, Strategic Accounts, T-Mobile
Jeff Kenniston
Senior Manager, AI Solution Engineering, T-Mobile
Karl Qvigstad
GTM for Physical AI, T-Mobile
Steve Ward
Sr. Network and Telecommunications Manager, Tractor Supply Company
Josh White
Chief Doer Officer, HandyFamm
Max Kahn
President, Coresight Research
Swarooprani Muralidhar
COO, Coresight Research
John Mercer
Global Head of Research, Coresight Research
Steven Winnick
Vice President, Innovators, Coresight Research
John Harmon
Managing Director of Technology Research, Coresight Research
Jiayue Zhao
Strategy Consultant, Advisory, Coresight Research
The framework
IMPACT.
Every session carried one of the six pillars of Coresight Research’s AI IMPACT Framework.
- Investment & Infrastructure3 sessions
- Models2 sessions
- Policies & Regulations1 session
- Applications1 session
- Consumers & Retail2 sessions
- Transformation3 sessions
Program
Thirteen sessions, one afternoon.
From the lunch program to the closing keynote, each session with its IMPACT pillar.
Keynotes4 conversations
Keynote conversation ·
The Great Reconfiguration: Leading Retail Through the AI Transformation
Claudia Cividino, President, Jared Jewelers and Diamonds DirectModerator: Deborah Weinswig
Keynote conversation ·
Tailspin to Tailwind, Clarity in the Age of AI
Buddy Teaster, President & CEO, Soles4SoulsModerator: Deborah Weinswig
Keynote conversation ·
Two Engines of Disruption: How AI Is Transforming Pet Health and Retail Marketing
Neil Tenzer, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer and Pet Health, Tractor Supply CompanyModerator: Deborah Weinswig
Closing keynote ·
The BEST Store Framework: Reimagining the In-Store Experience with AI
Glenn Allison, Tractor Supply Company, and Tom Hutchins, Dollar GeneralModerator: Deborah Weinswig
Lunch programPowered by CAIC (Coresight AI Council)
Registration
Open all day
to 11:32 AM, 2 min
Lunch program
Overview of CAIC
to 11:48 AM, 13 min
Lunch program
Ten Things We Learned About Retail in 2026
Robin Raskin, Max Kahn
to 12:00 PM, 12 min
Lunch program
How Is Retail Health Driving Physical AI?
Faisal Charania, Audrey-Laure Bergenthal
to 12:30 PM, 30 min
Lunch program
CAIC: 2026 Review & 2027 Agenda Setting
Swarooprani Muralidhar, John Mercer, Glenn Allison
to 1:00 PM, 30 min
Networking
Early afternoon1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
to 1:05 PM, 5 min
Opening remarks
Opening Remarks
Deborah Weinswig, Glenn Allison
to 1:20 PM, 15 min
Presentation
Coresight Research Presents the IMPACT Framework Report
Max Kahn, Steven Winnick, John Harmon, Jiayue Zhao
to 1:30 PM, 10 min
Innovator case studyIMPACT pillar: Transformation
Scaled Expertise, Still Human: Ferguson AI Transformation
Brian Backer, Gordon Kelly
to 1:50 PM, 20 min
Keynote conversationIMPACT pillar: Transformation
The Great Reconfiguration: Leading Retail Through the AI Transformation
Claudia CividinoModerator: Deborah Weinswig
to 2:10 PM, 20 min
Panel discussionIMPACT pillar: Investment & Infrastructure
The Changemakers: Building Retail’s Next Operating Model
Mark Blaze, Gautham Vadakkepatt, Patrick Spear, Maju KuruvillaModerator: Barry McGeough
About this session
Retail’s next chapter will not be written by technology alone. It will be shaped by the leaders who connect innovation with execution, investment, talent and measurable business value. This conversation brings together voices from technology, academia, investment and operations to examine what real transformation looks like beyond the headlines. The panel will explore how leaders are separating meaningful change from innovation theater, deciding where to place their bets and building organizations that can adapt as quickly as customer expectations and technology evolve.
to 2:20 PM, 10 min
Innovator case studyIMPACT pillar: Consumers & Retail
The Next Era of Personalization: How Follett Is Reimagining Visual Experiences With AI
Hejar Oncel, Bridget Roman
to 2:40 PM, 20 min
Panel discussionIMPACT pillar: Applications
The Focused Future: How AI Makes Niche Brands More Powerful
Hannah de Boer, Chris Rose, Erik Ulin, Josh WhiteModerator: Mariya Zorotovich
About this session
Niche brands have always competed through distinctiveness. AI is now giving them the ability to scale that advantage without sacrificing the identity, intimacy and point of view that made them successful. This panel will explore how focused brands are using AI to understand customers more deeply, personalize engagement, strengthen loyalty and operate with greater speed and efficiency. The discussion will examine how AI can help smaller or highly specialized brands compete with larger platforms — and where technology risks making every brand feel interchangeable.
to 3:00 PM, 20 min
Keynote conversationIMPACT pillar: Transformation
Tailspin to Tailwind, Clarity in the Age of AI
Buddy TeasterModerator: Deborah Weinswig
to 3:30 PM, 30 min
Networking Break
Late afternoon3:30 PM to 6:30 PM
to 3:50 PM, 20 min
Keynote conversationIMPACT pillar: Consumers & Retail
Two Engines of Disruption: How AI Is Transforming Pet Health and Retail Marketing
Neil TenzerModerator: Deborah Weinswig
to 4:10 PM, 20 min
Panel discussionIMPACT pillar: Investment & Infrastructure
The Experience Equation: How AI + Empowered Frontline Associates Elevate Retail
Aparna Galiasso, Howard White, Joseph MartinoModerator: Robin Raskin
About this session
Physical AI is moving from being an interesting demonstration to an operational capability inside the store. Robotics, computer vision and intelligent workflows are changing how retailers manage inventory, support associates, improve productivity and respond to customers in real time. This panel will explore what happens when AI moves off the screen and into the physical retail environment — and what retailers must do to deploy it responsibly and at scale. And what can they learn from the physical world to change their online assortment?
to 4:20 PM, 10 min
Innovator case studyIMPACT pillar: Models
From Visibility to Action: AI in the Physical Store
Michael Diedrich, Jeffrey Rightnowar
to 4:40 PM, 20 min
Panel discussionIMPACT pillar: Policies & Regulations
The Agentic Retail Stack: From Intelligent Commerce to Store Execution
Vijay Alagarasan, Justin Honaman, Jeff Kenniston, Ashye Marcus, Chris SilverModerator: Joe Laszlo
About this session
Agentic AI is moving beyond the chatbot: it is beginning to make decisions, coordinate workflows and take action across the retail value chain — from discovery and checkout to merchandising, operations and the store floor. This conversation will examine what agentic commerce looks like in practice and how retailers can move from isolated AI experiments to connected, intelligent systems that improve both customer experiences and business performance. The panel will explore the roles of payments, cloud infrastructure, retail operations and frontline execution in building the next generation of retail.
to 4:50 PM, 10 min
Innovator case studyIMPACT pillar: Investment & Infrastructure
Aligning Retail Infrastructure to Support the Future of Physical AI
Karl Qvigstad, Steve Ward
to 5:10 PM, 20 min
Closing keynoteIMPACT pillar: Models
The BEST Store Framework: Reimagining the In-Store Experience with AI
Glenn Allison, Tom HutchinsModerator: Deborah Weinswig
to 5:15 PM, 5 min
Closing remarks
Closing Remarks
Deborah Weinswig, Glenn Allison, Roopi Crowley, Justin Honaman
to 6:30 PM, 75 min
Cocktail Reception
Highlights
The day on film.
Sponsors
The sponsors and partners behind the Nashville conference.
- Partner to be confirmed
Gallery
Inside the day at Tractor Supply’s Store Support Center.
Photographs from the day.
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