Decisions, decisions, decisions… For the time being, at least, we humans will still get to make some. That’s probably why, when I interviewed her recently, Drayton’s London MD, Nicola Wensley started by debunking an age-old shibboleth.
“We’re moving away from the idea of ‘knowledge being power,’” said Nicola. “Instead, it’s how well can you learn, adapt, and lead in what you might call an Age of Uncertainty.”
In other words, when, thanks to AI, everyone knows everything, how do you find a competitive edge? The answer, says Nicola, is in “soft skills.”
“No one can really know AI,” she continues, “currently, it’s mercurial and changes weekly. What leaders need now is the right growth mindset – adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to surround yourself with the right people. I think the biggest shift is around those soft skills. The ones that are going to help you make the best calls, the best decisions.”
As you’d expect, Nicola, who specialises in retail and e-commerce executive search, is seeing lots of AI-driven change.
“These days I always ask candidates how AI is impacting their role. The majority now say, ‘I don’t know all the answers, but I’m reading, I’m learning, I’m asking questions.’ And it’s that mindset businesses really need. People who are focussed on understanding: how can I and my team best work with AI?”
So, what part of retail is AI affecting the most?
“Things like marketing, merchandising, and customer support. And there’s a lot happening in legal teams. AI is being used to analyse contracts, which means some junior roles may reduce. But negotiation skills are becoming more important because both parties come to the table with a far deeper insight than before. That’s quite an interesting shift. In one way, more work, not less work, if you’re a negotiator.”
In her spare time, Nicola enjoys listening to podcasts and particularly likes analyst Natalie Berg’s Retail Disrupted series, which documents the agentic revolution. As Berg, herself, says, “Retail is entering the age of Agentic Commerce – where AI agents don’t just recommend products, they autonomously sense, decide, and act to achieve customer goals.”
“They won’t just browse for you; they will buy for you,” says Nicola, “Perplexity’s “Shop Like a Pro” is an AI shopping concierge that already researches products, compares options, recommends the best choices, and offers one-click, in app checkout.”
Decisions, decisions, decisions…Use an agentic ‘personal shopper’ and, it seems, you won’t really have to make any. An agentic CEO or MD? I hear you ask. Relax, keep working on those soft skills, that’s still a good way off.