Beyond the AI Wild West — strategic adoption for Retail & Hospitality finance professionals

Event information

AI has stormed into the mainstream like a digital gold rush. Tools pop up daily, promising miracles. For finance teams in retail and hospitality, it’s tempting to grab a shovel and start digging. But in a landscape driven by rapid innovation and fleeting trends, smart leaders know success isn’t about speed and a race to implement — it’s about strategy.

We will take a step back from the hype and noise around AI and explore how to move beyond reactive adoption and instead identify AI solutions that drive long-term value for your business.

Our speakers for the webinar are Jen Heape and Alison Wong. Jen is an experienced product leader, expert in AI and emerging tech, and proven entrepreneur who has built high-impact, award-winning products for Amazon, Dyson, Reckitt, Bank of America, Verizon, and more. Alison is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and will share her own insights into AI adoption from her experiences as CFO in the boutique hotel sector as well as from an investor angle within private equity.

There will be time at the end of the webinar to ask our panel your questions. Or submit them in advance during registration.

Key benefits

Hear from our speakers on how to separate AI gold from glitter as we explore:

• Identifying and understanding the problem you want to AI solve.
• Should you buy, build or partner?
• Data, legal and compliance implications.
• Common pitfalls and the realities of building AI.
• How to measure success.

About the speakers

	Session Chair: Simon Gray, Head of Business, ICAEW Simon is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, who qualified with KPMG in Nottingham. After many years of volunteering, including District Society President, Chair of the Business Committee and Council Member, he joined ICAEW as Head of Business in December 2021. His background is in the recruitment, careers, membership and inward investment sectors. Simon has started and run his own businesses and served as a Non-Executive Director.
	Jen Heape – AI Product Leader and Strategist Jen is an AI-specialist product leader and strategist, with over 15 years experience creating award-winning products for some of the world’s most iconic brands - including Amazon, Bank of America, Dyson, Reckitt, and Verizon. A pioneer in conversational AI since 2017, she co-founded and scaled one of the world’s largest conversational AI consultancies and product studios to acquisition in 2023. Jen works at the intersection of technology, experience design, and business strategy - building products that are not only technically sophisticated, but that deliver measurable business growth and which people love to have in their lives. She’s known for delivering growth-led product innovation across the UK, Europe and US, leading high-performing international teams, shaping future-forward product strategies, and bringing bold ideas from zero to one. An international speaker and thought leader, she’s featured on BBC Radio 4, spoken at The Next Web, How Design Live and BIMA, and been published in The Atlantic, Campaign and TechRound.
	Alison Wong Chartered Accountant with over 15+ years of experience working with hospitality businesses of varying sizes. A 360 understanding of hospitality finance with experience ranging from professional services; in-house FD for start-up business, fractional CFO to reviewing businesses from an investor angle within private equity.

CPD hours

ICAEW's revised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Regulations bring in new CPD requirements. This includes a minimum number of hours and an ethics requirement. Attending this webinar could contribute up to 1hr of verifiable CPD, providing you can demonstrate that the content is relevant to your role.

A copy of the webinar booking confirmation email is accepted as evidence of verifiable CPD. You will need to save the email as a JPEG or PDF before uploading it to your record. Click here to use ICAEW’s self-assessment tool to help you work out how much CPD you will need to fulfil each year.

Costs

ICAEW members and non-members are welcome to join. This event is organised by the ICAEW Retail Community. Please click here to join online.