Target has named Lowe’s executive Chandhu Nair as its first chief AI officer, starting August 24. IBM research puts the share of organisations with a chief AI officer at 76% this year, up from 26% in 2025.
Target has appointed its first chief AI officer. Chandhu Nair joins from Lowe’s on August 24 as senior vice president and chief AI officer. The retailer also named Purvi Shah senior vice president of user experience.
Nair was senior vice president of stores, data, AI and innovation at Lowe’s, and has previously worked at Staples and Gap. He said his focus at Target is a “more coordinated approach” to the technology, covering inventory management and faster decision-making.
“The most meaningful AI stories won’t be about what happens in a lab,” Nair said in a statement. “They’ll be about what happens on the front line, how we make shopping easier for a guest, give a team member a better tool, make a business decision with more confidence or bring a new idea to market faster.”
Target is not early to this. IBM’s Institute for Business Value found that 76% of organisations it surveyed had a chief AI officer in 2026, up from 26% a year earlier, and that those with one reported 5% higher returns on their AI spending. The job is now close to standard, and one of the job titles AI created.
