Why do 95% of AI projects fail? According to former Lululemon CIO Julie Averill, it is almost never the technology. In this episode of Retail Transformers, we dig into why AI projects fail in retail and what real retail AI transformation actually takes.
Julie’s message is blunt and badly needed: *AI doesn’t fix your culture, it reveals it.* Layer AI on top of broken processes, weak data, and unclear decision rights and you get a perfect demo and garbage results. That is the honest answer to why AI projects fail, and the starting point for any retail AI transformation worth the investment.
From the 20-hour Lululemon website outage that earned her a Jim Cramer callout before day one, to scaling the business from $2B to $10B, to building a Bangalore tech hub that reached 46% women, Julie shares the stories behind a career of retail AI transformation and the human-centered leadership that made it last. If you have ever wondered why AI projects fail in retail while the demos look flawless, this is the conversation. She is the author of Chief Impact Officer: Real Transformation Comes From Human, Not Just Artificial Intelligence.
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*The Retail Razor: Retail Transformers S2:E5*
*Released on May 6, 2026*
*Guest info*
*Julie Averill*, https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieaverill/
Author, *Chief Impact Officer*, https://goldthreadllc.com/book/
As Chief Information Officer of lululemon, Julie Averill led the technology transformation that scaled the company from $2 billion to over $10 billion in revenue while building global teams capable of sustaining that growth. Prior to lululemon, she led omni-channel and digital transformations at Nordstrom and REI, navigating system failures, high-stakes crises, and the complicated work of integrating technology with business strategy at scale. Today, she advises boards, CEOs, and founders at the intersection of AI capability and organizational readiness, and serves as Independent Director at multiple companies. She lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her wife Cindy.
In her book, ***Chief Impact Officer*** (8080 Books, June 16th, 2026) Julie unpacks where so many are going wrong– it isn’t about hiring the one person who knows the model of the moment. It’s about hiring leaders who can connect emerging technology to business outcomes, are humble enough to keep learning, and confident enough to own results.
Connect with Julie on LinkedIn or at julie@goldthreadllc.com. Get the book, available now.
*Chapters*
00:00 Teaser
00:52 Show Intro
05:28 Welcome Julie Averill!
07:11 Lululemon Site Meltdown
10:48 Restoring Ownership and Cloud
12:09 Catcher Crouch Leadership
16:28 Hypergrowth and Saying No
21:17 Building Inclusion in Bangalore
24:54 Unified Data Foundation Reality
27:35 Legacy Stacks vs Greenfield Rivals
29:32 Real Time Is Table Stakes
31:43 Flattening For Faster Decisions
34:31 Merchandising Demo Reality Check
37:54 AI Change Management Honesty
42:27 Spin Trust And Layoffs
45:22 Clean Sheet Reinvention
47:31 Make Yourself Unnecessary
50:35 Who Am I Without A Logo
55:58 AI Is Not The Point
58:43 Show Close
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