ShiSh Shridhar Joins Retail Show Australia 2026 as Featured Speaker

Retail Show Australia is pleased to announce that ShiSh Shridhar, Global Director for Retail & CPG Startups at Microsoft for Startups, will join the speaker line-up for Retail Show Australia 2026, taking place 22–24 September 2026 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

With nearly three decades at Microsoft and more than 15 years working alongside the world’s leading retailers and consumer brands, ShiSh brings deep expertise in applying AI, machine learning, agentic systems and emerging technologies to solve complex retail challenges. His work focuses on helping retailers and founders scale innovation, unlock new operating models, and drive meaningful business outcomes through cloud and intelligent technologies.

A Global Voice in Intelligent Retail Transformation

As Global Director for Retail & CPG Startups at Microsoft for Startups, ShiSh works at the forefront of retail innovation, partnering with organisations to navigate rapid technological change and build future-ready capabilities. He is widely recognised as a champion of disruptive retail innovation and a trusted advisor to both established enterprises and fast-growing startups.

A frequent speaker at major international industry forums, ShiSh is recognised among the RETHINK Retail Top Retail Experts and the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers. He is also regarded as a leading global voice on agentic commerce and intelligent retail transformation, offering a forward-looking perspective on how AI will fundamentally reshape the retail operating model.

Session Highlight: 

Agentic AI in Retail – From Task Automation to Business Autonomy

Session title: Agentic AI in Retail: From Task Automation to Business Autonomy

Retail is entering a new phase of AI adoption. The focus is shifting from tools that assist people to intelligent systems that can sense, reason and act autonomously on behalf of the business.

In this keynote, ShiSh will explore how retailers are evolving from task automation to true business autonomy, and how

agentic AI is transforming merchandising, marketing, supply chain and store operations. Drawing on real-world industry examples and emerging standards, the session will provide a practical lens on what it takes to design, govern and scale agentic systems inside modern retail organisations.

Key themes will include:

• Agentic AI Fundamentals: What makes an AI system truly agentic and how it differs from traditional automation
• Autonomous Retail Operations: How multi-agent architectures are reshaping retail operating models
• Competitive Advantage: Why agentic AI will redefine customer experience, efficiency and performance
• Practical Implementation: Building, governing and scaling intelligent systems in real retail environments

Attendees can expect clear, actionable insights into how agentic AI is moving retail beyond incremental optimisation toward intelligent, autonomous decision-making at scale.

Part of a World-Class Speaker Line-Up

ShiSh Shridhar joins a distinguished line-up of global speakers at Retail Show Australia 2026, where industry leaders, innovators and decision-makers will come together to explore the technologies, strategies and leadership approaches shaping the future of retail across Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Retail Show Australia 2026 will deliver three days of thought leadership, innovation showcases and high-value networking, covering everything from AI and retail technology to leadership, customer experience and commercial strategy.

Join us at MCEC this September to hear from ShiSh Shridhar and other industry experts redefining what’s next for retail.