I’m the Sam’s Club CEO and I’ve got an AI leadership reality check: let purpose, not promise, guide investment

The rise of artificial intelligence in all its forms and its impact on business and people is one of the most transformative moments of our time. As AI reshapes our organizations, how we choose to embrace it will define not just our businesses - but also the next generation of leaders. This is exactly the topic addressed when I recently led a discussion with other CEOs around AI’s impact on business. As AI becomes more prevalent, a clear strategy and intentional leadership will be essential to driving adoption and mass utilization. While AI’s potential is enormous, cross-industry data indicates that as many as 95% of AI deployments fail to yield significant results. Meanwhile, negative headlines about workforce changes place blame on AI when this can often mask more nuanced business challenges. The questions I most often hear from other business leaders include hi: When will investments in AI deliver an ROI? When will it improve performance? And what does it mean for our people? Successfully shifting from experimentation to meaningful impact depends on how companies apply these technologies. While many companies have struggled to find early success, our AI journey over a number of years at Sam’s Club has proven to be more successful. It has changed how we operate our business, how our associates work, and how our members shop with us. When other leaders hear about Sam’s Club’s AI progress, they often ask me how they should think about applying AI and managing the impact on their business. My answer is simple: by grounding every decision in purpose. Lead with what defines your business Change is constant, and AI is accelerating that change even faster. In moments like this, leaders must find and hold steady to purpose - and let core principles guide every decision to navigate whatever comes next. At Sam’s Club, our technology decisions are grounded in something that is core to who we are across Walmart : which includes these key words: We are people-led and tech-powered . Technology serves people, not the other way around. Ever. With that as our compass, we’re guided to integrate AI in ways that create more meaningful, connected experiences for our more than 100,000 Sam’s Club associates and the millions of members they serve. When investing in AI, start with the biggest points of friction for your business, your people, and your customers. For us, one example was our exit. Members told us the process to leave our clubs took too long. So we developed and scaled AI-powered computer vision technology that scans carts in milliseconds so members can simply leave the club. No waiting in line for manual receipt checks. In less than a year, we went from pilot to full rollout across all 600 clubs. Exit times are now 23 percent faster, three in four members enjoy friction-free experiences, and customer satisfaction continues to rise. Empower People, Elevate Experiences But AI’s value isn’t just measured in metrics-it’s also reflected in the impact on our people. The same...

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