Shekar Raman

Shekar Raman is CEO and co-founder of Birdzi, a grocery retail AI solutions company that was inspired by an idea his 11-year-old daughter had about locating products in the supermarket. He is passionate about building data-driven technologies leveraging AI and Machine learning to help retailers and brands elevate the customer experience.

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Gary Hawkins

Gary Hawkins has lived his career ahead of the curve, putting him in the right place at the right time to help guide the fast moving consumer goods retail industry into the future in a time of exponential technology growth using never-before-available capabilities to innovate the future of shopping. Early in his career, Hawkins launched one of the first loyalty programs in the US supermarket ...

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Shekar Raman is CEO and co-founder of Birdzi, a grocery retail AI solutions company that was inspired by an idea his 11-year-old daughter had about locating products in the supermarket. He is passionate about building data-driven technologies leveraging AI and Machine learning to help retailers and brands elevate the customer experience. Shekar began his career working on the Human Genome Project at the Dept. of Human Genetics, Univ. of Pennsylvania, developing algorithms for protein modeling. He was part of some of the pioneering groups (early 90s) in BioInformatics at UPenn,  and at the Dept. of Human Genetics, UNLV, where he applied speech recognition techniques to identify and classify genetic sequences.  He then continued onto AT&T Bell Labs, working in the Speech Recognition group as a consultant developing data collection algorithms where he also acquired significant expertise in systems engineering. He then later moved on to Systems Engineering, architecting & implementing infrastructure solutions for a large Fortune 500 company working in both consulting and management roles.Shekar Raman has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communications from Osmania University, Hyderabad India. He went to Graduate School at Villanova University where he obtained a MS in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Digital Signal Processing and Pattern Recognition.

Gary Hawkins has lived his career ahead of the curve, putting him in the right place at the right time to help guide the fast moving consumer goods retail industry into the future in a time of exponential technology growth using never-before-available capabilities to innovate the future of shopping. Early in his career, Hawkins launched one of the first loyalty programs in the US supermarket sector, quickly leading industry learning around shopper insights and analytics. That work quickly led to advising premier retailers in markets around the world in gaining customer intelligence. Next up was helping companies like Procter & Gamble and Unilever develop a shopper focus and leverage customer insights and analytics into collaborative marketing initiatives with key retailers, laying the foundation for today’s shopper marketing movement. Realizing the ineffectiveness of mass marketing across the supply chain, Hawkins leveraged early insight to new innovative technologies to develop and deploy the first personalized marketing system for mass retail, driving industry focus on the power of marketing personalization. Hawkins leverages his unique perspective into his role as strategic advisor at Birdzi to help guide business strategy, product roadmap, sales and marketing.

This is Us!

The Retail Perch podcast is hosted by the powerful duo Shekar Raman, CEO of Birdzi and Gary Hawkins, CEO of Center for Advancing Retail & Technology (CART).
This podcast aims to provide a fresh perspective and framework for how grocery retail is viewed. Whether you're a retailer, entrepreneur, or a curious mind tuning in, there is something in store for everyone. Each Monday, your hosts will share supermarket analysis, personal stories about the industry, along with their views to provide you with further insight into everything retail grocery and AI.

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Interview with Tom Burgess of Snipp Interactive

This week on the Retail Perch, Gary Hawkins and Shekar Raman are joined by the remarkable Tom Burgess, a true polymath who divides his time between pioneering new ventures and sailing th...

Interview with Paul McEnroe

On this very special episode, Gary and Shekar welcome Paul V. McEnroe, author of THE BARCODE: How a Team Created One of the World's Most Ubiquitous Technologies and a retail pioneer. The inventor of the barcode j…

Interview with SparkPlug

Do not miss this episode with Shekar, Gary, Andrew Duffy, and Jake Sky Levin, co-founders of SparkPlug. SparkPlug is a sales incentive software built for retailers and brands to engage frontline teams to hit sales goals while increasing employ…

Interview with Raz Golan of Shopic

This week, Gary and Shekar are joined by Raz Golan co-founder of Shopic, a company that has transformed the shopping experience to another level. Shopic seamlessly integrates online stores with physical retail stores, enabling businesses t…

Interview with Max Koziolek of Spectrm

On this episode of the Retail Perch, Gary and Shekar welcome Max Koziolek who has come a long way from politics to making a marketing platform. Max Koziolek is the co-founder of Spectrm, a conversational marketing platform...

Interview with Justin Chen of PickFu

In this week’s episode, Shekar and Gary interview Justin Chen, co-founder of PickFu, a company that provides a self-service way to get in-depth consumer feedback be it for businesses, authors, game designers, and more. Their instant pollin...

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Interview with ChatGPT

On this week's The Retail Perch, Gary, and Shekar welcome a fascinating, virtual guest, that knows a lot about...well everything. The three of them discuss marketing personalization in retail, the podcast, and the future of AI in the retail indu...

Interview with Galen Walters of Stor.ai

Don't miss this episode where Shekar and Gary welcome Galen Walters. Galen is the CEO of Stor.ai, a Relationshop Company, a platform that empowers retailers by combining e-commerce, data analytics, and omni-channel engagement…

Interview with Valentin Radu of Omniconvert

In this episode of The Retail Perch, Gary and Shekar delve even deeper into the world of data and marketing with Valentin Radu, CEO of Omniconvert. Omniconvert focuses on Direct t...

Interview with Sean Snyder of Engagement Agents

In this episode of The Retail Perch, Gary and Shekar welcome Sean Snyder. Sean Snyder, a fellow retailer himself, is CEO of Engagement Agents. His company helps retailers optimize...

Interview with Carol Leaman of Axonify

In this episode of The Retail Perch, Gary returns to join Shekar in welcoming Carol Leaman. Carol is the CEO of Axonify Inc., a company that delivers fun training and communications to frontline employees. In this episode learn why...

Interview with Randy Mercer of 1WorldSync

In today’s episode of The Retail Perch, Shekar hosts his first episode solo and his first guest of 2023, Randy Mercer of 1WorldSync. Randy is the VP of Global Product Management at ....

Interview with Sharat Potharaju of Beaconstac

This week on The Retail Perch, Shekar and Gary welcome their first guest from India, Sharat Potharaju. Sharat is the Co-Founder & CEO of Beaconstac. Beaconstac generates QR codes...

Shekar and Gary's Predictions for 2023!

In this special episode of The Retail Perch, Shekar and Gary discuss their top 10 predictions for 2023 surrounding supermarket retail. They both share five of their own predictions which include the growth of retail media networks, artificial...

Interview with Andrew Forman of Givz

This is the perfect episode to kick off the season of giving! Gary and Shekar welcome Andrew Forman, Founder & CEO of Givz, a platform that provides customers with an alternative option to traditional discounts that give back to others...

Interview with Andrew and Thomas Parkinson of Sifter Solutions

In this episode of The Retail Perch, Shekar and Gary are excited to have brothers, Andrew and Thomas Parkinson, founders of Peapod, on The Retail Perch. Andrew and Thomas have more ...

Interview with Todd Michaud of HuLoop Automation

This week Shekar and Gary are thrilled to welcome Todd Michaud to The Retail Perch. Todd is the CEO of HuLoop Automation, a company that works with retailers and brands to..

Interview with Shawn Tuckett of Webstop

This week on The Retail Perch, Shekar, and Gary welcome Shawn Tuckett, CEO of Webstop, a company that helps retailers be more successful digitally. Shawn explains how Webstop levels the digital playing field for small to midsize retailers..

Interview with Doug Madenberg of The Feedback Group

In this episode, Gary and Shekar welcome back Doug Madenberg Chief Listening Officer and Executive Director at The Feedback Group. Doug is on to share the findings from The Feedback...

Interview with Russ Hawkins of Agilence

This week Gary and Shekar welcome Russ Hawkins, President, and CEO of Agilence. Agilence is a leader in loss prevention analytics, helping retailers, restaurants, and grocery retailers reduce preventable loss. Russ describes his ...

Interview with Kevin Sterneckert of DemandTec

This week Gary and Shekar welcome Kevin Sterneckert, Chief Strategy Officer at DemandTec an Acoustic Company. Kevin brings extensive experience in grocery retail, retail ...

Interview with Doug Madenberg of The Feedback Group

In this episode, Gary and Shekar welcome back Doug Madenberg Chief Listening Officer and Executive Director at The Feedback Group. Doug is on to share the findings from The Feedback Group's recent national research on food price ...

Interview with Stephen Statler of Wiliot

This week Gary and Shekar get the opportunity to geek out with Stephen Statler, SVP at Amazon-backed Wiliot a company that has designed IoT Pixels to track the location and temperature of produce from farms to stores. Stephen explains how their postage stamp-sized technology is...

Interview with Arsen Avakian of Cooler Screens

TThis week, Gary and Shekar have the pleasure of speaking Arsen Avakian CEO and Founder of Cooler Screens and Founder of Argo Tea. The focus of today's conversation is the sophisticated digital add platform known as Cooler Screens, ...

Interview with Jay Jordan of Strella Biotechnology

ustainability seems to be a buzzword in grocery retail these days. Many retailers have gone so far as to sign sustainability pacts. In this episode, Gary and Shekar speak with Jay Jordan, co-founder, and COO of Strella Biotech, a startup

Interview with Sterling Hawkins

This week Shekar, Gary, and guest host Stephanie have the privilege of speaking with Sterling Hawkins, keynote speaker, investor, entrepreneur, and author. Sterling is on the show to share his new book, "Hunting Discomfort." We discuss the #nomatterwhat

The Retail Perch samples Cask and Kettle's hot cocktails!

he Retail Perch has taken a little break due to busy schedules, but Shekar, Gary, and Steph managed to find a little time on Friday evening to sample Cask and Kettle boozy coffee!

Interview with Lucinda Wright of Cask & Kettle

ary and Shekar welcome Lucinda Wright, co-founder and CEO of Cask & Kettle, creators of boozy cocktail k-pods for home coffee brewing systems. That's right boozy k-pods! When one thinks of alcoholic beverages, technology

Interview with Adam Zimmerman of DESIGN HOUSE

This week Gary and Shekar welcome Adam Zimmerman, Partner at DESIGN HOUSE, an advanced digital circular platform. DESIGN HOUSE is redefining the weekly ad for retailers in more ways than one and of course, Gary and

Interview with Alicia Esposito of Retail TouchPoints

This week is a first for The Retail Perch! Gary and Shekar have the pleasure of speaking with Alicia Esposito, VP of Content at Retail TouchPoints. Alicia offers the unique perspective of someone in retail media. The three discuss Retail ...

Interview with Tommy Yionoulis of OpsAnalitica

This week, Gary and Shekar are joined by Tommy Yionoulis founder of OpsAnalitica, a SaaS platform that helps clients manage their daily operations and identify issues in their business so they can be addressed quickly and efficiently. ..

The Path to Personalization: Part III

In Part III of this series, Gary and Shekar discuss how to execute quickly on the copious data that retailers have to ensure they are providing the most relevant offers to their customers. They also talk about how marketing automation combin...

The Path to Personalization: Part II

In Part II of this series, Gary shares how he took his family stores from mailed out paper coupons targeting the top 30% of shoppers to an engine that supported personalization algorithms which allowed him to deliver coupons to specific ...

The Path to Personalization: Part I

In part one of a two-part series, Gary and Shekar discuss how personalization has evolved over the years. Gary shares his experience in the retail trenches and the lessons he learned from them. They discuss why grocers needed to develop loy...

Interview with Manolo Almagro of Q Division

This week, Shekar and Gary welcome Manolo Almagro, Managing Partner at Q Division, a transformational tech consultancy. Manolo offers his perspective on retail tech and where it's going. He also weighs in on the MetaVerse and how it

Interview with Michael Solomon Expert on Consumer Behavior

The Retail Perch is back! And what a fantastic guest to return with. This week, Gary and Shekar have the opportunity to speak with Michael Solomon, prolific author and Professor of Marketing at Saint Joseph's University. "They...

Interview with Jason Goldberg of Retailgeek

This week Gary and Shekar welcome a fellow podcaster on the show. Jason Goldberg, co-host of the popular e-commerce Podcast, the Jason & Scot Show. He is also a 4th generation retailer who brings with him the perspective of someon...

Interview with Harold Lloyd of Harold Lloyd Presents

This week Gary and Shekar have the pleasure of speaking with Harold Lloyd, vice president at Harold Lloyd Presents, Inc, where for the past 25 years he has been presenting ideas and solutions to the retail and supermarket industry to better...

Interview with David Klavsons of King Juice Co./Calypso Lemonade

The Retail Perch is back this week with a refreshingly new perspective from a CPG company. Gary and Shekar interview David Klavsons, Chief Executive Officer at King Juice/Calypso Lemonade. David explains h...

Interview with Rupal Patel of VocaliD

his week's episode is a slight departure from our usual focus on grocery retail. Shekar and Gary have the opportunity to speak with Rupal Patel, CEO of VocaliD, custom synthetic voice designers, and the makers of PARROT STUDiO, a no-code audible content creation platform...

Interview with Daniel Lundh of Lifvs powered by Storekey

Are unmanned stores the wave of the future? This week Gary and Shekar speak with Daniel Lundh, founder and COO of Lifvs, and the platform that powers it, Storekey. Daniel shares why areas of Sweden can be considered food deserts and t..

Interview with John Readman of BOSCO™ powered by Modo25menu

This week Shekar and Gary delve into digital marketing with John Readman, Founder & CEO BOSCO™ powered by Modo25, an AI machine learning tool that suggests where retailers should be investing their marketing spend. Throughout...

The Retail Perch with Harold Lloyd Presents Share Group

In this special episode, Shekar and Gary explain the danger and the opportunity presented by strategic personalization in grocery retail to a group of grocery retailers.  Q&A from the ...

Interview with Mike Novosel of Cardlytics

This week, Shekar, and guest host, Stephanie Doherty have the opportunity to speak with Mike Novosel, Industry Lead for Grocery, Gas & Convenience at Cardlytics. Cardlytics uses ...

Interview with Jeremy Neren of GrocerKey

This week Shekar and Gary speak with Jeremy Neren, co-founder, and CEO of GorcerKey, a comprehensive e-commerce platform for independent and regional grocers. Jeremy ...

Interview with Brandon Scholz of WGA

This week Shekar and guest host Stephanie Doherty have the privilege of interviewing, Brandon Scholz, a partner at The Capitol Group and President & CEO of the Wisconsin Groc...

In-person Events

On the fence about attending upcoming, in-person events? This week, Gary Hawkins and Shekar Raman review the most recent in-person events (GroceryShop and The NGA Show 2021)...

Interview with Victor Penev of Edamam

In this episode of The Retail Perch, Gary and Shekar delve even deeper into the world nutrition data with Victor Penev, CEO of Edamam. Edamam offers affordable value-added nutriti...

Interview with Marcus Sredzinski of ScriptSave

In an effort to stay healthy during the Covid Pandemic, many shoppers started to examine how the food they eat affects their health and well-being. Marcus Sredzinski, COO/EVP Script...

Interview with Annette Franke

“How granularly you define your customer is how much better and refined your insights will be about them as an individual."- Annette Franke.

Interview with Greg Ferrara of National Grocers Association

Just in time for the NGA Show, Gary and Shekar welcome Greg Ferrara, President, and CEO of the National Grocers Association. Greg shares his observations of how independent grocery has ...

Interview with ShiSh Shridhar of Microsoft Startups

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Steve Dennis author of Remarkable Retail

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of wha...

Interview with Richard Kestenbaum of Triangle Capital LLC

Do not miss this fascinating episode with Richard Kestenbaum, Partner at Triangle Capital LLC and contributor at Forbes.com. Gary, Shekar, and Richard discuss the impact the growth of onli...

Retail Roundup

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Joe Lampertius of ChaseDesign

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Sandra Duff of Jackman

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Olga Yurovski, Inventor & CEO of Shopperations

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Ashish Shrowty, Co-Founder, Divebell Inc.

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Orlee Tal of Stor.ai

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Refinition

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Michael Haase of Plant Jammer

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Manil Uppal of Delivery Solutions

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with JMK Solutions

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with White Box

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Retail Voodoo

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Ketner Group Communications

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Open Voice Network

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with The Food Industry Association

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Future Proof Retail

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Halla

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

Interview with Grocery Shopii

Entrepreneurs and start-ups, this episode is for you. This week, Gary and Shekar get to pick the brain of venture capitalist, David Matthews from RevTech Ventures. David shares his ideas of what makes a ...

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