Reinventing Retail – Featuring Luis Vera – Chairman & CEO, Zippedi

Join Shawn Harris for Reinventing Retail, a group and series dedicated to examining the impact of AI, robotics, Web3, the metaverse, and other major digital transformations that are rapidly reshaping the retail industry.

Shawn’s guest for this conversation is Luis Vera, Chairman & CEO of Zippedi for a discussion about how robotics are reinventing retail.

About Luis Vera
Luis Vera is a seasoned entrepreneur and highly trained engineer with more than 28 years of experience in the tech sector. He boasts a large and diverse professional network, having successfully negotiated and maintained contracts with a wide variety of major U.S. retailers and manufacturers, from Intel to Walmart. Mr. Vera is responsible for creating the commercial business model for Zippedi, which has continued to see growth and success since its inception. Under his leadership, Zippedi has established and strengthened, relationships with the Company’s key clients, negotiating pilot programs and securing contracts with notable clients including Cencosud, Sodimac/Falabella, Home Depot, Bunnings, and OBI to name few. Mr. Vera has also successfully raised $19.6 million in venture capital for the company since its founding in 2018.

Prior to Zippedi, Mr. Vera founded two other video analytics companies, both of which have seen success in a variety of markets. In 2006, he founded SCOPIX Inc, which used video analytics to improve the customer experience. Through Mr. Vera’s expert negotiation and unique ability to navigate the complex market, he raised $17 million in venture capital, and secured contracts with multiple customers in the U.S., including Cabela’s, Lowe’s, Kroger, Safeway, Starbucks, Home Depot, and more. In addition, he developed and managed ongoing partnerships with Cisco, Intel, Toshiba, and Motorola.

In 1992, prior to receiving his degree, Mr. Vera founded and served as CEO for Prospect S.A., a video analytics company that used Track Cameras in big box retail stores. He developed the business model, oversaw its implementation, and maintained responsibility for product development while creating the commercial business model. He was directly responsible for securing contracts with numerous high-profile clients including Cencosud, Walmart Chile, Unimarc, Ecusa (Pepsi), and Unilever. He also established a manufacturing partnership with Toshiba’s U.S.-based entity and raised more than $10 million in venture capital.

Mr. Vera has a degree in industrial engineering with a mayor in electrical engineering from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile.

About Shawn Harris
Shawn is a cross-functional leader, who has turned concepts into revenue generating businesses, in both startups and in enterprise, focusing in store technologies, eCommerce, supply-chain management, robotics, intelligent process automation, analytics, systems thinking, and applied artificial intelligence (AI/ML/DL).

He has been involved with artificial intelligence, robotics, store systems, eCommerce, and order management technologies for over 15 years, having held management positions in, or consulted to, numerous tier 1 retailers including Walmart, Target, TJX, Staples, BJ’s, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Uniqlo (Fast Retailing).