Katia Walsh
Managing director at Apollo Global Management, former chief strategy and AI officer of Levi Strauss & Co.
Katia Walsh is a data and AI executive best known for her role as senior vice president and chief strategy and artificial intelligence officer at Levi Strauss & Co. She built the company's Strategy and AI team from 2020 and launched a machine learning bootcamp that trained employees as data scientists, an initiative widely referenced in discussions of AI adoption in fashion. She later became the first chief digital officer of Harvard Business School and is now a managing director at Apollo Global Management.
| Role | Former SVP, chief strategy and AI officer |
|---|---|
| Current role | Managing director, Apollo Global Management |
| Previous role | Chief digital officer, Harvard Business School (from 2023) |
| Organisation | Levi Strauss & Co. |
| Strategy and AI team | Launched 2020 |
| Bootcamp | First cohort graduated May 2021 |
| Known for | AI upskilling in apparel |
Who is Katia Walsh?
Katia Walsh is a technology executive who led strategy and artificial intelligence at Levi Strauss & Co. As senior vice president and chief strategy and AI officer, she was responsible for applying data and machine learning across one of the world's best known denim companies, and for building the internal capability to do so.
Career
Walsh joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2019 as senior vice president and chief strategy and artificial intelligence officer, after leading big data and AI at Vodafone Group; earlier she held roles at Prudential Financial, Fidelity Investments and Forrester Research. According to Levi Strauss & Co., 2020 was the inaugural year of its Strategy and AI team, which started with 12 people and expanded across the United States, Europe and China. Walsh led the team and championed the company's approach to digital upskilling. In 2023 she became the inaugural chief digital officer of Harvard Business School, and she is now a managing director at Apollo Global Management. She holds a PhD from the University of Missouri.
Influence on the fashion business
Walsh's work at Levi Strauss & Co. is a well documented example of a heritage apparel company using AI across core commercial decisions rather than only in isolated pilots. The company reported applications in several areas:
- Pricing, promotion, planning, allocation and assortment.
- AI powered micro-assortment for retail stores.
- A predictive simulator for business recovery scenarios.
- A store replenishment app using demand predictions.
- Machine learning for consumer profiling and personalised offers.
Her most visible initiative was the machine learning bootcamp. The first cohort was an eight week, full time programme for around 40 employees selected from more than 350 applicants, drawn from 14 locations across corporate offices, retail, distribution and data centres; 63 per cent of participants were women. The first cohort graduated in May 2021, and by November 2021 the company said it had developed more than 100 new data scientists through the programme. Graduates either joined the Strategy and AI team or returned to their roles with new skills.
Katia Walsh and technology
Walsh framed data, digital and AI as mutually reinforcing. In a Levi Strauss & Co. article in February 2021 she described how data makes artificial intelligence possible, how AI makes digital smart and how digital in turn generates more data that further fuels AI. She also said that digital, data and AI are the essence of how we will win as a company, and that all functions and teams throughout the enterprise are part of that effort.
The bootcamp reflected this view: rather than relying only on hiring specialists, Levi Strauss & Co. trained people who already understood its products, stores and supply chain. This approach is often cited when fashion companies discuss how to close AI skills gaps.
Why it matters
Katia Walsh showed how an established fashion company could organise for AI, combining a central team, practical use cases and large scale employee training. Her work remains a reference point for executives planning AI transformation in apparel.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Katia Walsh?
Katia Walsh is a data and AI executive who served as senior vice president and chief strategy and artificial intelligence officer at Levi Strauss & Co. She built the company's Strategy and AI team from 2020 and launched its machine learning bootcamp. She later became chief digital officer of Harvard Business School and is now a managing director at Apollo Global Management.
What did Katia Walsh say about AI?
In February 2021 she said that data makes AI possible and AI makes digital smart, which generates more data that further fuels AI. She described digital, data and AI as the essence of how Levi Strauss & Co. would win as a company.
