Sephora CTO Sree Sreedhararaj on Tech Transformation
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Sephora’s CTO Sree Sreedhararaj found himself testing years of digital groundwork in a matter of months, not the gradual rollout he’d planned.
The Pandemic Shock
Though Sreedhararaj had been pushing for stronger virtual capabilities since joining Sephora in 2017, he never imagined digital would become the company’s only revenue channel overnight.
“We never thought we’d get the fruits of the transformation journey so quickly, we were thinking three to five years from now, and it came in six months.”
When stores closed from March to June 2020, digital became Sephora’s sole source of revenue. Customers who had relied on in-store beauty consultations suddenly needed online alternatives, and Sreedhararaj’s team had to deliver fast.
A Foundation Already in Place
The groundwork had been laid since 2017. Sreedhararaj and his team had been:
- Adding AI for personalized services
- Improving information flow between the website and physical stores
- Eliminating technology silos and duplicate processes
- Building the foundations for omni-channel initiatives
These efforts not only prepared Sephora for the sudden shift but also reduced operational costs along the way.
The Digital Response
When the crisis hit, Sreedhararaj’s team quickly added digital chat capabilities that could direct customers to live consultations with beauty advisors, all while displaying a full view of Sephora’s product catalog.
Training Advisors for a New World
Bigtincan had already provided the platform used to train and educate Sephora’s beauty advisors. When the pandemic arrived, that same platform was rapidly repurposed to train store advisors for online interactions.
“Bigtincan helped speed up the transformations,” Sreedhararaj says.
Key Technology Partners
Sreedhararaj relies on a network of partners to keep Sephora’s digital engine running:
Apex Systems
Provides analysis and information support when Sephora launches new products and programs. They help translate business programs into technology needs.
iTalent Digital
Silvia Quintanilla helps map the steps needed to keep products at the forefront of customers’ imaginations, ensuring Sephora invests in the right things at the right time.
Litmus7
A decade-long collaboration focused on unified commerce, weaving together new omni-channel ways to bring customers in. They provide thought leadership and build solutions and frameworks.
GSPANN
Consulting and tech services focused on creating “memorable, repeatable and cherishable” digital experiences that build customer loyalty.
The Future of Sephora Retail
Despite the massive digital push, Sreedhararaj insists physical stores aren’t going away. However, Sephora is shifting toward smaller, centrally located shops rather than traditional mall anchors. A change in store footprint like this affects more than the storefront. Leases, capital spending and store-level reporting all have to be reworked, and many retailers bring in extra help through an accounting staffing agency to handle the finance side during the transition.
The goal is unified commerce, a seamless blend of online and in-store experiences where customers can move between channels without friction.
Sreedhararaj’s Career Path
From Infosys to Walmart Labs
A graduate of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala with a degree in computer science, Sreedhararaj joined Infosys in 2004 as a solutions architect. In 2011, he moved to Walmart Labs, where he built supply chain systems for the Chinese market and later created the “endless aisle” system, scaling online orders from 2,000 to 16,000 per minute.
Joining Sephora
Hired as senior director of enterprise architecture and applications, he was promoted to CTO in September 2019, just months before the pandemic would test everything he’d built.
What’s Next
Sreedhararaj sees the remote-work acceleration as proof that transformation is possible at speed.
“Being remote has proven we can be as productive, sometimes even more productive, than being in the office. I’m really glad, but equally shocked, and it provides the motivation to keep working on the transformation journey.”
The work continues, but Sephora’s digital foundation is now built to handle whatever comes next.
