As the head of technology at omnichannel luggage brand July, Lachi Agnew is at the forefront of redefining what it means to deliver premium retail experiences in the digital age.
Tasked with weaving technology into every facet of the business, he’s a vital connector across teams, turning big-picture ambitions into technical realities that keep July ahead in a fast-evolving market.
Inside Retail spoke with Agnew to unpack why the rise of AI in retail isn’t just a trend – it marks a complete shift, positioning technology leaders as key drivers of competitive advantage, customer engagement and brand story.
He also shares his overarching leadership philosophy and why “context empowers better decision-making than prescriptive instructions ever could.”
Inside Retail: What does a typical day look like for you as July’s head of technology?
Lachi Agnew: My days are defined by constant context-switching across multiple dimensions of the business. I manage ongoing projects with our software engineering team while simultaneously serving as a technical bridge between departments. Marketing and retail are my most frequent collaborators, requiring me to translate their strategic objectives into technical solutions that align with our infrastructure capabilities. A significant portion of my time involves architecting MVPs for new initiatives, whether that’s enhancing our e-commerce capabilities, optimising data pipelines, or exploring new customer touchpoints.
Integration work is never-ending; every team has unique needs that require custom solutions to connect disparate systems seamlessly. The challenge lies in balancing immediate operational needs with long-term strategic planning, ensuring our technology stack remains both robust for today’s demands and flexible for tomorrow’s opportunities.
IR: Could you share some of the critical skills required in your role?
LA: The ability to simplify complex problems is absolutely fundamental – it’s the difference between paralysis and progress. In retail technology, you’re constantly faced with intricate challenges involving multiple systems, stakeholders and constraints. But simplification alone isn’t enough; you need to articulate your solutions in ways that resonate with diverse audiences.
When discussing infrastructure decisions with the board, technical architecture with engineers, or integration possibilities with marketing teams, each requires a different communication approach. The real skill is maintaining technical accuracy while adjusting your message’s complexity level. You’re essentially serving as a translator between the technical and business worlds, ensuring decisions are not just technically sound but also understood and embraced across the organization.
This dual capability – to both solve and explain – determines whether technology becomes an enabler or a bottleneck for the business.
IR: Do you see technology leaders playing an increasingly strategic role in retail with the rise of AI?
LA: Absolutely, and it extends far beyond the surface-level applications most people associate with retail AI. We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how technology shapes customer experiences, operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. AI isn’t just powering chatbots or recommendation engines anymore, it’s transforming inventory management, predicting market trends, personalising entire customer journeys and even influencing product development cycles.
The technology leader’s role is evolving from systems maintainer to innovation architect, responsible for identifying and implementing AI opportunities that create genuine competitive advantages. We’re becoming central to strategic conversations about market positioning, customer acquisition and brand differentiation because technology now directly influences all these areas. The distinction between technology strategy and business strategy is essentially dissolving.
IR: Are there any elements of your role that might surprise people?
LA: People might be surprised by how deeply embedded I am in the creative and brand storytelling process. Technology leadership in premium retail isn’t just about system functionality; it’s about crafting digital experiences that evoke the same emotional response as holding our physical products.
I spend considerable time collaborating with design teams, translating aesthetic visions into technical realities where performance and beauty must coexist without compromise. Every animation curve, every loading sequence, every interaction pattern is deliberate and must reinforce our brand narrative. The technical architecture decisions we make directly impact how customers perceive quality and luxury in the digital space.
It’s a constant balance between pushing creative boundaries and maintaining the performance standards that modern consumers expect. The role demands equal parts engineer and artist, understanding both database optimisation and design psychology.
IR: Can you share a productivity ‘hack’ that has increased your efficiency at work?
LA: My game-changer has been fully embracing Claude Code with MCP servers as a comprehensive work environment, not just a coding assistant. This setup has fundamentally transformed how I approach problem-solving and information management. It’s become my primary interface for nearly everything – from architecting complex systems to analysing data patterns, from drafting technical documentation to exploring strategic decisions. The ability to maintain context across different types of tasks while having intelligent assistance that understands both technical and business domains has eliminated countless context switches that used to fragment my day.
What makes this particularly powerful is the seamless integration between thinking, planning, and executing – I can move from conceptual exploration to actual implementation without leaving the environment. It’s like having a highly capable technical partner who never forgets context and can instantly pivot between strategic planning and detailed execution.
IR: What is your approach to leadership? And is there a moment or person that inspired it?
LA: My leadership philosophy centres on radical transparency and earned trust, built on the belief that context empowers better decision-making than prescriptive instructions ever could. I focus on explaining not just what needs to be done, but why it matters to our business objectives and how it fits into our broader technical strategy.
When team members understand the full picture – the constraints, trade-offs and strategic implications – they make more informed independent decisions and feel genuine ownership over outcomes. This approach was profoundly shaped by my freelance software engineering experience before July, where I learned that preemptive communication and clear expectation-setting prevent the majority of project failures.
I also firmly believe in maintaining technical credibility through hands-on involvement. I’m not above diving into debugging sessions or investigating data anomalies myself. This isn’t about micromanagement but about staying technically grounded enough to make informed strategic decisions and maintaining the respect of the team. The best technical leaders understand both the forest and the trees, staying connected to implementation realities while guiding strategic direction.
The post July’s head of technology on why his role is equal parts engineer and artist appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.
