Mike is a renowned retail innovation coach and digital transformation advisor with over 25 years of experience shaping the retail and hospitality landscape in APAC. As one of the region’s leading retail industry futurists, he guides businesses through digital shifts and unified commerce strategies. His work blends market insights with practical innovation, empowering organizations to enhance customer engagement. For more insights, visit mikeghasemi.com.
Mike Ghasemi, Innovation Leadership Coach & DX Advisor
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life so we can get to know you better.
I was born in Tehran and graduated in mechanical engineering, but my career has been anything but linear. Over the years, I transitioned from engineering to sales, embraced entrepreneurship, and ultimately found my calling as a business analyst and industry futurist. My work now revolves around analyzing industry trends, coaching leaders, and driving digital transformation strategies.
My greatest passions are reading, writing, and research. I love conceptualizing ideas to solve complex problems and understanding how these ideas impact people, industries, and the broader market. Beyond my professional endeavors, I take great joy in coaching and mentoring emerging leaders, helping them unlock their potential and drive innovation within their organizations.
A defining aspect of my lifestyle is my love for motorcycles. I am a lifetime rider, and my Harley Davidson Softail is not just a vehicle but an extension of my personality. I commute on my bike daily, and on weekends, I often go for coastal rides to unwind and clear my mind.
Another passion of mine is coffee. I enjoy experimenting with different coffee beans, learning their origins, and perfecting brewing techniques. As a self-taught barista, I spend a lot of time at InnoLab Cafe, one of my ventures, where I train staff and engage with customers over a cup of coffee.
Mindfulness is an integral part of my life. My mornings start at 5 AM, a commitment I made after reading Robin Sharma's “The 5 AM Club”. The solitude and tranquillity of early mornings provide an opportunity to optimize my mind, body, and soul through meditation, reflection, and learning. I also practice yoga, although I'm still a beginner. I truly appreciate the discipline it brings to my daily routine.
I have a pet rabbit with whom I enjoy spending time, and we have a strong bond. Also, weekends always revolve around my teenage daughter, a professional ballet dancer, and my son, an enthusiastic drummer. Supporting their passions and watching them grow in their respective fields is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
A defining moment in my life was leaving Iran at 28 with only $2,500, basic English skills, and a vision for something greater. Adapting to a new country, navigating cultural and professional challenges, and continuously learning along the way shaped my perspective on innovation, leadership, and resilience.
That journey taught me the power of reinvention, adaptability, and lifelong learning. The challenges I faced strengthened my ability to think creatively, embrace uncertainty, and turn obstacles into opportunities. It has been a driving force behind my passion for helping leaders and businesses embrace transformation with confidence.
You started in engineering and moved into retail, IT, and consulting—what drove these transitions, and what was the biggest lesson at each stage?
Every career transition I made was fueled by curiosity and a hunger to solve bigger challenges. I started in engineering, where I developed a structured way of thinking, but I realized my passion lay in problem-solving beyond technical design. Moving into IT and ERP systems allowed me to bridge technology with business operations. Transitioning into retail and consulting expanded my understanding of market dynamics and consumer behavior. The biggest lesson? Adaptability is the key to long-term success; every industry shift prepared me for the next challenge.
What was the toughest professional challenge you faced, and how did you overcome it?
One of the toughest challenges I faced was transitioning into the retail industry without any prior background. Coming from an engineering background, I had to quickly learn industry nuances, customer experience strategies, and supply chain complexities. I overcame this by becoming a student of the industry, reading extensively, networking with industry leaders, and applying a data-driven approach to problem-solving. The experience reinforced my belief that learning never stops and that embracing change is essential for growth.
What inspired you to focus on empowering leaders to scale innovation and achieve peak performance?
Throughout my career, I have witnessed how great ideas often fail due to the absence of trust, poor leadership, and resistance to change. I wanted to bridge the gap between vision and execution by helping leaders:
Think differently about innovation.
Build a culture of curiosity and experimentation.
Develop strategic frameworks to scale their ideas into transformative business models.
My biggest motivation is seeing leaders grow in confidence, make bold decisions, and drive impact.
How do you approach helping companies embrace digital transformation, and what common challenges do they face?
I take a holistic approach to digital transformation by focusing on three key areas:
Strategy alignment – Ensuring digital transformation aligns with business goals.
Technology adoption – Helping companies integrate the right technologies.
People & culture – Driving organizational change and ensuring buy-in from employees.
Common challenges include legacy systems, resistance to change, and a lack of digital skills, all of which require structured change management strategies.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
One of my proudest career achievements has been launching InnoLab Cafe, a unique space where innovation meets community. It’s more than just a café; it has become an entrepreneurial hub where founders, creators, and industry professionals connect, share ideas, and experiment with new business models. It has been incredibly fulfilling to see it evolve into an ecosystem that nurtures learning and innovation.
Another milestone has been positioning myself as a thought leader in the retail and hospitality industries. It took me 20 years to get to where I am today. I started in 2004 in the retail industry without any prior background, making the transition from engineering into the world of IT and ERP. Navigating this shift required continuous learning, adaptability, and the courage to challenge conventional thinking. Over time, I have built deep expertise in digital transformation, customer experience, and unified commerce, which has allowed me to contribute significantly to shaping the industry’s future.
As a Retail Industry Analyst, what future innovations do you foresee shaping the industries?
Retail is on the brink of a technology revolution. Some of the biggest innovations I foresee include:
Autonomous shopping – Autonomous stores and AI-powered retail environments will redefine how consumers shop.
Hyper-personalization – Retailers will harness real-time data to personalize experiences down to an individual level.
Robotics & automation – AI-driven robots will be more common in hospitality, from automated kitchens to AI concierges.
Sustainable business models – Consumers demand ethical sourcing, zero-waste packaging, and carbon-neutral operations, forcing brands to adapt.
Could you discuss the importance of a boundaryless mindset in today's rapidly evolving business landscape?
In today’s fast-changing world, businesses must break away from traditional silos and adopt a boundaryless mindset. This approach allows organizations to:
Encourage cross-industry collaborations that foster disruptive innovation.
Stay agile by continuously evolving and adapting to new challenges.
Create a culture of open knowledge-sharing, allowing for more holistic problem-solving.
The companies that thrive in the future will be those that embrace fluidity in their structures, collaboration, and strategies, ensuring they remain competitive in an increasingly interconnected world.
With over 25 years of experience across various industries, what key trends have you observed in digital transformation?
Digital transformation has evolved from being a competitive advantage to an absolute necessity. Over the past 25 years, I have observed a few key trends that have shaped industries:
AI and automation – Businesses increasingly leverage artificial intelligence and automation to enhance efficiency, improve customer experiences, and optimize operations.
Unified commerce – The concept of omnichannel has evolved into a truly unified marketplace where customers expect seamless experiences across digital and physical touchpoints.
Personalization & data-driven decisions – Companies that leverage data analytics to personalize customer journeys see significantly higher engagement and loyalty.
Emerging technologies in retail & hospitality – Innovations like autonomous stores, AI-driven customer interactions, and autonomous delivery solutions are shaping the future of retail and hospitality.
Resilient & boundaryless business models – The pandemic accelerated the need for businesses to build flexible, adaptable, and cross-industry digital strategies to navigate uncertain times.
Can you share a success story where your tailored coaching program significantly impacted a client's leadership journey?
One of my most rewarding experiences was coaching a senior executive from a global retail brand struggling with driving innovation within his organization. He had the vision but lacked a structured approach to implementing change. Through my Innovation Leadership Mastery Program, we worked on:
Developing a mindset shift towards experimentation and failure as a learning opportunity.
Establishing a discovery process for identifying new business opportunities.
Creating an innovation playbook tailored to the company’s unique challenges.
Within six months, he successfully launched an internal innovation hub that incubated multiple new projects, one of which went on to generate a new revenue stream worth millions. Seeing that transformation was a testament to the power of structured leadership coaching.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
If I could change one thing about the retail and hospitality industry, it would be the overemphasis on short-term gains at the expense of long-term innovation. Many organizations prioritize quarterly profits rather than investing in sustainable, customer-centric innovation that ensures long-term growth.
Businesses must shift their mindset towards continuous experimentation, resilience, and human-centered strategies. Those who proactively adapt to evolving consumer behaviors and technological advancements will thrive in the future.
I believe that innovation is not just about technology; it is about people, mindset, and execution. My mission is to help leaders navigate change, think differently, and create a lasting impact in their industries.
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