The Retailers Association of India (RAI) hosted the Retail CFO Summit 2026 at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar on September 24.
The summit brought together CFOs, CEOs and finance leaders from across the retail sector.
The event followed the theme “Beyond the Balance Sheet – The Evolving Role of the Retail CFO”. It examined how the finance function is changing across the retail industry.
The discussions covered technology, economic conditions and regulatory developments. They also looked at the growing role of CFOs in business strategy.
AI and Digital Transformation Take Centre Stage
AI and digital transformation were key themes at the summit. Finance leaders discussed how retailers can respond to rapid changes while supporting long-term growth.
Panel discussions covered several areas. These included building resilient retail businesses and managing uncertainty.
The sessions also explored the strategic value of AI. Other discussions focused on AI in finance and digital transformation.
The evolving GSTN ecosystem was another key topic. Speakers discussed the growing need to digitise compliance processes.
Overall, the sessions highlighted the need for forward-looking financial leadership. Retailers must manage emerging risks while also identifying new opportunities.
CFOs Take on a Strategic Role
Kumar Rajagopalan – Chief Executive Officer, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “The biggest shift I’m seeing in retail finance isn’t any single tool or system — it’s how closely the CFO now needs to align with the CEO. Retail is moving too fast for finance to just report on decisions after they’re made; the CFO has to be in the room while they’re being made, reading the same signals about growth, cost, and customer behaviour as the rest of the leadership team. That alignment determines whether a retailer can move at the pace 2026 demands.
“Once that alignment exists, it stops being two departments working in parallel and becomes one shared read of the business — the CEO’s strategy and the CFO’s numbers pointed in the same direction. None of that happens on its own. It only compounds when the CFO and CEO are asking the same questions and reaching for the same answers.”
The summit featured finance leaders from several major retail organisations.
Speakers included Ajay Kumar Pandey, CFO, Wellness Forever Medicare Limited; Dharmendra Lodha, CFO, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Limited; Narayan Baheti, CFO, Infiniti Retail Limited; Pankaj Chaturvedi, CFO, Shoppers Stop Limited; Pramod Dangaich, CFO, Tata Digital Private Limited; and Preetika Agrawal, CFO, Decathlon Sports India Private Limited.
Compliance Becomes a Strategic Priority
Compliance and regulatory change also featured strongly at the summit.
Rakesh Saini, Vice President – Legal, Company Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer, Shoppers Stop, said: “Compliance in retail used to mean filing the right forms on time. That’s the baseline now, not the job. The real shift is that compliance functions are expected to read regulatory intent before it becomes law — to see where the direction of travel is headed on data, consumer rights, and disclosure, and build for that ahead of the mandate rather than scrambling once it lands. Retailers who treat compliance as a cost centre are going to keep getting surprised by it.”
Dhananjay Patil, Senior General Manager – Legal, Croma, Infiniti Retail Limited, said: “The volume of regulatory change hitting retail right now — data privacy, consumer protection, state-level compliance — means legal teams can’t afford to work in silos anymore. What used to be a handful of statutes to track has become a moving target across multiple regulators, each with their own timeline and interpretation. The teams managing this well aren’t necessarily the biggest ones; they’re the ones that built early warning systems instead of relying on catching problems after the fact.”
He added: “Retail regulation in India isn’t static anymore — it’s rewriting itself in real time, across data protection, consumer protection, and e-commerce rules, often faster than internal teams can build compliance around it. The legal function that treats this as a once-a-year audit exercise is already behind. What’s changed is that legal now needs to sit upstream of business decisions, not downstream of them — flagging regulatory exposure while a strategy is being built, not after it’s already been rolled out.”
Dhananjay Patil, Senior General Manager – Legal, Croma, Infiniti Retail Limited, also said: “RAI’s Retail CFO Summit has established itself as a pivotal annual event for the retail finance community, providing a platform to explore opportunities, discuss industry reforms, and share best practices on achieving rapid yet sustainable growth.”
Retail Finance Focuses on Future Growth
The Retail CFO Summit 2026 highlighted the expanding role of finance and compliance teams in retail.
Discussions focused on AI, digital transformation and regulatory readiness. Business resilience and sustainable growth were also key areas.
As retail continues to evolve, the summit provided a platform for finance leaders to discuss emerging challenges and changing business priorities.
