THE AI INTERVIEW
Kingfisher, the parent company of Europe’ s largest home improvement retailers, including B & Q, Screwfix, Castorama and Brico Dépôt, is already recognised for embedding AI deep into its operations, rather than treating it as a marketing exercise.
At the centre of that approach is Chief AI Officer Mohsen Ghasempour, whose route into retail began far from the shop floor.
Mohsen holds a PhD in computer science and previously worked on supercomputers, building systems designed to simulate brain activity. His academic background sat in microelectronics and electronic engineering.
From there, he moved into special education, applying eye tracking and computer vision to help children with severe disabilities communicate, particularly those unable to express emotion through conventional means.
The moment that shaped his thinking Remarkably, the contents of one email in particular from Mohsen’ s tenure in special education have stayed with him and shaped his thinking ever since.
Writing to thank the technology team behind the eye-tracking and computervision tools, a teacher said it was the first time in 20 years she had evidence that her pupils were learning.
“ That has stuck with me,” Mohsen says.“ It wasn’ t about technology or AI; it was about the impact.”
Second from left: Mohsen Ghasempour Chief AI Officer Kingfisher
That principle now underpins Kingfisher’ s entire approach to AI is encapsulated in a phrase Mohsen repeats often internally.
“ At Kingfisher, our philosophy is always that AI is a tool, not a mission,” he explains.“ If you keep saying that to yourself, you don’ t get distracted by the shiny technology. You stay focused on solving the right problem for the customer or your colleagues.”
That focus, Mohsen argues, is reflected in measurable business metrics.
20 July 2026