Dive Brief:
- The Home Depot picked Franziska Bell as its EVP and CTO to lead the home improvement company’s technology strategy and enterprisewide integration of agentic AI and machine learning, according to a Tuesday announcement. Effective Monday, Bell will report to Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO of Home Depot, a spokesperson confirmed to CIO Dive.
- Bell brings extensive experience to the role, most recently leading AI transformation at Ford Motor Company as its chief data, AI and analytics officer. Before her tenure at Ford, Bell served as SVP of digital technology at BP and held executive positions at Uber and Toyota.
- “I’ve always believed that the most powerful technology is the kind you don’t notice, because it’s busy behind the scenes making your life easier,” Bell said in the announcement. “Joining a customer-first brand like The Home Depot is an incredible opportunity to put technology and AI to work where it matters most.”
Dive Insight:
Decision-makers are looking for ways technology can help score efficiency wins and, ultimately, cost savings, while facing economic headwinds.
Home Depot and other retail brands are navigating uncertain market conditions, which is affecting headcount as businesses retool operations. In February, Home Depot cut 800 roles at its Atlanta store support center, most of which were focused on its technology organization. Meanwhile, Amazon in January cut 16,000 jobs amid an ongoing culture shift and Nike laid off roughly 775 employees as it consolidated operations. AI is partly to blame, as more than 17,000 job cuts were attributed to the technology in 2025.
Still, technology leaders have emphasized the criticality of human intelligence amid growing AI adoption efforts, noting that the role of AI is to augment and support employees. Finding ways for the technology to remove repetitive work hindering employees from applying their expertise to the business is crucial, according to Donghai Chen, group chief digital officer at Amer Sports.
Home Depot has worked to adopt and scale AI tools over the past year, including the launch of Magic Apron, a suite of generative AI tools aimed at improving customer experience. The company further expanded its digital hub in March, adding capabilities for professional builders, remodelers and renovators. The platform allows real-time tracking of building materials and can connect to the company’s Material List Builder AI tool.
In Bell’s role as CTO, she will focus on integrating agentic AI to create a “seamless, interconnected and data-driven experience for The Home Depot’s associates, DIYers and Pro customers,” the company said in the announcement.
During her time at Ford, Bell’s role focused on improving customer experiences and translating the company’s AI investments into measurable business value, she said in an interview with Forbes. Her strategy at Ford also centered on data to enable AI as a foundational capability across business functions.
Bell’s experience with data science and AI, as well as understanding the “power of technology to improve the customer experience,” will be critical for Home Depot, Decker said in the announcement.
“The Home Depot is a project retailer, and customers engage with us across multiple touch points — whether that’s online, in our aisles or increasingly, with AI,” he said. “Her expertise will be invaluable as we invest to remove friction and make home improvement seamless for our associates and customers.”
