Driving Innovation in Startups through Technology and Strategic Leadership With his strategic guidance and wealth of experience, Shireesh helps startups navigate challenges such as scaling operations, integrating AI, and transforming traditional business models.

With over 15 years of experience, Shireesh Annam has established himself as a senior leader capable of scaling in competitive industries, with a focus on leveraging technology to drive growth. Shireesh's entrepreneurial journey has led him to support several tech startups, particularly those that innovate with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and retail technology.

With his strategic guidance and wealth of experience, Shireesh helps startups navigate challenges such as scaling operations, integrating AI technologies, and transforming traditional business models. His leadership consistently creates value across a wide variety of industries, driving the companies he has worked for toward substantial growth.

Starting With a Technical Background

Shireesh was naturally drawn to the technical side of things. He was passionate about solving complex problems and using technology to make an impact. He pursued an education that would enable him to leverage the transformative potential of technology, data, and strategy to solve whatever challenges he faced.

Shireesh began his entrepreneurial journey with a solid technical foundation, earning a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.

He went on to found Verides Technologies in 2005, selling affordable defense electronics and proprietary high-tech embedded technologies in India. By launching and bootstrapping the company himself, Shireesh gained entrepreneurial and Profit & Loss (P&L) management experience. These skills and outlook gave him confidence when building relationships at the highest levels of business and government.

After leading all aspects of the business and product strategy, Shireesh positioned the company for growth and then negotiated its sale in 2007.

Following this initial entrepreneurial venture, Shireesh got an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Ohio State University, where he graduated in the top 1% of his class.

Deloitte Consulting

After graduating, he joined Deloitte Consulting in 2009 as a senior consultant in their strategy and operations practice, where he used his entrepreneurial knowledge to estimate the growth impact of billions of dollars for key clients across multiple industries.

During this period, Shireesh was presented with the opportunity to create an engagement strategy for a large Fortune 500 retail client centered on transforming their supply chain and operations. This would prove to be a pivotal moment in Shireesh's career.

"The project showed me how powerful the combination of technology and strategy could be in reshaping business processes and achieving large-scale growth," Shireesh explains. "Seeing the tangible impact on the client's bottom line was incredibly rewarding and solidified my passion for driving business transformation and reinvention in the retail space."

Transitioning Into the Retail Industry

Following his work at Deloitte Consulting, Shireesh joined Burlington Stores as a member of the company's strategy group. For the next nine years, Shireesh worked his way up to becoming the Vice President of Planning and Allocation, improving the store's Return On Investment (ROI) by double digits through strategy and analytics.

"At Burlington Stores, I supported a multibillion-dollar P&L," says Shireesh. "One of my proudest achievements was spearheading a transformative initiative to significantly enhance buying, planning, and allocation—core to the revenue cycle in retail—and implementing merchandising strategies and localized assortments infused with AI technologies. During my time there, we consistently outperformed sales targets quarter-after-quarter and saw double-digit market share gains."

By utilizing AI and Machine Learning (ML) to drive industry change, Shireesh overcame a technical and leadership challenge to improve Burlington Stores. His determined leadership created massive growth for the company while reaffirming his passion for innovation and technology in the retail industry.

Shireesh has received multiple awards in recognition of his hard work, including the Enterprise awards for his extensive leadership efforts and contributions to Burlington Stores during his tenure. These awards demonstrate Shireesh's unique strengths as a leader in the retail industry, which center on his work in strategic planning, brand strategy, new store planning, and localization efforts.

Shireesh's Role at Claire's

In 2021, Shireesh joined Claire's as the senior vice president of merchandise planning and inventory management, focusing on merchandise operations. He played a pivotal role in implementing best-in-class omnichannel planning, establishing a consumer-focused supply chain, and leveraging technology to boost sales and optimize inventory.

Shireesh's executive leadership consistently delivered customer-focused innovations for the company, and he managed a multibillion-dollar P&L and led a global team that worked across various channels, including brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce, and consumer products (CPG). In addition, he drove key transformations to scale sales and operations globally with the goal of reducing inventory investment.

Recent Entrepreneurial Ventures

Beyond his role at Claire's, Shireesh is now a Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Sonans AI, a startup focused on AI-driven enterprise solutions for industries like retail and CPG. Shireesh applies his deep knowledge of the technology and its practical applications to help Sonans grow and improve its product. In this advisory role, he also provides strategic guidance on product development, go-to-market strategies, and commercialization efforts.

He has also applied his strategic expertise as a non-executive board member of Groundwork Group. This nonprofit organization offers governance, budget oversight, and performance evaluation of executive leadership for other nonprofits.

"Throughout my career, I've been passionate about blending strategy, operations, and technology to drive innovation and growth," explains Shireesh. "Whether in startups or established enterprises, I've focused on creating agile, high-performing teams and implementing technology solutions that enhance business performance, customer experience, and satisfaction."

Mentorship and Strategic Leadership in Startups

Shireesh is also passionate about mentoring and supporting tech startups and regularly provides his strategic expertise to help new businesses scale and succeed in competitive industries. His experience in founding Verides Technologies and implementing large-scale technology solutions for global corporations reflects the breadth of his expertise. Shireesh's valuable insight helps startups understand how and why they should integrate technology to drive growth and improvement.

This dedication has solidified his presence as a key figure in the startup ecosystem, particularly in AI and Retail. In January of this year, Shireesh began acting as an investor for startups focused on solving product development and business operations with AI, further building on his commitment to startup growth.

An Example of Success

Shireesh's guidance and experience are vital for entrepreneurs who want to navigate the complexities of scaling a tech-driven startup. They can help them fulfill their potential and maximize their opportunities.

As he continues to innovate and support growth in AI technology and operational efficiency, Shireesh's example has become a real roadmap for success.