Lauri Kotcher

A seasoned executive with a track record of steering CPG and retail organizations through significant change, Lauri Kien Kotcher has held CEO roles at Quip, The Shade Store, and Hello Products—where she guided the company through its acquisition by Colgate. At Quip, she successfully shifted the brand's focus from oral care to oral wellness and spearheaded its most recognized product launch. Drawing on deep experience navigating organizational transformation, she now serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Different Day, where she is developing practical AI solutions tailored to mid-market retail and consumer businesses. The company's early work spans demand forecasting, supply chain planning, and real-time sales intelligence. Lauri is a recognized voice on AI adoption and workforce evolution, advocating for a people-first approach that emphasizes job transformation over job elimination—and urging companies to invest in their talent alongside their technology.

Major companies are hiring again after earlier predictions that AI would slash headcounts. But the real story is more complicated. Many organizations initially approached AI as a cost-cutting tool, only to discover that successful adoption requires rethinking how work gets done, how employees are trained, how decisions are made, and how institutional knowledge moves through a company. The future of work won't be defined by AI replacing people, but by how well organizations combine human expertise with new technology. Companies that treat AI purely as an automation play risk missing the operational and workforce changes that are required to create real value. The organizations pulling ahead are the ones investing in their people alongside their AI tools, not instead of them.