Lectra Americas President Says People Are Fundamental to AI’s Success

By Just Style

Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be relied upon to solve the fashion industry’s overconsumption problem when used in isolation, the president of the Americas for Lectra, Leonard Marano, tells Just Style. But used in the right way with the right people on board, the technology can create significant sustainability and efficiency wins.

Just Style’s conversation with Marano comes at at the same time as GlobalData revealing the uptake of AI could be a $908bn opportunity by 2030 and many clothing manufacturers highlighting how the technology could combat fashion’s overproduction problem.

Marano, who joined Lectra from Gerber in 2001 and is responsible for the commercial operations in the whole of the western hemisphere from Canada to Chile, notes the prolific boom in AI at every point of the apparel supply chain. But for Lectra, he says the technology has always been present in some shape or form.

“When you look at the definition of AI, it’s the development of various computer systems to perform tasks that traditionally humans would do. So if you look at it from that point of view, Lectra has been involved in AI for the last 15-16 years. Our business and the solutions we provide have certainly evolved over the last 50 years of the company but starting in 2007 we made a big push to have all of our machines connected.”

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This interview was published in Just Style January 10, 2024. Lectra is a member of SPESA.

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