CogitX AI Appoints Michael Ellgass as President, Retail

CogitX AI has appointed Michael Ellgass as President, Retail, adding an executive with experience across retail media, brand marketing, and commerce technology as the company expands its work with retailers and brands.

In his new role, Ellgass will lead go-to-market activities across CogitX’s retail offerings, spanning marketing, supply chain, merchandising, and commerce media. His remit places retail media at the center of the company’s commercial strategy as retailers increasingly connect advertising with customer, product, and operational data.

Ellgass joins CogitX from Circana, where he served as Executive Vice President of Global Commerce Media. He built and expanded Circana’s retail media business across North America, EMEA, and APAC, working with retailers including Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Instacart, and Coles. Before Circana, he led category marketing at Walmart, developing marketing plans with more than 200 brands. He began his career in brand marketing at Kraft Foods.

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The appointment comes as retail media continues to develop beyond advertising placements and into broader commerce operations. Retailers are increasingly connecting media planning and measurement with merchandising, customer behavior, inventory, and sales data.

CogitX describes its platform as a sovereign AI system for retail. Its Retail Brain technology is designed to bring disparate retailer data sources into a shared intelligence layer, while its retail product suite covers commerce media activities from planning and creation through measurement.

Ellgass’s background across retail media and brand marketing gives him experience across several parts of the commerce ecosystem. At CogitX, his responsibilities will involve translating the company’s AI platform into retail-focused go-to-market activities and commercial relationships.

The move places retail, commerce media, and AI at the intersection of CogitX’s expansion strategy as retailers assess how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into marketing, merchandising, and other business workflows.