Digital Product, Technology,
and Innovation.

Now
Head of Digital Innovation & Technology, Thesis
Before
adidas, ten years in digital innovation. NIKEiD before that.
Focus
Product, AI workflows, content at scale, experiential design
001How I think

“Technology is the answer, but what was the question?”

Cedric Price, architect

  • Keep the human in the center.Tech is part of the equation, not the answer. Start from the consumer's challenge.
  • Build, test, learn.Rapid iteration beats long planning. Prototype early, put it in front of people.
  • Run the pre-mortem.Before a pilot, ask how it fails spectacularly. Then adjust the risk out.
  • Teams over heroes.Psychological safety is the foundation for innovation. Critique without blame.
002The work

Selected work, and everything else.

A / 01 / 2015 / ADIDAS / MOBILE / PRODUCT

adidas Confirmed

The first mobile sneaker reservation app. Replaced the line around the block with a geolocation reservation. Built in four months, patented.

  • <2 minto claim all
  • 100%sell-through
Read case study →
adidas Confirmed app — screens showing the signup, reserve, and pick-up flow

A / 02 / 2012 / NIKE / COMMERCE / UX

NIKEiD customization redesign

The NIKEiD shoe customization platform redesigned for the responsive web and mobile. Conversion from 1.5% to 2.2% and mobile reached 30% of customization sales within the first year.

  • 2.2%conversion, up from 1.5%
  • 30%of NIKEiD sales on mobile within one year
Read case study →
NIKEiD configurator — MacBook and iPhone showing the redesigned customization UI

A / 03 / 2018 / ADIDAS / COMMERCE / MESSAGING

Speedfactory Messenger Bot

A Messenger bot that handled the full purchase flow inside the app — invitation, size selection, payment, and same-day delivery with no redirects.

  • 50%+of invited customers purchased in the pilot
  • 1 daysame-day delivery
Read case study →
adidas Speedfactory — robotic manufacturing arm holding a finished sneaker, lit in deep blue

A / 04 / 2020 / ADIDAS / ENTERPRISE / VR

Virtual Showroom

A 3D virtual showroom on HTC Vive that replaced the physical buying appointment. Buyers and merchants previewed product before samples were manufactured or floor sets built.

  • 2retail partners — DSG and Kohl's
  • FirstVR wholesale sell-in at adidas
Read case study →
adidas Virtual Showroom — interior view of the 3D VR environment with a shoe wall, virtual avatar figures, and product displays

A / 05 / 2019–2022 / ADIDAS / COMMERCE / 3D + ML

Fit and Virtual Try-On

Digital try-on and fit pilots that gave shoppers confidence online. Footwear Virtual Try-On scaled to most adidas footwear and lifts conversion 50% in the app.

  • 50%CONVERSION LIFT IN THE APP FROM FOOTWEAR VIRTUAL TRY-ON
  • 90% → 40%WRONG-SIZE PICKS WITH MYSIZEID IN THE PILOT
Read case study →

A / 06 / 2021 / ADIDAS / WEB3 / VIRTUAL GOODS

Into the Metaverse

One of adidas's first NFT programs. A patent that bound digital to physical, with three creative partners treated as peers.

  • $24M+revenue
  • 30,000sold out in under an hour
Read case study →
adidas Into the Metaverse program: the team with Bored Ape characters in a living room

A / 07 / 2019–2024 / ADIDAS / INNOVATION / R&D

LabA

adidas's cross-functional innovation lab across digital and design. Tested new technology and shipped what worked. I led it from 2019 to 2024.

  • 50%CONVERSION LIFT IN THE APP FROM FOOTWEAR VIRTUAL TRY-ON
  • 90% → 40%WRONG-SIZE PICKS WITH MYSIZEID IN THE PILOT
Read case study →
An animated isometric soccer field graphic overlaid on an adidas t-shirt through a Snapchat AR lens, activated by scanning a QR code on the garment.
Snapchat AR lens on an adidas tee. Scan the QR code and the graphic comes to life. Video: adidas.

A / 08 / 2025 / THESIS / AI / ENGINEERING

10X Engineering

An AI enablement program that turned individual shortcuts into enterprise tools, so a small engineering team could build far more. 10X is the goal; engineers are delivering 3–5x faster so far.

  • 30EXPLORERS IN THE AI ENABLEMENT PROGRAM
  • 8 hrsSAVED PER WEEK BY THE AVERAGE EXPLORER
Read case study →

A / 09 / 2025–NOW / THESIS / AI / PLATFORM

Lantern

Thesis's creative intelligence and production platform. A modular set of tools that takes manual work out of production so creative teams can spend their time on strategy. Used by Nike, Spotify and Adobe.

  • Nike, Spotify, Adobeuse Lantern
  • 6custom modules and counting
Read case study →
Lantern by Thesis logo
Index, all workNewest first
003The proof

Numbers that held up.

  • <2 minfor every adidas Confirmed reservation to be claimed
  • 100%sell-through across 6 NYC retail locations
  • 2US patents, including 10,275,823
  • $350Ma year on the NIKEiD platform
  • 2.2%NIKEiD conversion, up from 1.5% after the redesign
  • 30%of NIKEiD sales on mobile within the first year
  • $24M+adidas Web3 program, 30,000 sold out in under an hour
  • 3–5×faster engineering delivery with agentic AI at Thesis
004Experience + capabilities
  • 2025–nowNow
    ThesisHead of Digital Innovation & Technology
    • Lantern — AI-powered omnichannel content production platform
  • 2014–2024
    adidasSenior Director, Digital Innovation
    • LabA co-lead 2019–2024
  • 2008–2014
    NikeNIKEiD UX Director
  • 2005–2008
    Supernova InteractiveExecutive Producer / Head of UX

Capabilities

  • Innovation strategy
  • Product and engineering leadership
  • AI workflows and agents
  • Experience design and UX
  • AR, VR, and Web3
  • Agency leadership
  • Building high-functioning teams
005Writing & talks

Writing

Talks

SXSWSocial media and snackable content

Technology transformation
AI workflows
Content and scaling
Experiential design + UX

Book a talk →
Contact

Let's talk.

Building something early? A role, a talk, a problem worth solving.

todd@toddames.com