Afshan Banu Takes Charge as Global Head of Fashion & Beauty at PointAI

PointAI Private Limited, a Simulation AI company focused on virtual try-on, 3D product visualisation, AI catalogue generation and intelligent shopping assistants, has appointed Afshan Banu as Global Head of Fashion & Beauty.

Based in Singapore, Banu brings three decades of experience across fashion, retail, e-commerce and brand building. Her career includes senior leadership roles at Nike, Lazada and Victoria’s Secret. At PointAI, she will lead the company’s global fashion and beauty strategy, brand and retailer partnerships, and category expertise across its product portfolio.

Leading PointAI’s Fashion and Beauty Strategy

In her new role, Banu will work with fashion and beauty brands, retailers and marketplaces to translate merchandising, fit and creative requirements into Simulation AI capabilities.

Her mandate will span category strategy, partnerships and the application of PointAI’s technology to address challenges across digital commerce and product experiences.

Experience Across Global Fashion and Retail Brands

Before joining PointAI, Banu served as Chief Executive Officer, Fashion and Beauty at Opptra, an AI-enabled distribution platform for brands. She has held several senior positions across the fashion and retail sectors during her career.

At Nike, Banu served as Senior Director of E-commerce for Southeast Asia and India, where she led digital initiatives across Nike.com, the Nike App, SNKRS and marketplace partnerships.

She later joined Lazada as Executive Vice President, leading the fashion vertical and building more than 250 partnerships with global brands across LazMall.

Leadership Experience at Victoria’s Secret and Beyond

Earlier, Banu was Assistant Vice President at Victoria’s Secret under the Valiram Group, where she was responsible for brand development and profitability across Asia and Australia.

During her tenure, she helped scale the business to more than 150 doors across more than 10 countries. Her career has also included roles with GAP, Williams Sonoma and Triumph.

Banu on the Appointment

Banu said her experience across brands, retailers and platforms shaped her view of the challenges involved in digitising fashion.

“I have spent thirty years building and scaling brands across Asia, India and the GCC, at Nike, Lazada and Victoria’s Secret. I have operated on both sides of the table, across brands, retailers and platforms. Fashion is still one of the hardest categories to digitise because fit and drape are physical facts, not just images,” said Banu.

“The hardest problems faced by brands today are topline growth, profitability and experience. PointAI treats this as a simulation problem rather than a content problem, and that is the first genuinely different answer I have seen to solving all three. I am here to take it to the brands and retailers who need it most,” she added.

PointAI on Banu’s Role

Nitin Vats, Founder and CEO, PointAI, said Banu’s experience on the brand side would be important as the company expands its Simulation AI technology within fashion.

“Fashion is where our technology is tested hardest, and it is where we need someone who has sat on the brand side of the table. Afshan has run e-commerce for Nike across Southeast Asia and India and led the fashion business at Lazada. She knows what business leaders will actually adopt versus what simply looks good in a demo,” Vats said.

“That judgement is what takes Simulation AI from a strong technology to a standard that fashion brands can build on,” he added.

Expanding Simulation AI Capabilities

PointAI said its simulation engine produces deterministic, physics-accurate output in under two seconds and at a fraction of the GPU cost of generative AI approaches. The company holds more than 70 granted patents globally across virtual try-on, generative cataloguing and spatial commerce, and counts Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and Zivame among its partners.

Its AI shopping capabilities include real-time virtual try-on, fabric texture and drape visualisation, fit and size recommendations, AI-styled mix and match, catalogue generation and checkout.

The company is also extending these capabilities into physical retail through in-store trial rooms, AI fashion advisors and interactive standees.

Expanding Across Global Markets

Banu’s appointment comes as PointAI expands its Simulation AI platform across fashion, beauty, automotive and enterprise use cases.

The company is also expanding its commercial team across India, Asia-Pacific and North America, as it works to extend its technology and partnerships across multiple markets.