Ann Tracy, Chief Sustainability Officer, Colgate-Palmolive: Why Retailers Hold the Key to Sustainable Growth

Sustainability in retail and consumer packaged goods has spent years filed under advocacy, reporting and good intentions. Ann Tracy, Chief Sustainability Officer at Colgate-Palmolive, wants it filed under growth.In this episode of The Voice of Retail, Ann joins me from Colgate-Palmolive's research centre in Piscataway, New Jersey, ahead of her appearance at the Retail Council of Canada Retail Sustainability Conference in Toronto, where she takes the stage October 28 for a fireside chat with RCC President and CEO Kim Furlong.Ann brings an unusual lens to the sustainability conversation. An engineer by training, she has spent more than 35 years at Colgate-Palmolive, most of it in the global supply chain, with assignments across Asia, Europe, the UK and the United States spanning manufacturing, customer service, logistics and divisional supply chain leadership. That operating background shapes how she runs the file today, after the role moved from the supply chain into the company's growth and strategy team, making it broader, more enterprise-wide, and embedded in the business strategy itself.She also gives listeners a useful reminder of the scale involved. Colgate-Palmolive marks 220 years in the United States this year, generates over twenty billion dollars in net revenue, employs roughly 34,000 people and sells in 200 countries across four core categories: oral care, home care, personal care with regional icons like Palmolive, Sanex and Irish Spring, and pet nutrition through Hill's Pet Nutrition, plus a growing premium skin health business. Colgate sits in more homes than any other brand in the world. At that volume, a small packaging design change ripples through plastic tonnage, pallet counts and the entire retail supply chain.The heart of our conversation is the 2030 sustainability strategy, which Ann describes as an evolution rather than a revolution, building on the sunset 2025 plan across three ambition spaces: driving social impact, helping millions of homes, and preserving the environment. What distinguishes 2030 is a hard lean into value creation, and her insistence that sustainability teams learn to speak finance and marketing rather than acronyms and temperature scenarios.We dig into the intention-action gap, where more than ninety percent of consumers say they support sustainability but far fewer act on it because they will not trade away price, convenience, quality or performance, nor should they. We also cover long-term resilience, the finite nature of plant, mineral, animal and fossil-fuel-based ingredients, and why retailers are essential partners in shaping value creation on physical and e-commerce shelves.A smart, practical listen for retailers, CPG leaders, merchants and sustainability professionals heading to Toronto in October.Connect with Ann Tracy on LinkedIn, and catch her with Kim Furlong at the Retail Council of Canada Retail Sustainability Conference on October 28.https://rccretailsustainability.ca/ Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

How do you lead when trust in business, government, and media is at a generational low? On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes Keith Wyche, Fortune 500 board director, keynote speaker, and author of the new book Uncommon Leadership: A Blueprint for Restoring Integrity, Trust, and People-Centred Leadership.Keith's retail story begins in the back room of one of Ohio's largest Sears stores, working the paint department as a college intern. From there, he built a career inside organizations in the middle of massive change: AT&T as the Bell monopoly broke apart, IBM as it shifted from hardware to solutions, then grocery at Cub Foods, where he spent his first months cutting meat, icing cakes, running a register, and stocking freight to understand the work before changing it.He shares the hard feedback that explained why he kept hitting quota at IBM but never got promoted: without followership, there is no leadership. That lesson underpins his trust formula, character times competency times consistency, where a zero in any one factor cancels the other two. Keith and Michael dig into why leadership drifted from service to self-interest, pointing to quarterly earnings pressure, a celebrity culture that rewards charisma over character, and CEO pay that has climbed from roughly 25 times the average employee to 200.The conversation turns to Walmart, which Keith joined in 2015, a year after Doug McMillon began pushing the company out of its brick-and-mortar comfort zone. He describes the unvarnished truth session, the burning platform, the jet.com talent infusion, and the storytelling that made the stakes real, including his reminder that Sears once had both the stores and the catalogue and is gone today.For executives who want somewhere to start Monday morning, Keith offers a practical framework. Listen to associates, using the two questions he asks on every store walk. Listen to customers and vendors. Then clarify and simplify the mission the way Walmart turned everyday low cost into everyday low price. A Chicago self-checkout rollout that consulted neither associates nor shoppers serves as a cautionary tale.They close on board composition in the AI era, the CEO, CFO, and operations seats plus the cybersecurity and AI expertise that may sit with a director in their thirties, and why customer-facing automation like shelf-scanning robots and AI greeters got piloted and pulled. As Keith says, AI can tell you a tomato is a fruit; wisdom tells you not to put it in the fruit salad.His parting advice for the next generation of retail leaders is simple: human capital is the most important asset on the balance sheet. "I'm in the people business," he says. "I just happen to sell groceries." Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this Encore episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc sits down with Liza Amlani, Chief Merchant and Principal of Retail Strategy Group, who returns to the podcast to share timely insights from her recently released book, "The Material Life: Process Innovation for Retailers and Brands" Recognized globally as a retail thought leader, Amlani brings her two decades of merchandising expertise to a provocative argument: the retail industry has been obsessed with what products it sells, while neglecting how those products are made—a blind spot costing brands both time and money. Amlani illustrates how process innovation begins long before a product hits the shelf. Traditional apparel development starts with a design concept, hunting for materials to match. Her materials-first model flips that dynamic, accelerating time to market, reducing over-development, and eliminating redundant fabric, trim, and colour decisions. She cites examples where retailers were creating thousands of unnecessary material variations—like zippers—without realizing the margin erosion and operational chaos this creates. Throughout the conversation, Amlani explains how silos between merchants, sourcing, materials, design, and marketing teams create a “butterfly effect” where one late-stage decision can unravel deadlines, sample production, and vendor negotiations. Breaking those silos strengthens governance, reduces waste, and aligns teams around measurable outcomes including her Material Adoption Rate (MAR) framework—an accountability tool that tracks how many material developments actually make it into assortments. The episode also explores the rising influence of AI in fabric research and digital product creation, the impact of sourcing regulations emerging in North America and Europe, and how leading brands like lululemon are quietly reshaping their operating models through materials-led go-to-market roles. Amlani argues that brands embracing transparency, vendor partnership, and digital material workflows will unlock significant margin upside at a time when inflation, tariffs, supply chain friction, and fast-fashion disruptors are redefining consumer expectations. Finally, the discussion turns to the road ahead. Amlani urges leaders to rethink the fabric of product creation itself, invest in consumer-centric assortments, and treat materials not as an afterthought but as a strategic asset. For retailers, merchants, product developers, and sourcing teams eager to future-proof their business, this episode is a masterclass in modern merchandising excellence. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Why do smart strategies fail so often? According to Kevin Ertell, the problem isn’t a lack of ideas—it’s execution. In this Encore episode of The Voice of Retail, Michael LeBlanc sits down live in person at the NRF Big Show in New York in The Remarkable Retail Narvar podcasting studio with Kevin Ertell, founder of Mistere Advisory, veteran retail operator, and former Vice President of Global Retail at Nike. Kevin is also the author of the new book The Strategy Trap: Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right, which draws on more than two decades of hands-on leadership experience across iconic retail brands including Tower Records, Borders, Sur La Table, and Nike. Kevin explains how organizations fall into the “strategy trap”—a tendency to over-invest in ideas, decks, and executive alignment while underestimating the human and organizational work required to execute effectively. He argues that strategy should be treated as the first step of execution, not as a theoretical exercise completed before real work begins. Using well-known retail case studies, including the failed transformation of JCPenney, Kevin illustrates how untested assumptions, poor internal alignment, and misunderstanding customer behavior can derail even bold strategies. Leaders often assume that communication equals understanding, when in reality teams fill in the gaps with their own interpretations—creating misalignment that only becomes visible once execution is underway. The conversation introduces Kevin’s practical “Six Cs of Execution” framework. The first phase—co-creation, clarity, and capacity—focuses on setting the stage by involving the right people, defining priorities, and making space for execution. The second phase—communication, coordination, and coaching—highlights the role of active leadership in sustaining momentum and course-correcting as conditions change. Kevin also shares actionable tools leaders can use immediately, including structured problem-definition sessions, force-ranking priorities, and creating safe environments where teams can challenge assumptions. He emphasizes that focus is a leadership discipline—and that trying to pursue too many initiatives at once almost guarantees failure. For retail leaders navigating AI disruption, economic volatility, and shifting consumer expectations, this episode offers a clear, operator-led blueprint for escaping the strategy trap and turning strategy into results. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Why do most new products fail — even when they solve a real problem? In this episode of The Voice of Retail, presented by Konek – Canada's way to pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more., host Michael LeBlanc sits down with Rob Snyder, founder and author of the new book The Power of Pull, to unpack why understanding customer demand is fundamentally different from pitching supply — and what that means for retailers, vendors, and startups trying to win business today. Snyder's path here started at McKinsey & Company, where he grew frustrated with consulting from the outside and moved into the startup world to learn how companies actually work. After Harvard Business School, he built his first startup selling into retail and restaurants — and spent two brutal years hitting a wall before finally cracking the code and scaling to $4 million in annual recurring revenue in under two years. That hard-won experience became the foundation for his PULL framework, and for a career spent studying, through Harvard Innovation Labs, startup advising, and angel investing, why some new ideas take off while most don't. The conversation digs into the core distinction at the heart of Snyder's book: demand is not the same thing as wanting a product. Demand is a person trying to accomplish something in their life; supply is simply the tool they pull in to get it done. Snyder revisits the famous (and possibly apocryphal) Henry Ford "faster horses" quote to explain why asking customers what they want often produces the wrong answer — and why the real skill is identifying what people are stuck trying to do with the options already in front of them. For retailers fielding constant vendor pitches, Snyder offers a practical filter: can this startup speak your language, cite specific relevant case studies, and explain exactly how they've unstuck a comparable business — or are they hiding behind buzzwords like "agentic AI"? He also tackles how AI is reshaping the competitive landscape for B2B startups, arguing that as AI closes gaps in the "limitations" side of the PULL framework, vendors need to find pull in places AI hasn't reached yet. The episode closes with Snyder's advice for retail leaders trying to uncover genuine, unfiltered demand: skip the customer interviews, and instead watch shoppers struggle in real time — in-store and online — to find the moments where existing options fall short. Rob Snyder's new book, The Power of Pull, is available now wherever books are sold. Connect with him on LinkedIn or at robsnyder.org.  This episode presented by Konek – Canada's way to pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this episode of The Voice of Retail podcast, host Michael LeBlanc sits down with one of retail technology's most accomplished leaders: Julie Averill, former Chief Information Officer of Lululemon and REI, and author of the new book Chief Impact Officer: Real Transformation Comes from Human, Not Just Artificial Intelligence. Joining the conversation is Menachem Salinas, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Nimble, the expert AI web search platform making live web data enterprise-grade. A self-described "serial retail technologist," Julie's career spans the defining chapters of modern retail technology. She spent a decade at Nordstrom leading pioneering omnichannel initiatives, drove a technology transformation as CIO of REI, and then took a leap to a then-$2 billion company called Lululemon — where, over eight years as CIO, she helped power the brand's growth to $10 billion. Today, she runs her own advisory business focused on enterprise AI adoption, and her new book makes the case that real transformation comes from people, not just technology. Drawing on years of parsing signal from noise in the CIO chair, Julie delivers a masterclass in AI reality-checking. Her verdict on where retail stands in the AI journey? "Maybe the first inning." She argues the technology itself is now the easy part — the real reasons so many AI pilots fail are data quality, governance, workflow readiness and organizational capability. Julie shares the exact questions she asks to separate a slick demo from a solution built to survive contact with a real omnichannel operation: Whose data does this run on? What workflow actually changes, and for whom? Who owns the errors? What does this cost at scale? And she tells a cautionary tale of a board-driven AI pitch that promised everything — and why "yes, we can do everything" is the surest sign of an immature vendor. Julie also maps the future of the CIO role itself: from technology gatekeeper to curious, strategic business enabler. With AI tools now arriving through the browser, control is gone — the new job is curation, education and helping executives tell what's real. The businesses that win, she argues, will be the ones that learn to evolve continuously and dream about what was previously impossible. Menachem Salinas adds the vendor-side perspective, explaining how Nimble delivers real-time competitive pricing, digital shelf monitoring and out-of-stock intelligence across thousands of retail sites — and why he believes agentic commerce will transform e-commerce within twelve months. His candid ShopTalk Barcelona assessment: even the world's biggest brands rate no better than five out of ten on AI data readiness. Julie's book Chief Impact Officer is available now everywhere books are sold. Learn more at julieaverill.com and nimbleway.com. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this Encore episode of The Voice of Retail, I’m joined by James B. Smith, Founder and CEO of Rare Placement, for a wide-ranging conversation on modern leadership, executive search, and the future of talent in the retail industry. James brings an exceptional career journey to the mic, beginning in advertising with agencies like Grey and Ogilvy, moving into marketing leadership at Citibank, in leadership roles at Esquire and then Conde Nast Traveller—where he helped it become the top-performing title, even outpacing Vogue. His passion for growth and transformation led him to become a CEO, owner-operator, and eventually launch Rare Placement, a boutique executive search firm focused on personalized, human-centric talent solutions. In our conversation, James emphasizes the power of storytelling—not just for brands, but for leaders. He reveals that every candidate he’s placed has gone on to become a client, a testament to his laser focus on culture fit, agility, and soft skills over just resumes. We dive into how executive hiring has changed, why modern CEOs need courage, humility, and the ability to say “I don’t know,” and how COVID permanently reshaped leadership styles and expectations around flexibility and culture. James shares practical advice for current and aspiring retail leaders—from building a strong, concise personal narrative to investing in ongoing networking, not just when you're in transition. He stresses that succession planning should be an ongoing, layered strategy, and reminds executives that “people buy leaders, not logos.” We also explore the increasing importance of board roles—both fiduciary and advisory—and how executives can position themselves for these opportunities by knowing what they uniquely bring to the table. Whether you’re a retail executive planning your next move, a CEO rethinking your leadership team, or a rising leader wondering how to stand out, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming retail, but are retailers giving away too much decision-making power to algorithms? On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes back retail strategist, educator, speaker and author Carl Boutet to the podcast to discuss his latest book, The Flip. Drawing on more than three decades of retail experience and his work advising organizations around the world, Carl offers a thought-provoking perspective on how AI is reshaping retail strategy, customer engagement and business leadership. The conversation begins with Carl's unique vantage point as a global retail observer. Fresh off another teaching engagement at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Carl shares insights from Southeast Asia's rapidly evolving retail landscape. From super apps and mobile commerce to experiential shopping destinations and high-energy retail environments, he explains why emerging markets are often leapfrogging traditional retail models and creating new opportunities for customer engagement. Michael and Carl then explore one of the most important topics facing retailers today: the growing influence of artificial intelligence on decision-making. Carl argues that while AI can dramatically improve efficiency, it also poses the risk that businesses become increasingly dependent on algorithmic recommendations, potentially sacrificing the creativity, differentiation, and strategic judgment that make brands unique. At the center of the discussion is Carl's new framework outlined in The Flip. He introduces the four forces that he believes are fundamentally reshaping commerce: automation, optimization, contextualization and immersion. Together, these forces are changing how retailers attract customers, personalize experiences, manage operations and compete in increasingly digital environments. The discussion extends beyond technology into the future of retail itself. Carl shares observations from his travels across Asia, highlighting how retailers are creating energy-rich destinations that blend shopping, entertainment, food and community. These experiences offer important lessons for North American retailers seeking to remain relevant in a world where consumers increasingly have unlimited digital choices at their fingertips. Michael and Carl also examine the rise of AI-powered customer discovery, the future of search and marketing, the growing importance of trust, and why retailers must think carefully about where human value creation fits inside increasingly automated organizations. Carl explains why curiosity, organizational adaptability and a relentless focus on core business fundamentals remain essential leadership capabilities despite the rapid pace of technological change. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this very special live edition of The Voice of Retail podcast — the first live recording in nearly 550 episodes on the main-stage at Retaiul Council of Canada's STORE conference — host Michael LeBlanc takes the stage at Retail Council of Canada's STORE Conference in Toronto with three of Canadian retail's most compelling leaders: Julia Freeman, CEO of The Jilly Box, David Brownstein, President of Browns Shoes, and back on the podcast for his third visit Selwyn Crittendon, CEO of IKEA Canada and newly appointed Chair of the Retail Council of Canada Board of Directors. Julia Freeman shares the remarkable story of The Jilly Box, co-founded by content creator Jillian Harris — fresh off her Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year 2026 award — which sells 20,000 surprise subscription boxes in under 24 hours, 27 seasons in a row, while championing small Canadian, women-owned and equity-deserving brands. Julia offers a candid assessment of the state of Canadian e-commerce, the patriotic "shop Canadian" wave reshaping consumer behaviour post-tariffs, and how The Market by The Jilly Box marketplace is delivering industry-leading conversion with four units per basket. David Brownstein, fourth-generation leader of Montreal-based Browns Shoes, celebrates a banner week as his father, CEO Michael Brownstein, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala. David reveals the store design philosophy behind Browns' 71 locations — wide entrances, best merchandise up front, AI-embedded traffic counting — plus why Browns has never hired a store leader from outside in 86 years, and why brand partners like On, Birkenstock and UGG are complements, not competitors. Selwyn Crittendon lays out IKEA Canada's grounded AI philosophy: better retailing, better operational efficiency, and better jobs — built on clean data, mandatory AI literacy training for 7,200 coworkers, and a firm commitment that AI augments rather than replaces people. He also unpacks IKEA's small-format expansion strategy, from plan and order points pioneered in Canada to the new London, Ontario store and IKEA's bold SoHo move in New York, and explains why sustainability paired with affordability is "the new superpower of retail." The conversation ranges from family business dynamics and talent retention to influencer marketing strategy — including Julia's advice that your associates and small business partners may be your most powerful untapped brand ambassadors — and wraps with David's three keys to retail success today: empower frontline employees to make customer-service decisions, break down organizational silos to stay agile in the AI era, and invest relentlessly in retaining great people. Recorded in front of a live studio audience — complete with a surprise Jilly Box giveaway featuring the sold-out first-ever men's box — this episode captures the energy, optimism and hard-won wisdom of Canadian retail's best, and Selwyn's reflections on why he stepped up to chair the RCC board during turbulent times. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

As global trade faces unprecedented disruption, international eCommerce remains one of the most compelling growth opportunities for retailers and brands. On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes Matthew Merrilees, CEO North America at Global-e, with special guest co-host Jim Okamura, co-founder of the Global eCommerce Leaders Forum, for a deep dive into the future of cross-border commerce and global retail expansion. Drawing on more than two decades of experience spanning international logistics, eCommerce, supply chain management, and global retail growth, Matthew provides a practical and insightful perspective on how brands can successfully navigate today's increasingly complex global marketplace. The conversation explores how supply chain disruption has evolved from a temporary challenge during the pandemic into a permanent strategic consideration for retailers. Matthew explains why agility, scenario planning, and operational flexibility have become essential capabilities for brands seeking sustainable growth in an environment shaped by tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, changing regulations, and shifting consumer expectations. A central theme of the discussion is profitability. Matthew reveals why virtually every conversation with retailers today centres around profitable growth rather than simply pursuing top-line revenue. He discusses how brands are optimizing inventory allocation, managing duties and tariffs, leveraging duty drawback programs, simplifying technology stacks, and improving international fulfilment strategies to protect margins while expanding globally. Matthew shares why customers around the world continue to expect seamless, localized shopping experiences regardless of where a retailer is based. Whether shopping in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, or emerging markets, consumers increasingly demand domestic-like experiences that remove friction from cross-border transactions. Throughout the episode, Matthew outlines the characteristics that distinguish the most successful global brands. Digital-first thinking, calculated risk-taking, strong brand differentiation, and customer-centric innovation consistently separate market leaders from competitors. He argues that retailers who continue investing and expanding during periods of uncertainty are often best positioned to capture future growth. The episode concludes with a powerful call to action for retailers and brands considering international expansion: don't wait. As Matthew notes, consumers around the world are already discovering brands online. The question is no longer whether brands should go global—but how quickly they can do it profitably and effectively. Presented by Konek, Canada's Way to Pay. Visit Konek.ca to learn more. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.