Leadership

"Move smartly, train and communicate to bring teams along in the process of evolving an organization to meet the new demands being placed upon it."

GameStop has appointed an interim CEO, the company announced yesterday. CEO Paul Raines has had "a medical reoccurrence." The Dallas Morning News reports the board of the video game retailer appointed Daniel DeMatteo, GameStop's executive chairman, to be interim CEO. DeMatteo, one of GameStop's co-founders, will continue to serve as executive chairman and director, the…

I was excited to interview Tom Ebling last week, a true retail technology leader whose stint as CEO of Demandware from 2010-2016 included growing the software company into a $300 million public company that was acquired by Salesforce for $2.8 billion in 2016. Prior to Demandware, Ebling was the CEO of Lattice Engines, ProfitLogic and…

Milton Pappas has been named the new chief marketing officer of Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC), effective immediately. HomeWorld Business reports Pappas will lead HBC's marketing center of excellence, which is charged with executing the marketing strategies of the company's North American retail businesses (Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Gilt, Saks OFF 5TH). HBC…

The world of retail was rocked last month when Toys"R"Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Many took it as a bad omen or the proverbial “last gasp” of a dying industry. Headlines of a “Retail Crisis” permeated the news cycle and analysts poured over the reasons why — with most of the blame directed…

"If you're a manager, teaching is 90 percent of your job. There's only one reason you hire someone, and that's because you can’t do everything yourself. If you're not prepared to teach, you just don't get it. And if you hire well, and if you teach well, those people wind up doing the job better…

It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…

 Part one of this series, Retailer Digital Disruption: Why an Organizational Shift is Needed Now, was featured in Total Retail's Fall print issue. Below is part two. As difficult as it can be, traditional retailers must re-architect their organizations through the lens of their customer’s complete user experience, embracing a seamless cross-channel point of view…

How inspired are your employees every day? Are they excited to serve each other and your customers, and nimble and ready to deal with the curve balls business undoubtedly will provide that day? Or are they not enthused about their work, their peers or their customers? More interested in their smartphones than in engaging with…

If you want to be a showstopper in your market, then you must be innovative. Not only innovative — you must WOW prospective customers or clients with your amazing ingenuity. To be a showstopper, you must amaze people — not only amaze them with what you're offering them, but also amaze them with how you're…