In episode 427 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Claire O'Donnell, director of selling partner empowerment, communities and trust at Amazon.com. Listen in as O'Donnell discusses two key themes discusses at Amazon Accelerate, the annual conference dedicated entirely to Amazon’s selling partners (1:20), and the impact that the in-person community has on its sellers (2:43). She shares a few of the retailer's new tools and programs announced during the event (4:05), how Amazon collects seller feedback year-round (7:00), and an example of an initiative developed from seller feedback (8:40).
In addition, O'Donnell discusses how Amazon communicates news and program changes to its sellers (10:25), why building a unified seller community benefits both the company and its sellers (11:40), and the consumer behavior trends she's tracking this holiday season (13:35). Lastly, she shares her advice for Amazon sellers trying to tap into today's top consumer trends (16:45).
Claire O’Donnell is a director at Amazon, where she currently leads the Selling Partner Empowerment, Communities and Trust organization, focused on enabling the success of sellers and small businesses who sell on Amazon. Over the last 11 years, she has held a number of different roles within Amazon’s consumer organization, both launching new and managing existing businesses. Some of the new initiatives and organizations that she has built include launching physical pickup points on college campuses and a paid services program to help grow participating selling partners’ businesses and provide premium support.
O'Donnell is a seasoned product, business and technology leader, having developed and led teams across engineering, science, product management, operations, sales, account management, store development, and more. Prior to Amazon, she worked at Bain & Company, a management consultancy firm. O'Donnell has a Bachelor’s degree in History and Politics from the University of Edinburgh and a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Originally from the UK, O'Donnell has lived in five different countries and currently resides in Seattle with her husband (Reid), son (Leo), and dog (Lando).
