It is my great pleasure to announce the 10 Finalists of the 2019 Radicals Awards. A year ago, we announced the inaugural Radicals Awards in collaboration with SAP, to seek out and identify radical and innovative thinkers and doers, exclusively in the legacy or traditional brands and retail industries. Our premise was to celebrate the innovators within the legacy world who are driving fundamental transformation and are seldom recognized. Their challenges are enormously more complex in attempting to turn “battleships” into “speedboats,” than those who are starting from scratch, from a clean slate.
I was totally impressed with the broad range of innovative talent across the industry, and across the various functions and executive levels of our 10 Finalists. A distinguished jury will select the winner who will be announced on March 5th at Shoptalk in Las Vegas. We invite you to join link us to find out who the 2019 Radical of the Year is. It will be kicked off with a special inspirational message from Steve Sadove, former CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue. In the meantime, meet our 10 Finalists who range from CEOs and marketers to business development and analysts with highlights of their accomplishments. Come to our Awards Breakfast on March 5th to find out who among these 10 innovators will win the top award!
Andrew Clarke, President, LOFT – ascena retail group, Former EVP Chief Merchant, Justice + Sara Tervo, Chief Marketing Officer, Justice – ascena retail group
Andrew and Sara revolutionized Justice by reimagining their roles in a way traditional retailers have not. They eliminated the linear structure of typical handoff processes and reorganized departments so that all teams are involved at every stage of the process. They redefined their roles as “Providers of Apparel Solutions,” freeing themselves and their teams of the restrictive mindset of many traditional retailers and uncovered a new way of retailing.
David Katz, Chief Marketing Officer, Randa Accessories
David’s degrees in neuroscience and marketing combined with well-honed skills in persuasive story-telling generated sustainable growth in revenues and profits, while delighting consumers. He identified and leveraged evolving consumer desires, which hide in plain sight under massive layers of obstructive data and legacy thinking.
Marc Mastronardi, EVP, Innovation & Business Development, Macy’s
Marc successfully launched several pilots with buy- in from senior leadership to focus on “what’s new and what’s next”. Having formed Macy’s Business Development team, he drove meaningful change for the customer and identified new revenue streams for the company. Specifically, he launched Virtual Reality in Macy’s Home Department. The Market @ Macy’s pop-up-shops, and he spearheaded Macy’s Style Crew, a micro-influencer program that uses its own employees to drive sales through video commerce. His focus, his desire for change and his openness to learn what he doesn’t know embraces innovation to successfully implement change.
Tricia Nichols, Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Estee Lauder
Tricia transformed consumer conversations through the introduction of micro-storytelling and redefined consumer-centric marketing and experiences including integration across Online, Education, Retail Experience, Social, Digital and through Influencers. Google on Voice-enabled experiences and created a new channel (Home) for Estee Lauder, positioning the brand as one of the first beauty brands to launch on Google Home and Voice.
David Olsen, CEO, Cos Bar
David Olsen brings his digital and ecommerce expertise to transition a traditionally brick-and-mortar retailer into the 21st century, while remaining true to its DNA. He has maintained the company’s commitment to personalization, with handwritten notes in all orders (even as the e-commerce business has skyrocketed); same-day delivery in select locations; updating the store design and introducing new tech enhancements including mobile POS and digital displays; and digital customer service surveys (Stella Connect) for in-store transactions
Graham Poliner, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Analytics, Macy’s
Graham led successful applications of advanced analytical and consulting practices including a new cost-based omnichannel fulfillment optimization logic used to fulfill online orders from a combination of stores and distribution centers; a complete overhaul of the replenishment system with no change in service levels; a pragmatic customer-segmentation technique that can both drive corporate strategy (e.g. Loyalty) as well as enable precise customer targeting; an algorithmic approach to markdown optimization that recommends pricing decisions based on seasonal expectations and sell-through targets; testing a KVI/KVC-based pricing strategy and a dynamic online pricing algorithm that includes competitor monitoring; personalizing product recommendations and marketing messages on the website and via email; exploring applications of visual machine learning and conversational machine learning.
Marc Rosen, EVP and President, Direct-to-Consumer, Levi Strauss & Co
Marc recognized jeans aren’t the easiest product to buy without first trying on, and knew there was a need to translate the in-store service experience seamlessly to LS&Co.’s digital storefront. This led to the creation of Indigo, a chatbot on Levi.com that takes a conversational approach in using artificial intelligence to determine a shopper’s style and fit need. Marc’s initiatives contributed to 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth for the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business and four consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth for the company overall.
Mili Seoni, Head of Business Development, Ascena Retail Group
Mili was responsible for the ideation, research, assessment (business case, vendor assessment), buy-in, and execution of Ann Taylor’s foray into rental subscription, Infinite Style. She worked closely with the strategic operational partner to ensure they were able to unlock any operational efficiencies to move fast and demonstrate the viability of the model. Her innovation in the rental subscription space opened up the space for the entire enterprise and several of the other brands are now trying different types of partnerships with startups in the space in different capacities.
Brock Weatherup, Chief Strategic Innovation & Digital Experience Officer, Petco
Brock launched PetCoach, a first-of-its-kind pet care retail concept offering pet parents a new way of providing complete care for their pets. PetCoach aims to reinvent the traditional “pet store” experience through complete pet care services – from grooming, training and day care to full-service veterinary care – that simply can’t be delivered by mail or a mass retailer. The model brings the previously online-only platform to life in a retail setting with the highest-quality personalized pet services
Doug Wood, CEO, Tommy Bahama
Doug is responsible for growth of the company and the evolution of the popular lifestyle brand over the past 18 years. He has overseen the development of the company’s successful e-commerce business, licensing partnerships and Tommy Bahama’s retail /restaurant operation, which sets them apart from other apparel companies and is the ultimate expression of this true lifestyle brand and an early example of how to create an immersive retail experience. The Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar is a new fast casual restaurant concept and retail store that gives the Tommy Bahama guest a new way to experience the brand.
Come to our Awards Breakfast on March 5th to find out who among these 10 innovators will win the top award!
