S1E2 - Transforming Retail: Vicki Cantrell on Building Community, AI, and Human Connections

In this episode of The Retail Razor: Retail Transformers, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Vicki Cantrell — retail executive, technology leader, and CEO & Co‑Founder of Vendors in Partnership (VIP) — to explore her extraordinary journey from wrapping gifts in a small shop to leading technology and operations at luxury brands like Tory Burch, Giorgio Armani, and Gucci Group, and shaping the future of retail communities as SVP of Community at the National Retail Federation.

Known across the industry as “The Fairy Godmother of Retail”, Vicki has spent her career building bridges between retailers and technology suppliers, fostering authentic community connections between brands and consumers, and championing loyalty through empathy, trust, and collaboration.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• A retail career blueprint — how Vicki navigated roles from buyer to CIO to community builder, and the lessons any retail leader can apply to their own journey
• The art of building partnerships that last — why “investigative empathy” is the key to breaking down barriers between retailers and vendors
• How Vendors in Partnership and the VIP Awards are redefining collaboration in the retail industry
• Strategies for retail transformation that start with people, not just technology
• Why change management is the most critical leadership skill in retail today
• Insights on AI, personalization, and the future of retail relationships

 
Whether you’re a retail executive seeking to strengthen vendor relationships, a technology supplier aiming to better serve your retail partners, or a leader mapping your retail career growth, Vicki’s insights will inspire you to think differently about community building, customer loyalty, and the partnerships that drive innovation.
 
Listen now to learn how to transform your approach to retail relationships — and your career.
 

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Guest info:
Vicki Cantrell, https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickicantrell/
CEO & Co-founder, Vendors in Partnership
Vendors in Partnership - https://vendorsinpartnership.com

Vicki is a retail strategist and community builder, recognized for relationship building and accelerated growth. She founded Vendors in Partnership and the Vendors in Partnership (VIP) Awards, celebrating partnerships between retailers and solution providers and creating a joint community of these industry experts to advance retail innovation and partnerships.

Her career includes Retail Transformation Officer for Aptos, NRF’s SVP Communities and Shop.org, COO of Tory Burch, CIO of Giorgio Armani and Gucci Group. Cantrell is a Vice President for the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI), a non-executive director of Tandy Leather Company, and on the Executive Leadership Committee of the Retail AI Council.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Preview

(00:01:26) Show Intro

(00:05:50) Retail Transformer - Vicki Cantrell

(00:12:34) The Importance of Building Community in Retail

(00:16:36) Vendors in Partnership: Bridging the Gap

(00:26:35) The VIP Awards and VIP Connect

(00:36:53) Breaking Down Barriers in Retail Collaboration

(00:37:46) Universal Lessons in Leadership and Customer Connection

(00:39:22) The Importance of Change Management in Retail

(00:43:24) Insights from Leading Shop.org and NRF Communities

(00:51:08) The Role of Mentorship in Retail

(00:58:26) Opportunities and Pitfalls in AI for Retail

(01:05:24) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

(01:06:25) Show Close

 
Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. Once immersed in fashion & supply chain tech, now slaying Franken-stacks & building retail tech. She is also the Founder of Luxlock, a cross-channel customer experience management platform.

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Tropikool, from the album Future Beats 2, plus Virtual Apology and New Styles, from the album Shimmer Pop, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.