Conversations with CommerceNext

Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by Wunderkind.

Ekta Chopra, Chief Digital Officer, at E.L.F. Beauty, made the transition from IT leader to business leader by staying curious and continuously learning.

In this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext, Scott Silverman and Michael LeBlanc talk with Ekta about the culture of E.L.F. Beauty that empowers its team to try new things and leverages communications and a shared vision to move quickly and pivot the business so that it stays in sync with changing market conditions.

Ekta also shares her advice for skills training within a career strategy and what she is looking for in the many different roles and teams she is hiring for at E.L.F."
 

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext.  Please follow us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform where we’ll be sharing career advice and marketing strategies from eCommerce and digital marketing leaders at retailers and direct-to-consumer brands each and every episode.   CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at CommerceNext dot com

Have a fantastic week everyone!

ABOUT US: 

Scott Silverman

An ecommerce veteran, Scott Silverman has been active in the industry since 1999 and is passionate about digital retail and the innovation driving the industry. Scott Silverman is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. Previously, he spent 10 years as Executive Director of Shop.org where he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit. Scott co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for Shop.org’s scholarship fund.

Veronika Sonsev

Veronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. She also leads the retail practice for Chameleon Collective and is a contributor for Forbes on how to grow retail and ecommerce in the age of Amazon. Having spent the last 10+ years working with some of the largest retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, Veronika has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing retail and ecommerce today. She is also an advocate for women in business and founded the global non-profit mBolden, which is now part of SheRunsit. 

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus        Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. 

About CommerceNext

CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at https://commercenext.com/commercenext-webinars/.

About Us

Jennifer Marlo
Head of Content, CommerceNext

Jennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration.

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  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.

Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, Season 1, Episode Three  , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by Wunderkind.

In these times, insights on modern, post-COVID ear consumer attitudes, behaviours and norms has become the new life’s work for brands and agencies alike.  How can retailers find opportunities for growth in a consumer environment that is recovering from widespread disruption?  What strategies and tactics can their agency partners bring to bear to get them there?

In this episode I meet Ryan Urban, the founder of Wunderkind, and Seth Goldman, the CEO of UrbanStems. These two founders share their analysis and experience regarding the latest trends in retail marketing, customer engagement and employee empowerment.

Together, they discuss they discuss their respective career paths, how finding and retaining great talent has changed and evolved, and ultimately how connecting all of these dots leads to better customer experience.

[End]

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext.  Please follow us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform where we’ll be sharing career advice and marketing strategies from eCommerce and digital marketing leaders at retailers and direct-to-consumer brands each and every episode.   CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at CommerceNext dot com

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Seth Goldman

Experienced e-commerce manager with strong finance and analytical skills and a passion for consumer products and services. Industry expertise in consumer consumables, food and floral.

Seth is currently the CEO at UrbanStems, an ecommerce company disrupting the floral and gifting space. UrbanStems' mission is to send 'Send Happy' to all of its customers, and to make it easier to send a beautiful gift to friends and loved ones. As CEO, Seth has successfully installed processes and reporting to allow the business to scale significantly. He has focused on increasing margins while maintaining strong top-line growth.

Prior to UrbanStems, Seth ran the US division of HelloFresh, and helped scale that business into the leading meal kit company. HelloFresh raised nearly $300 million from its investors to disrupt the food delivery and grocery space, culminating with a successful IPO in 2017. While running the US business, Seth added facilities in NJ, TX and CA, expanding HelloFresh to a national footprint. Seth built many parts of the business from scratch, including the operations, finance and HR departments. Under his leadership, HelloFresh was able to secure a $37 million incentive package from the state of NJ to support their exponential growth.

Before joining HelloFresh, Seth was at Quidsi (acquired by Amazon), where he was on the launch team of Wag.com, a pet-focused commerce site. At Quidsi, Seth led supply chain for Wag and three other sites. Seth began his career working in management consulting and private equity. Seth holds an AB from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Areas of expertise:
* E-commerce
* Consumer Products, with specific expertise in food
* Scaling high-growth businesses
* Operations, supply chain and logistics
* Hiring and managing high-performance teams
* Cash flow modeling and valuation analysis
* Statistical and quantitative analysis

Ryan Urban

ABOUT US: 

Scott Silverman

An ecommerce veteran, Scott Silverman has been active in the industry since 1999 and is passionate about digital retail and the innovation driving the industry. Scott Silverman is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. Previously, he spent 10 years as Executive Director of Shop.org where he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit. Scott co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for Shop.org’s scholarship fund.

Veronika Sonsev

Veronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. She also leads the retail practice for Chameleon Collective and is a contributor for Forbes on how to grow retail and ecommerce in the age of Amazon. Having spent the last 10+ years working with some of the largest retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, Veronika has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing retail and ecommerce today. She is also an advocate for women in business and founded the global non-profit mBolden, which is now part of SheRunsit. 

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus        Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. 

About CommerceNext

CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at https://commercenext.com/commercenext-webinars/.

About Us

Jennifer Marlo
Head of Content, CommerceNext

Jennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration.

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  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.

Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, Season 1, Episode Two  , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by Wunderkind.

Alex Waldman, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Universal Standard, has guided the company’s marketing process with two truths. The first: authenticity is everything. The second: generosity is never lost on the consumer.

In this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext, Scott Silverman and Michael talk with Alex  about joy as a career strategy, the marketing process for ethically motivated brands and building genuine consumer-company relationships.

“This is where I find myself right now; I am the ‘changer’ of the thing that has brought me a lot of anguish...” 

Alex sheds light on what it’s like to champion change for women in an industry that has otherwise been hostile and exclusive. 

Universal Standard is a New York based e-commerce fashion brand that represents a paradigm shift in the inclusive-size segment, delivering fashion fundamentals and a style footprint not available until now.

Alex Waldman is a trailblazer who is determined to deliver impactful change, from the product and the bottom line, to the consumer and the greater community.

************

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext.  Please follow us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform where we’ll be sharing career advice and marketing strategies from eCommerce and digital marketing leaders at retailers and direct-to-consumer brands each and every episode.   CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at CommerceNext dot com

Have a fantastic week everyone!

ABOUT US: 

Scott Silverman

An ecommerce veteran, Scott Silverman has been active in the industry since 1999 and is passionate about digital retail and the innovation driving the industry. Scott Silverman is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. Previously, he spent 10 years as Executive Director of Shop.org where he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit. Scott co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for Shop.org’s scholarship fund.

Veronika Sonsev

Veronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. She also leads the retail practice for Chameleon Collective and is a contributor for Forbes on how to grow retail and ecommerce in the age of Amazon. Having spent the last 10+ years working with some of the largest retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, Veronika has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing retail and ecommerce today. She is also an advocate for women in business and founded the global non-profit mBolden, which is now part of SheRunsit. 

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus        Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. 

About CommerceNext

CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at https://commercenext.com/commercenext-webinars/.

About Us

Jennifer Marlo
Head of Content, CommerceNext

Jennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration.

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  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.

Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, Season 1, Episode One, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by Wunderkind.

How do you stay ahead in a highly-saturated eCommerce space? How do you prepare yourself for leadership?

Speaking to the company’s unique and differentiated product, Joe Megibow, CEO of Purple, talks about their success when he says “this is not a convenience play of a digitally-native company.” He underlines, however, that the other essential part of D2C success is conveying the uniqueness of your product to the marketplace - and almost more importantly - setting and aligning the right culture.

In our debut episode of Conversations with CommerceNext, Joe offers key pointers to retail marketers about educating the market on different and disruptive products, the importance of word-of-mouth awareness, and what he’s learned in his transition to Purple, as well as leadership lessons learned from the Purple turnaround.

Let’s listen in now with my co-host, Veronika Sonsev

********

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Conversations with CommerceNext.  Please follow us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform where we’ll be sharing career advice and marketing strategies from eCommerce and digital marketing leaders at retailers and direct-to-consumer brands each and every episode.   CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest ecommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events at CommerceNext dot com

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Joe Megibow

Joe Megibow has been at the forefront of e-commerce since the early 1990's and brings nearly 30 years of experience in technology and business. Since October 2018, Joe has served as CEO of Purple, a digitally-native vertical brand with a mission to help people feel and live better through innovative comfort solutions. Joe has also served as a board member of Red Lion Hotels Corporation since April 2017. Most recently, Joe was an advisor for Advent International, the global Private Equity firm, focused on digital best practices for their consumer businesses. Prior to that in 2016 he served as President of Joyus, Inc. and between 2012 and 2015 he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. where he oversaw the transformation and growth of American Eagle’s $550+ million direct-to-consumer business. In this role, he built out a global omni-channel strategy and infrastructure, and led all digital marketing, customer operations, engineering and product management efforts. Prior to that, Joe held several senior roles with Expedia, Inc., including VP and GM of Expedia.com, where he had P&L responsibility for the US business with direct ownership of marketing, merchandising, and operations. During this time, he launched Expedia’s mobile business and was named Chairman of Mobiata, an Expedia, Inc. company. In 2000, Joe was an original employee of TeaLeaf Technology, now an IBM company. He has also held roles at Ernst & Young Management Consulting, and EDS in their Advanced Technology Group.


Joe was honored in 2021 as a Utah Business CEO of the Year, and was recognized in 2011 as Practitioner of the Year by the Digital Analytics Association where he served 4 years on the DAA Board. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.
 

ABOUT US: 

Scott Silverman

An ecommerce veteran, Scott Silverman has been active in the industry since 1999 and is passionate about digital retail and the innovation driving the industry. Scott Silverman is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. Previously, he spent 10 years as Executive Director of Shop.org where he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit. Scott co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for Shop.org’s scholarship fund.

Veronika Sonsev

Veronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. She also leads the retail practice for Chameleon Collective and is a contributor for Forbes on how to grow retail and ecommerce in the age of Amazon. Having spent the last 10+ years working with some of the largest retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, Veronika has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing retail and ecommerce today. She is also an advocate for women in business and founded the global non-profit mBolden, which is now part of SheRunsit. 

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus        Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. 

About CommerceNext

CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Through our online forums, interviews, webinars, summits and other in-person events, we harness the collective wisdom of our community to help marketers grow their businesses and advance their careers. Join CommerceNext events to meet other industry leaders and learn the latest eCommerce and marketing strategies. You can find upcoming events here.

About Us

Jennifer Marlo
Head of Content, CommerceNext

Jennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration.

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  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.

From the team that has taken thought leadership and community for retail marketers and direct to consumer brands to the next level with their CommerceNext conference series, get ready for Season One of the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast!

Hosted by veteran retail eCommerce marketer and podcaster Michael LeBlanc with co-hosts Veronika Sonsev and Scott Silverman, and presented by Wunderkind, Conversations with CommerceNext gives voice to the eCommerce and digital marketing community like never before.  

You'll hear thought leadership with one-to-one interviews that will dive deep into marketing challenges, winning digital strategies, the latest research, technologies and people behind one of the most dynamic industries in the world.

Together we'll work to make sure as we emerge from the COVID era that you're ready to take on the new challenges and opportunities and help you thrive with  insights and advice from industry leaders who have hands-on experience that you need to hear.

So get ready to join us on the Conversations with Commerce Next podcast, available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, all the major platforms where you enjoy your podcasts today, with new episodes debuting every two weeks!

About Us

Jennifer Marlo
Head of Content, CommerceNext

Jennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration.

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  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.