Maya Shapiro’s retail journey started at 14, selling gemstone figurines and helping customers feel the energy of each piece. Years later, she was leading multimillion-dollar operations in one of Russia’s largest Decathlon stores. In this premiere episode of TagTalks, Maya shares how she transitioned from hospitality to retail leadership and what it really takes to grow within a decentralized retail organization. We explore the career pivots, tough calls, and people-first strategies that shaped her path—plus how she handled a literal waterfall inside her store.

Maya discusses what makes a retail leader effective today, from hands-on warehouse logistics to team culture and store KPIs. For pricing managers, retail operations leaders, and directors responsible for store performance and workforce development, her experience sheds light on how long-term growth often depends not just on business results, but on the ability to connect, coach, and adapt.

This episode touches on team mentoring systems, internal career mobility, and how retail companies can build cultures of responsibility and initiative. We also hear how Maya’s understanding of meta skills and self-organization helped her evolve as a leader across multiple retail markets.

TagTalks is a podcast about the people behind retail — the category leaders, store managers, pricing directors, and frontline operators who make commerce happen every day. Hosted by Elena, Chief Marketing Officer at Data Operations, each episode dives into a real-world retail career and unpacks the decisions, projects, and pivots that define success in today’s fast-moving retail landscape. The show is produced by Data Operations, a retail technology company focused on intelligent dynamic pricing and assortment optimization in the U.S. market.

Find out more about Data Operations on https://dataoperations.org

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dataoperations

Team:

Host: Elena, Chief Marketing Officer with Data Operations

Guest: Maya Shapiro

Production: Hatch Up