Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses transformative impacts on corporate governance within the consumer products and retail industries with Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado, Vice President, Head of Strategy & Business Development for Macy’s and Board of Director for Umpqua Bank (NASDAQ: UMPQ).

Key Takeaways

Trends for retail and consumer products industries are currently focused on:

• Personalization of service – Getting beyond marketing saturation and offering an augmented reality/virtual styling that gets at “what is right for you (the customer) and how do I get it to you faster”

• Incorporating sustainability in end to end board discussions – e.g., From how sourcing products (e.g., from inventory waste in production to customer product disposal and “re-commerce” options)

• Ecommerce and data privacy concerns – personalization and targeting customer information leading to more frequent risk management conversations in the boardroom

• Leadership and talent development reflective of stakeholder groups - Does your board and management team adequately represent perspectives of your employees, your shareholders, your customers, etc.?

Evolution of governance - Questions directors should be asking:

• Has the longevity or tenure of board members limited perspective/response in keeping up with trends in rapidly evolving industries?

• What new skills sets may be needed now that were not needed previously?

• How can the board agenda be re-shaped to determine relevance and frequency of discussion cadence?

• How can the board introduce/rotate voices in the board room to bring in new viewpoints?

• How can we learn from COVID-19 to ensure that management incorporates elements of scenario planning and broadening the “playbook” in strategic planning?

Resources

60-Second Retail - A BDO Podcast Series: https://www.bdo.com/insights/industries/retail-consumer-products/60-second-retail-podcast-series