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Inside Ulta Beauty's SOC: Lessons from retail
What does meaningful support look like when retail associates face their most difficult moments?
In this episode, Julie Lawson from the Loss Prevention Foundation hosts a conversation with Mike Korso, Director of Loss Prevention Intelligence at Ulta Beauty, and Bobby Haskins of Auror to unpack how Ulta built its EPICenter and why associate safety sits at the center of every decision.
From creating a centralized security operations center from a blank slate to rethinking how intelligence, technology, and people work together, the discussion offers a grounded look at what it takes to support stores in real time while earning trust across the business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Ulta designed its EPICenter around associate experience and life safety
What retailers should prioritize when building or evolving a security operations center
Why soft skills, accuracy, and speed matter as much as technology
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Why associate support is the most valuable return on investment
(03:16) Introducing Ulta Beauty’s EPICenter and its mission
(07:29) Securing leadership buy-in for a centralized SOC
(11:13) Foundational roles and workflows inside the EPICenter
(14:45) Choosing technology based on life safety priorities
(18:30) Managing alert fatigue and intelligence accuracy
(21:46) How Auror supports EPICenter intelligence workflows
(24:24) Measuring impact beyond financial metrics
(32:00) Key lessons from four years of SOC operations
(35:01) Skills needed to lead a security operations center
(42:27) Notifications and critical incident response
(47:49) Technology risks and future blind spots
Resources:
Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-korso-mba-cfi-lpc/
Bobby’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyhaskins/
Julie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-lawson-mba-lpc-15b6231b/
Understand the latest organized retail crime trends: https://www.auror.co/retail-crime-insights-report
Learn more about organized retail crime: https://www.auror.co/organized-retail-crime
Retail Secure Conference details: https://rccretailsecure.ca/agenda/
Auror’s website: https://www.auror.co/
View all episodes
By The Intel by AurorWhat does meaningful support look like when retail associates face their most difficult moments?
In this episode, Julie Lawson from the Loss Prevention Foundation hosts a conversation with Mike Korso, Director of Loss Prevention Intelligence at Ulta Beauty, and Bobby Haskins of Auror to unpack how Ulta built its EPICenter and why associate safety sits at the center of every decision.
From creating a centralized security operations center from a blank slate to rethinking how intelligence, technology, and people work together, the discussion offers a grounded look at what it takes to support stores in real time while earning trust across the business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Ulta designed its EPICenter around associate experience and life safety
What retailers should prioritize when building or evolving a security operations center
Why soft skills, accuracy, and speed matter as much as technology
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Why associate support is the most valuable return on investment
(03:16) Introducing Ulta Beauty’s EPICenter and its mission
(07:29) Securing leadership buy-in for a centralized SOC
(11:13) Foundational roles and workflows inside the EPICenter
(14:45) Choosing technology based on life safety priorities
(18:30) Managing alert fatigue and intelligence accuracy
(21:46) How Auror supports EPICenter intelligence workflows
(24:24) Measuring impact beyond financial metrics
(32:00) Key lessons from four years of SOC operations
(35:01) Skills needed to lead a security operations center
(42:27) Notifications and critical incident response
(47:49) Technology risks and future blind spots
Resources:
Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-korso-mba-cfi-lpc/
Bobby’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyhaskins/
Julie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-lawson-mba-lpc-15b6231b/
Understand the latest organized retail crime trends: https://www.auror.co/retail-crime-insights-report
Learn more about organized retail crime: https://www.auror.co/organized-retail-crime
Retail Secure Conference details: https://rccretailsecure.ca/agenda/
Auror’s website: https://www.auror.co/