S1E1- Transforming Retail: April Sabral on Mindset and AI
 
Welcome to the first episode of The Retail Razor: Retail Transformers podcast! Hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden dive into candid conversations with top innovators, change-makers, and disruptors in the retail industry. In this episode, they welcome April Sabral, a renowned leadership and mindset expert, who shares insights on the power of purpose-driven leadership, building deeper connections, and fostering a positive mindset within teams. The conversation dives deep into embracing AI in retail, building emotional resilience, and fostering a positive workplace culture. April shares insights from her upcoming book, 'Positive Accountability,' and her latest venture, Ask April AI, a coaching and training platform aimed at transforming leadership in retail, hospitality, and service industries.

Whether you're passionate about innovation, leadership, or the future of commerce, this episode offers insights into leading with positivity, mindset, and AI to transform retail. Don't miss out on learning actionable strategies to enhance your leadership skills from one of the industry's most inspiring and transformational leaders!

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Guest info: April Sabral - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilsabral/

April Sabral is a leadership and mindset expert, bestselling author, and founder of Ask April AI, an AI-powered coaching and training platform designed to support retail, hospitality, and service-based business owners. With over 30 years of experience leading teams at iconic global brands such as Starbucks, Gap, Banana Republic, and DAVIDsTEA, April has trained thousands of managers to become confident, people-focused leaders.

Her proven leadership system, The Positive Effect, has been embraced by top brands including Jimmy Choo, Tory Burch, Sunglass Hut, Victoria’s Secret, and Psycho Bunny. Her bestselling book by the same name was named a Top Global Retail Book by the National Retail Federation in 2025 and is featured in the Forbes Leadership Library.

April has the only coaching certification in the retail industry that certifies leaders and coaches to train and license her proven methods, which is launching this fall.

April is also the Executive Director of the Design District Chamber of Commerce in Miami, where she combines her passion for retail with community leadership. She has been named a Rethink Retail Top Global Retail Expert for three consecutive years (2022–2025) and is on a mission to positively impact one million leaders worldwide through practical business tools and mindset transformation.

Learn more at www.AskApril.ai. & www.aprilsabral.com

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Preview

(00:00:53) Show Intro

(00:09:12) Retail Transformer - April Sabral

(00:10:41) Shifts in Retail Leadership

(00:12:12) Importance of Positive Mindset

(00:14:38) Training and Development Strategies

(00:23:54) AI in Retail: Embracing the Future

(00:37:23) Ask April AI: Revolutionizing Leadership Development

(00:41:41) The Role of AI in Retail Training

(00:46:40) Building Technology as a Non-Tech Founder

(00:53:30) Mindset Training in Leadership Development

(00:58:32) Positive Accountability Framework

(01:02:29) Final Thoughts and Upcoming Projects

(01:04:02) 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.