Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President, Global Retail and Consumer Industries for Microsoft, is a technology leader with a deep understanding of the overarching and day-to-day challenges of the sector she serves: Retail. Inspired by brands and the psychology of consumerism at an early age, Shelley could simply see the future of consumer engagement. Her early background was in transforming the way that vertical retailers like Gap and Williams Sonoma utilized and integrated consumer data into their marketing and engagement programs. As an innovator in ecommerce in the 90’s, she helped implement early CRM strategies and build new websites, ultimately building technology based initiatives that would allow brands to become more intimate with their consumers. After spending 16 years as an insider and champion for using technology to grow retail businesses, Shelley transitioned her career to the technology sector. First joining Salesforce and now Microsoft, she is one of the leading female executives in technology today.

At Microsoft, Shelley works with her retail brand partners in providing technology solutions to help them advance their global initiatives and better serve their consumers. While Shelley has many superpowers, it is the combination of her intellect, curiosity, insight and inherent leadership acumen that has propelled her career. Shelley also brings a special kind of empathy to her work in helping brands understand how to use technology as a tool, in order to make consumer experiences more seamless, engaging and productive. Shelley has set a brilliant example of how one impactful leader can bring these disparate sectors together - retail and technology - so that true transformation can take place. We are particularly excited to share this information-dense and thought-provoking conversation with you, as we all continue on the path of creating the brands and businesses of the future.