April 04, 2023

Walgreen's Customer-Centricity Journey with Tracey Brown, Executive Vice President and President, Walgreens Retail & U.S. Chief Customer Officer

44 minutes

We kick off a month of showcasing remarkable female leaders from some of retail's leading brands, with special guest, Tracey Brown, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Executive Vice President and President, Walgreens Retail & U.S Chief Customer Officer. Tracey's diverse background in advertising, non-profit leadership, and previous stint at the other "Wal" (Walmart) prepared her well for her current assignment at one of the world's largest and most successful drugstore chains.

We review the tremendous evolution of the company from its founding in 1901 to becoming a leader in health and wellness. We unpack what it means to be a Chief Customer, the challenge of breaking down silos to put the customer at the center of all you do, and the critical role of agility to maintain your competitive edge. We close with some of Tracey's top leadership tips on how to mobilize people to do go above and beyond for the customer.

But we kick things off with a quick review of the week in retail news, including the NRF's annual sales forecast, Lululemon's strong earnings report, and Macys CEO Jeff Gennette's plan to hand the keys of the kingdom to Bloomingdale's CEO Tony Springs early next year, Then we discuss Alibaba's decision to split into six groups, more news out of Amazon, Bed, Bath & Beyond's hail mary financing strategy, and more new formats from Nike.

About Tracey

Tracey Brown is executive vice president, president of Walgreens retail and U.S. chief customer officer, overseeing the transformation of Walgreens to a healthcare company, to create more joyful lives through better health.

She is responsible for the Walgreens consumer experience across all consumer touchpoints and leads development of strategies to advance Walgreens across a complex and dynamic competitive landscape. Brown oversees store operations, merchandising, marketing, product, digital, omnichannel, store format, data and analytics, and supply chain organizations, as Walgreens further accelerates its digital transformation, in order to create a seamless integration across all channels – in-store, mobile and online – to provide a unified, consistent brand experience.

Brown has more than 30 years of experience driving business growth, operations, creating omnichannel customer experiences and leveraging digital capabilities to connect consumers and brands. Most recently, she served as chief executive officer for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), where she led the organizational transformation including fundraising, advocacy, science and research while fighting for people living with diabetes.

Prior to the ADA, Brown was senior vice president, operations and chief experience officer for Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart Inc. She also served as CEO and managing director of RAPP Dallas, a data-drive integrated marketing agency, chief operating officer for direct marketing agency Direct Impact and director of worldwide consumer marketing for Advanced Micro Devices. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at American Express, Proctor & Gamble and Exxon Mobil.

Brown graduated from University of Delaware with her B.S. in chemical engineering and received her MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Weight Watchers and Yeti. In 2021, she was named one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Corporate Directors, and in 2022, she was listed on Forbes CEO Next List.

About Us

Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.

Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.

Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue, his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

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About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

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