In this episode, we’re joined by James Reid, chief innovation officer at AllSaints. James brings a wealth of experience from both software and sales roles across various consumer goods companies and retailers. We explore AllSaints' journey, from re-platforming and shepherding innovation across the enterprise to the success of their consumer app, bo…

Innovation can be an architect of transformation, helping to build bridges from aspiration to accomplishment. A single misstep, however, and the entire structure can come tumbling down. With that in mind, how can leaders ensure their teams feel safe to take a chance, share their out-of-the-box ideas, and weigh up the risk versus the reward when it …

On this episode, we’re joined by Linda Roman, Associate Director of Packaging ESG & Technology at The Kraft Heinz Company. Working at one of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world, Linda has a front-row seat to just how important packaging can be in the quest to be more sustainable. Discussing Kraft Heinz's approach, Linda delves into th…

When it comes to packaging and sustainability, small alternations can add up to huge differences over time. Ball Corporation recognizes this power of incremental change and has built its strategy around driving meaningful impacts through specific, targeted action. In this episode, we’re talking with Predrag Ozmo, Director of Sustainability at Ball …

While livestreaming and video shopping hasn’t taken off in the U.S. quite as quickly as other regions, it is a growing commerce channel for many retailers. For The Fresh Market, it’s one that they stumbled upon as part of their goal to jumpstart e-commerce sales after the pandemic's digital growth spurt. We’re talking with Kevin Miller, CMO of The …

As more consumer goods companies bring artificial intelligence into their operations, keeping their employees at the center is critical to success. For Mars, this has meant creating strategies that empower their associates in order to drive adoption and ensure they feel connected to all of the changes. In this episode of Tech Transformation, sponso…

Loyalty programs give retailers and consumer goods companies invaluable access to shoppers, and – if done correctly – can create dedicated brand evangelists. In this episode, learn how CVS is harnessing the reach of its vast membership base to boost loyalty and constantly evolve its personalization and convenience efforts.…

Like many consumer goods companies and retailers, Kimberly-Clark wants to put consumers at the center of everything it does. The company also wants to take things a step further by doing it in a way that advances their sustainability goals, and doing this successfully as a multi-national company means working cross-functionally in some very unique …

As consumer goods manufacturers and retailers rethink how they collect and leverage consumer data, it has them reinventing their external partnerships. PepsiCo is not only entering first-of-its-kind relationships with companies like Spotify and EA Sports, but it’s also looking ahead to how it might use the data to drive further value at retail and …

Retail media is without question one of the biggest trends in sales and marketing right now, but for tech teams, the conversations get a little fuzzy when it comes to measuring success and the expectations a brand should have. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Claire Wyatt, VP, business strategy and marketing science at Alb…

Today's consumer behavior shifts are only growing more complex, making it a challenge for both manufacturers and retailers to meet shoppers whenever they are. We talk with Manish Sharma, VP of Omni and E-Commerce for Kellogg Company, about the consumer goods company’s evolution into omnicommerce and the changes they're making across their business.…

As Unilever digitizes its value chain and transforms its organization to put the customer first, it's finding that decision intelligence is playing a key role in helping it gain speed and agility. In this episode of Tech Transformation, sponsored by Aera Technology, we’re talking with Juan Carlos Parada, global head of customer operations at Unilev…

Attention around generative AI in the consumer goods and retail industries hasn’t slowed, and most of the companies we’re talking with tell us that they’re trying to figure out how it could make sense to use in their business. So in this episode of Tech Transformation, we're talking with Thomas Ortis, chief marketing officer of Eboost, an energy dr…

Convenience chain Yesway is in growth mode, and being able to generate strong consumer loyalty has been key to its success. Now, as the company looks to its future, it’s revamping its loyalty program and using technology and automation to better understand and deliver personalized experiences. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking w…

Decision Intelligence is growing in adoption, and it’s poised to have a significant impact across the retail and consumer goods industries. In this episode of Tech Transformation, sponsored by Aera Technology, we’re talking with Fred Laluyaux, Aera CEO, about the technology and how it’s reinventing the way CPGs get work done — and ultimately, the b…

The retailer Bealls operates over 600 stores in 23 states, and the company is growing, adding 150 stores in the past two and a half years. In this episode of Tech transformation, we’re talking with Jackie Long, director of merchandise process at Bealls, about how the deployment of auto allocation technology is helping them react to the actual perfo…

Dollar General is one of the most rapidly expanding retailers in the United States, which is a strategy that has a significant impact on a company’s IT and tech teams. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Shweta Bhatia, SVP of IT applications and base engineering, about what this looks like and how they’re keeping pace. We’re …

There may be no bigger priority for both retailers and consumer goods companies today than access to consumer insights, and PepsiCo has stood up its own data analytics practice known as Pepviz to seize this opportunity. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Kate Garner, SVP of marketing, demand accelerator, at PepsiCo about som…

Digitizing the route to market has been a priority for consumer goods companies for a very long time, and the pandemic amped the urgency to a 10. For AB InBev, this meant really stomping on the pedal when rolling out their BEES e-commerce technology, which lets retailers place their orders through a mobile app — and a lot more. Over the past few ye…

No- and low-alcohol beverages have been a standout category, with sales growing more than 7 percent last year, according to IWSR. Here we talk with Jamie Lissette, COO of Athletic Brewing Company, a growing brand that’s really seizing this opportunity. We’re talking not only about their growth strategy and how they decide which markets to enter, bu…

Given how quickly and dramatically consumer behavior is changing, there’s a lot retailers and consumer goods companies are taking away from other regions when building their commerce strategies. So on this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Channan Sawhney, director of global e-commerce, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, about some…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably been inundated with news and hot takes on generative AI, including ChatGPT. But what does it mean for retail and consumer goods? There’s a massive amount of potential, and it’s moving really quickly. We’re talking with Imteaz Ahamed, director of performance marketing of nutrition at Reckitt, a…

Understanding how consumers view your retail experiences quickly and accurately is one of the most important parts of serving them, and this means doing a lot more than just surveys. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Steve Peltzman, Chief Business Technology Officer at Forrester, about why this can be so hard for some retai…

Here are a few things you need to know about Tractor Supply Company: For one, they pride themselves on being the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States, with over 2,000 stores and 50,000 employees. What’s more, they have more than 26 million members in their loyalty club. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we talk with Rob Mills…

Getting leadership buy-in isn’t easy in any role, but working in social media brings a special kind of challenge. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Tiffany Pegues, the head of social, search, and CRM at Church & Dwight, about some of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to retail and CPG social. She shares why it’s so i…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re digging into social commerce with the disruptive haircare brand K18. We’re talking with Suveen Sahib, K18 co-founder and CEO, about how they’re making the most of TikTok and Facebook (yes, Facebook) and planning for the metaverse. We also discuss the value of using consumer insights in product developme…

Molson Coors is evolving from an alcohol beverage company to a beverage company, and this has meant transforming its business, its technology, and its ways of working. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Lindsay Winn, VP, commercial IT business partner, and Ramki Krishnamoorthy, global head of enterprise architecture, about w…

Building consumer loyalty may be one of the most complicated challenges for today’s consumer goods companies. For brands like Gogo SqueeZ, this means focusing on developing a first-party data strategy as they work on their next stage of growth. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Mark Edmonson, CMO of Materne North America, G…

Tech Transformation is once again on the road, this time recording from Groceryshop 2022 in Las Vegas. In this episode, Deepak Jose, Global Head One Demand Data & Analytics Solutions at Mars Wrigley, sits down to share how they’re using data analytics to engage today’s consumers in new and innovative ways. Listen to learn: •How Mars is using AI and…

Craft soda company Jones Soda might have some of the most loyal and engaged fans in the world. The company was tapping into user-generated content before digital photography even existed, and now they’re leaning into mobile apps and other technologies to engage consumers and leverage their insights across its business. In this episode of Tech Trans…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re getting back to basics (in a way). We’re talking about data-driven customer service with Steve Sigrist of Newell Brands and Justin Honaman of Amazon. We’re digging into some of the biggest consumer behavior changes that are impacting customer service operations today, and we’re talking about some of the…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re digging into some trade secrets with Scott Saeger, SVP and CIO of retailer GNC. Saeger shares why GNC recently teamed with Amazon for same-day delivery and how that kind of decision can impact a retailer’s IT operations and infrastructure. He also talks about some of the new ways they’re using their mob…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re taking a look at the current state of the retail and CPG supply chain. Tom Madrecki, VP of supply chain at the Consumer Brands Association, sits down with Lisa Johnston, editor-in-chief of CGT, to talk about what’s happening and what’s ahead. Listen to learn: •What's causing the most pain today •How bra…

When the pandemic started, there were a lot of bored kids at home, so what did a lot of bored parents do? They bought them Legos! In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re digging into how The Lego Group kept its tech teams flexible and aligned during a period of massive disruption. We’re also digging into the power of low code and what it mean…

We’re once again on the road, recording from Analytics Unite, the three-day summit that gathered today’s leading minds in retail and consumer goods analytics. In our last episode, we talked with John Bertrand, VP and CIO of Kreg Tool Company, about investing in people and technology to prepare for the consumer of tomorrow. In this episode, we sit d…

We’re going on the road for this episode of Tech Transformation. We’re talking with John Bertrand, CIO of Kreg Tool Company, about where they’re investing to prepare for the consumer of tomorrow and how they’re retaining top tech talent to do so. We’re recording from Analytics Unite, the three-day live summit that gathered today’s leading minds in …

On this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking about getting the right fit, the right recommendation, and – most importantly – the right returns process. We’re talking with Nadia Boujarwah, Co-Founder and CEO of Dia & Co, an inclusive apparel retailer that considers itself just as much of a tech company as it does a retailer. We dig into AI,…

When you’re one of the largest CPGs in the world, understanding consumers has become more important than ever. For Kellog’s, this means leaning into such technologies as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and connecting the dots between their data across all channels. In this episode of Tech Transformation, CGT Senior Editor Lisa Johnsto…

Over 95% of Ulta Beauty's sales come from members of its loyalty program, so is it any wonder they’re hyper-focused on taking their game to the next level when it comes to personalization technology? In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Kelly Mahoney, Ulta Beauty’s VP of customer marketing, about how they’re standing out in a …

We’re talking with Nicole Nelson, most recently SVP of decision science, data science, and applied machine learning at Best Buy, about lessons for successful transformations, including running through a list of lessons. We’re also giving a sneak preview of Analytics Unite 2022, held June 21-23 in Chicago (AnalyticsUnite.com). Listen to learn: •How …

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking about the metaverse and what it might actually mean for retailers and consumer goods. We’re talking with Mike Proulx, VP Research Director at Forrester Research, about their new State of the Metaverse Report. We dig into: •Myths and realities of the metaverse •Why this isn’t just for gamers •How…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking about the future of personalization – both in stores and online. We’re talking with Tyler Wozny, Chief Digital Officer for Madison Reed, the hair color brand and retailer that’s using technology to do some pretty awesome things in consumer engagement. Listen as we dig into such topics as: **Wher…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we sit down with Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change, Honest Tea, and PLNT Burger, to break down some of the differences of innovating in a startup vs. a giant company. We talk about what it’s like trying to balance conscious consumption with making a profit in the food space, and we discuss greenwashi…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re continuing our deep dive into the role that security plays in today’s retail and consumer goods environments. This is part three of our three-part series that’s sponsored by Microsoft, and we’re once again talking with Jim Eckart, Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft. We dig into the role of security in…

In this episode of Tech Transformation with CGT and RIS News, we’re talking about learning to scale, both your tech stack and your tech career. We’re talking with Jason Johnson, CIO of Sweetwater about what’s it’s like moving up the ranks into the CIO role. We’re talking about what makes a strong leader, and we’re digging into pros and cons when it…

In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re digging deeper into the role that security plays in today’s retail and consumer goods environments. This is part two of our three-part series sponsored by Microsoft, where we’re talking with Jim Eckart, Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft, about today’s most pressing concerns. We’re talking about the n…

In this episode of Tech Transformation with CGT and RIS, we talk with Kirk Ball, EVP and CIO of Giant Eagle, about the state of grocery technology and innovation in today’s stores and how things are changing. Ball shares insight into some of the tech today’s retail workforce finds the most valuable, how this has shifted, and the steps Giant Eagle i…

In this episode of Tech Transformation sponsored by Microsoft, we look at the role that security plays in today’s retail and consumer goods environments. We talk with Jim Eckart, Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft, as part of a three-part series that’s digging into some of today’s most pressing security concerns. In this first part, we explore so…

In this episode of Tech Transformation with CGT and RIS, Senior Editor Lisa Johnston talks with Wakefern Food Corp. CIO Cheryl Williams about the most recent pandemic wave's impact on grocery retailers, and how they’re using their 20/20 hindsight to roll with the new challenges. Williams shares how Wakefern is drawing from the pandemic’s early days…

Tech Transformation with CGT and RIS News is a new podcast where we explore the innovative tech strategies and trends in retail and consumer goods.By CGT / RIS