In a wide-ranging and overdue conversation, I catch up with James Connell, one of the industry's most experienced retail marketing, customer experience, brand and omnichannel executives. We talk about the evolution of customer experience, marketplaces, lessons learned from Asia and abroad, and his local & global consulting work here in Canada

About James

James has 25+ years of senior leadership experience in developing marketing, ecommerce, and customer experiences with a global lens. The bulk of his career was at Roots Canada, where he assumed several progressively more senior roles, and most recently before his departure as their Chief eCommerce and Customer Experience Officer, where he pioneered one of the first comprehensive omnichannel solutions in North America in 2009 while building digital revenue to equal just over half of the company’s direct to consumer sales.

He has supported marketplace initiatives in North America and Asia, while innovating in social commerce, AI, brand strategy, and digital transformation. James has a proven track record of driving impactful branded, customer-centric experiences, being recognized with numerous awards, including Canadian Marketer of the Year, Salesforce’s eCommerce Trailblazer Award, and twice awarded the Best Ecommerce Technology Award by the Retail Council of Canada, and collaborating on a book about collaborative marketing teams in a global organization.

Currently, James is consulting with several international businesses based in North America, Africa, and Asia in the ecommerce, FMCG, technology, and charitable verticals, helping businesses accelerate growth, and clarify their brand value proposition, go-to-market strategies, and digital platforms. Additionally, he has co-created a startup based in Singapore to educate and engage consumers and ecommerce businesses in Southeast Asia about environmental issues.

LINKS

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshconnell/

Website - www.jhconnell.com

About Michael

Michael is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He 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 Secure conference with leaders from The Gap and Kroger talking about violence in retail stores, keynotes on the state & future of retail in Orlando and Halifax, and at the 2023 Canadian GroceryConnex conference, hosting the CEOs of Walmart Canada, Longo's and Save-On-Foods Canada. Michael brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael also produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in North America, Remarkable Retail,
Canada's top retail industry podcast; the Voice of Retail; Canada's top food industry and the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail influencers for the fourth year in a row, Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer, and you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state of the retail industry in Canada and the U.S., and the future of retail.