Welcome to Women in Retail Talks, the podcast for C-suite executive.
Women in the retail space share their stories of professional growth, leadership development, personal journeys and more.
I'm Melissa Campanelli, the co-founder and content and brand director of Women in Retail Leadership Circle, which is a membership-based community of executive women at leading retailers and brands.
Today, we're going to do something a little bit different on this podcast.
For the first Women in Retail Talks podcast of 2024, we're going to turn the microphone around on ourselves and talk a little bit about women in retail and what we're all about.
Joining me today are Jennifer D. Pasquale, the president and co-founder of Women in Retail.
Hi, Jen.
I'm Melissa.
So fun to be here.
And Susan Koger, who's Women in Retail's Director of Membership.
Hi, Jen.
I'm Melissa.
It's so great to be here with you ladies today.
Yeah, this is exciting.
So I'm going to start out with sort of the genesis of Women in Retail.
This is our 10th year, everybody.
So it's a great time to talk a little bit about our origin story.
So Jen, why don't you fill the listeners in?
Sure.
So you know this story well.
Well, first of all, for everyone listening, Women in Retail is an association for executive level women at all the major leading retailers and brands.
The whole mission of Women in Retail, we always say, is to champion women upward in their companies and help them really become the best leaders they can be and offer them a community of executives and a true support system to connect with along the way.
And that is truly what we're building is community.
We offer leadership development for our members through virtual and live events.
We offer peer groups.
We have fabulous content and, of course, elite connections.
So just to give you an idea of who we are, if you're not familiar with us.
So back to the origin and how we got started.
I was running Total Retail.
Melissa was involved as well.
It's a sister brand of Women in Retail.
And we really started talking to our network and just getting curious.
And asking questions.
We wanted to know where they were getting their leadership development and training.
You know, where were they getting their, their female community and inspiration?
And
Just you know curious of of how they were solving pain points in group settings and.
Of course, the answer was, hey, we don't have that.
What are you talking about?
So we knew we had an idea, a spark of an idea.
And at the same time we knew that obviously there's a ton of women working in retail at the time.
But there were the number of women in C-suites, the number of women in executive positions, the number of women on boards was just clearly not up to par.
And we also kept hearing from our senior level women that they felt isolated and they wanted to find a space to really connect with other leaders.
And, you know, that's not just a saying it's lonely at the top.
It is lonely at the top.
So we kept hearing these same sentiments, you know, over and over, and we wanted to put a community together.
So what Melissa and I did is we really, you know, put our board of directors together, which was, you know, some women leaders in the space that we really admired.
And we just picked their brains.
We said hey, if we could dream this community up and, you know, create something for you.
What would that look like?
And, you know, we listened to them and heard their pain points.
And really what they wanted was connection.
They wanted leadership development and training, and they wanted a means of doing so all year round.
So that's what we created back in the day.
And we still pivot to what the community wants.
You know and listen to their pain points and see how we can react and, you know, go back to the drawing board each year.
And so at the time, Melissa you know, we launched the summit and the circle, the membership piece of it, together.
And I mean, you remember that first summit, we knew that we had something big.
It was a sold out success immediately.
It was so fun you could hear a crackle and feel spark in the air.
And I remember that.
Well, that was, that was unbelievable.
It was like, there's a spark.
There was a spark.
There was a spark.
And we, we looked at each other and we were like, okay, we're, we've got something.
Right.
And so, you know, we knew at that moment, we wanted to connect these women year round.
Right.
We didn't want to give them like this lovely event and then say, okay, see you next year.
We really wanted to connect them over the course of the year, which is how membership in the community itself got started.
And then after that, we just started building more and more events and growing the community and the members.
And currently, our community has 10x from where we started, which is incredible.
And it's comprised of successful and motivated and, of course, passionate women across all the verticals of retailers.
And they all have a strong belief that investing in themselves and other women is good business.
And it is quite frankly.
And the ecosystem of the community is really anywhere, from enterprise CEOs with decades of experience to directors who are working their way up.
And the common thread we always say is women coming together to learn from each other and help each other succeed.
And that is literally what we see every day.
Everyone's community wants to help each other and learn and connect and grow from one another.
And it's been a blast.
That was great, Jen.
Thanks for that overview.
I love listening to that.
It's nice to sit back and think about the early days.
You don't really do that enough, I don't think, and how far we've come.
And just it's great to just think about all we are doing to help so many people.
And we do hear that all the time, as you said.
So you know, along the way we have hit many milestones and our community has grown.
As Jen said, 10x.
So I thought I'd just point out some of the bigger milestones for everyone.
So as we said, this is our 10th year.
So in 2014, it was our first Women in Retail Summit took place in Miami.
And the first Women in Retail Leadership Circle Advisory Board and the Women in Retail Leadership Circle Group was officially founded.
So that all happened in 2014.
2017, we doubled in size, which was exciting at the time.
In 2021, we launched a corporate partnership program, which we're going to talk a little bit about later.
And then in 2022, we hired our first membership director Susan, who's on the call with us today.
That's been really great and really helpful in terms of our growth.
And drumroll, please, in April this year, we're going to be launching our 10th summit.
And we have a lot of fun stuff planned there as well, which we'll talk about later.
But let's bring our membership director and Susan to the conversation.
So Susan, tell us a little bit about your background and what drew you to women in retail?
Sure, absolutely.
Thanks, Melissa.
So I'd actually hearse First heard about Women in Retail through my amazing sister-in-law, Sue.
She is a member.
She has a long career in retail.
And she had attended one of the Women in Retail events in Dallas and just raved about her experience.
She said both in terms of content and networking, it was so impactful, really outstanding.
But more importantly, she said the women at the event were so authentic and real.
And she really felt a connection right away with that first event that she attended.
And I was thrilled for her.
I was so happy that she had found this professional community, this membership, to belong to, because that was my world.
I've been working in membership development and association management for my career nearly 20 years.
Community is so important to me.
It's a huge part of my life, in terms of both my professional life and my personal life, with volunteer roles that I'm involved in.
And so you know, when she had mentioned this, it sort of stuck with me and And then one day I was on LinkedIn and this opportunity popped up and I called her right away and said I'm going to, you know, I'm looking to make a move.
And I think this is meant to be.
And it sure seems to have been the case.
It's just been a tremendous year working with you both and our team to transform membership really personalize the experience.
Take membership to the next level for this amazing women in retail community.
It is totally meant to be.
It has been such a great year having you on board and you have made such an impact.
I can tell you on the community itself.
It's so great to work with you.
Thank you.
I feel really very very, you know lucky and just happy all the time to be with this team and to meet our amazing members and to see, you know, the growth and to see the connections that you know our members have with each other.
It's very exciting.
Yeah, it's fun.
It's inspiring.
So, as Jen said, you know you are leading a lot of efforts to make women in retail membership more impactful.
So why don't you tell the listeners about some of the current member benefits that you're working on?
Sure, absolutely.
So members receive, first and foremost, discounted and priority registered to both our in-person and virtual events.
This includes the Women in Retail Leadership Summit, those regional on-the-road one-day conferences that I mentioned.
We also have something new that we launched last year.
We have local meetups, which are really great.
They're led by member ambassadors in cities around the country.
They're really meant to be smaller opportunities where members can gather very locally.
Within a membership, you always want the small within the big.
The big events are absolutely wonderful, but it's really nice to know members in your own backyard.
We have pockets of membership communities around the country.
I was able to attend one of these events in Philadelphia a few months ago and it was just such an amazing evening of camaraderie and networking and friendship and laughter.
So I was really happy that I was able to see that happen in person.
We know everyone can't be everywhere, so we also have a number of virtual offerings, including peer group.
This is one of my favorite benefits of membership and they are relaunching in 2024 and we're very excited about this.
We've put a lot of time and thought into how to make peer groups the best they can be for our members.
So they'll be happening quarterly.
They are going to be organized by job function and there'll be member-led discussions around industry issues.
Business strategy.
You know, there'll be an agenda.
It's a great opportunity for sharing.
Sometimes the agenda is followed, sometimes it's not, and that's okay too, because they're really for our members and their peer training and development and learning with each other.
Of course, we have content, Melissa.
You know you and our amazing content team does a fantastic job in terms of giving our members exclusive access to research industry resources, event coverage.
We have so much available to our members that we offer, in a weekly newsletter, a monthly member letter.
We also have private online discussion forums for our members to connect with each other.
We have a membership directory with mentorship opportunities, exclusive event invitations when we might be in a city doing a pop-up event or working with an industry partner.
I could go on.
Our benefits are amazing.
They are here to support our members and their professional and personal growth.
You know there's so much to offer.
I am going to jump in there Susan, and just to the content team's horn, because I know Melissa will not do it herself, but our content is unbelievable.
I have to say, and we have put so many great speakers on stage and done so many great topics and it's everything from um.
You know what you would want to hear in the retail strategy world, right?
Like how are they solving problems, tech stacks, all of that.
But then it's also okay, you know, let's talk about menopause or let's talk about culture or let's talk about leveling up.
You know, you want to, um, get from the EVP level to a higher level if that's your goal.
And you know, I have to say, like we do a really well-rounded um, diverse lineup of content that you cannot get at other shows, I'm telling you, and you can't get them at other groups.
Like it is truly what you said.
Susan resonated with me when you said that Sue had mentioned that it was authentic, because we have built the core of our, you know, community on being authentic and coming to the table, as yourself and Melissa and the team have done, just an extraordinary job.
Sometimes I love to just sit in the audience and just listen because it's so impactful.
So kudos to you and the team, because I know you're not going to toot your own horn.
So I have to do it.
Great.
Absolutely.
I couldn't agree more.
And it is definitely a team effort.
I'd love to shout out to Marie Albajez, who's actually helping us out on this podcast in the background as well, who does a ton of great work with content.
I also wanted to give a quick shout out to Christina Stidham on our content team.
She's actually helping us out with this podcast as well.
She actually came up with the idea to do this podcast.
So she's great.
But let's shift gears a little bit and talk about some fun stories around membership and how our community has been integral in bringing women together to succeed in their careers, because that's really what it's about.
It's about the impact that we have on these ladies.
I get so excited whenever I hear about partnerships that were formed between members.
I've heard so many situations where maybe an entrepreneur met a traditional retailer at one of our events.
And You know, I'm shopping at a mall and a store and I see the product in the store.
Like it just kind of gives me it's a goosebump moment.
I also love how entrepreneur members have formed great relationships with other members.
I know quite a few have found great mentors and have great mentorship relationships with some of our members.
So I also love to hear those stories.
So those are my two sort of favorite, favorite fun things about membership.
Yeah, Melissa, I love those stories too.
Some of our members actually have formed partnerships with Curate Retail Group, as an example.
Curate is one of our corporate partners.
They're the home of QVC and HSN.
And it's been so exciting to see some of our members actually on QVC, you know, showcasing their products.
I always tune in.
I'm so excited to see them.
And you know we see it happen right in front of us, sometimes at our, our events.
You know these connections being made.
And and then the next thing you know, you know we have um, a celebration when somebody's on television, so it was very exciting.
Those are.
I love both of those from you, from you both.
One of the the things i love that you guys know is, and i always say it's, it's part of our dna to connect women to job opportunities.
I cannot tell you how many connections we make on a regular basis.
And I love hearing when they pan out.
I mean, we have put women, there's no question.
Like we've put women in C-suite roles and board roles.
We've helped women get promoted at their own companies and countless job advancements, you name it.
I mean, I've had women, you know, come up to me uh, after the summit and say that they made a call on the spot for something that you know whether it's a raise or a job change or you know asking for what they deserve.
Um, just because they came out of a great session, like it is, it's so cool to see that stuff happen in real time.
Um, you know, susan always jokes like between melissa and i.
We know everyone in retail and maybe that just means that we're old, But we do.
We do have deep roots in retail.
So it's really, really rewarding to connect people to the right roles and help them open doors.
I mean, that is part of the fun of, of what we do.
So just love that.
Yep.
So we're looking forward to continued growth, obviously in 2024.
And part of that is putting on the best spanking conference you've ever attended.
So we're working to make it the best one yet.
We're gathering more than 600 women and we're assembling an incredible lineup of speakers covering all types of topics sort of what Jen just mentioned everything from wellness to culture, to leadership, to AI, to anything that you could possibly want.
And some of the speakers we already have signed up are Chris Everett, who you might know.
She's a world-renowned tennis player.
We have Kat Cole, the CEO of Athletic Greens, formerly the CEO of Hooters, where she started as a server.
So that's kind of exciting to hear her growth trajectory.
Allie Webb, the founder of Drybar, and she just published a great book called The Messy Truth.
Um, sharon price john, the ceo of builder bear, is going to be speaking, and mandy fields, the cfo of elf beauty, and so many more great speakers.
So it's going to be an amazing, amazing event and i really urge you to come.
You always put together the last, the best lineup.
I love to hear each and every one of them.
They're also different too.
Um, what i'll say about the song?
I mean, i can't give away all our secrets.
You can attend and see what's what.
But A couple of things.
So we have a CEO experience, which we have totally leveled up.
And it's really kind of a show within a show.
To be honest, it's special content and breakout sessions for the CEOs each day.
And it's really for them to, you know, obviously discuss their own pain points and, you know, talk about subject matter that is important to them, but it's also to build their own network of CEOs, right.
That is part of what we do.
So the CEO experience is fantastic.
And then we're going to do leadership breakouts.
These are new this year.
Everybody will be participating in these.
These are kind of mini workshops on various topics that we've heard from the masses, that people just want more information on.
Some of those might be leading in transformation.
All the retailers are in transformation right now.
Could be ones on leading multi-generational workforces, which everyone's relating to right now.
So a bunch of workshops that we'll be doing.
And then we've also expanded our squad networking.
So we launched squads last year and they were really well received.
As we grow, because we keep expanding obviously the membership and the summit itself, we always want to keep the small within the big right.
And allow attendees to make these great connections.
That's what makes the group so powerful.
So we intentionally connect smaller groups, called squads, within the show And we give them times to meet each day.
So if you're a first timer coming, you'll have a crew immediately that you meet and you can connect with over the course of the summit.
And then, if you're coming with a team of people, we want you to break outside of that team and meet and network with other people.
So that's kind of the mindset behind the squads, which again are really well received and fun.
And then, of course, since it's our 10th anniversary and we're at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, which is just such a gorgeous property, I cannot wait for you all to experience it.
We're going to have some fun celebrations around the 10th anniversary.
So it'll be fun.
Yeah, the summit is going to be amazing for sure.
I can't wait.
I can't wait to see Amelia Island.
We're very, very excited.
And Beyond the summit, we'll be bringing benefits and community to our members all year long.
We're going to have on-the-road events this fall.
We'll be in New York and San Francisco and a number of other cities later this year.
We'll also be popping up at Shop Talk in March, Commerce Next in June.
And then we'll have those ambassador local meetups that I mentioned earlier in cities all around the country.
Of course, our peer groups. and workshops where our members can connect virtually.
So we will be bringing all of that to you all year long.
Great.
Well, I think we did a great job, if I must say so myself, of an overview of this great group and on our great events.
Listeners, if you plan to attend any of the events that Susan and Jen mentioned, please go to womeninretailcom backslash events to see our full calendar.
Registration is open now for the 2024 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, and we'd love to see you there.
Our membership is also growing, as we've said, and we'd love to have you join us as well.
So listeners, you can apply to become a member at womeninretail.com slash apply.
And then also as a thank you for listening to this podcast.
Retailers, if you're not a member, we'd love to offer you 50 off of your first year of membership to receive that discount.
Simply enter podcast when applying for membership.
So thank you so much, Jen and Susan.
Thanks, Melissa.
And I'll just jump in.
If you're on the vendor or technology side, we have a million and one ways for you to engage with our women in retail community on the sponsorship side.
And we'd love to have you reach out for sponsorship.
You can email me at jdepasquale at napco.com.
Love to hear from you.
Thanks, ladies.
And thank you to all of our members, everyone listening.
We are thrilled to be your membership organization and we cannot wait to see you at an event in 2024.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Thanks for listening.
For more information on this podcast, please go to womeninretail.com slash podcasts for show notes.
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Thanks, and until next time, this has been Women in Retail Talks.
