Roger Martin, top global strategist and author of "When More Is Not Better plus an IAB Canada session on the state of Canadian eCommerce with Ted Starkman, Founder Stream Commerce

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and with the support of omNovos, Canada’s digital customer engagement company. omNovos makes Personalization EASY by helping you connect with your customers, connect with your data, and connect with your systems. Learn HOW at www.realcustomerengagement.com.

In this episode I welcome back top global strategist and former Dean of the Rotman School of Business in Toronto, Roger Martin on the launch of his latest book "When More is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency” now available to purchase from your favourite book store.  We catch up after the summer with his perspectives on retail strategy in the COVID era and the concept of pre-pandemic consumer habits as "rapidly decaying assets".  

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/when-more-is-not-better/9781647820060-item.html?ikwid=when+more+is+not+better&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=f11faf27ac575b9926f6a2d48125e92c

Register for the Harry Rosen "Set the Tone"  "Set The Tone" new webinar series to help us stay confident during uncertainty! Register here: https://webinar.ringcentral.com/webinar/register/WN_GUHa4A7VTYOx2WL3_LzVQg

Next listen in as I present a quick keynote on the state of retail and eCommerce in Canada, and then host a live and interactive discussion at the recent IAB Canada eCommerce summit with my good friend, colleague and mentor  Ted Starkman, President & CEO of StreamCommerce after an introduction by the moderator for the day, Dominic Laforest, Integrated Account Manager, Corus Entertainment with additional commentary by Sonia Carreno, President at IAB Canada

But first, let’s check in with global strategist and author Roger Martin

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Thanks to Roger, IAB, and of course Ted Starkman for being my guests, and omNovos for their support on this episode.  If you liked this podcast please subscribe on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform,  rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.  

I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn

Until next time, have a safe week!

The Voice of Retail podcast is presented by Hale, a performance marketing partner trusted by brands like ASICS, Saje, and Orangetheory to scale with focus and impact.

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 fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, 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.