The Voice of Retail Ethics, Holiday Trends + Consumer Behaviour: Google’s Managing Director of Canadian Retail
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.
If you are a retail marketer in Canada chances are pretty good you know Eric Morris - I’ve known Eric for well over a decade, and I learn something new every time we catch up. Google Canada’s Managing Director of Retail has been at this dent the universe company for nearly twenty years - he’s one of the original 500. Over the course of his career, he has witnessed vast growth within Google and across the industry, and their evolving relationship with retailers in Canada.
In this episode of The Voice of Retail podcast, Eric and I unpack the latest topics at the intersection of technology and retail. Together, we break down key forecasts and trends, and address some surprising misconceptions about the tech giant.
In an increasingly competitive retail environment, Eric underlines Google’s commitment to Canadian retailers - both big and small - and tackles the tough issues that come from the platforms growth and sophistication for advertisers of all sizes.
Eric Morris
Eric Morris is the Managing Director of Google's Retail practice in Canada, where since 2002, he has worked alongside the country's top marketers and executives.
Eric has held several leadership roles at Google Canada, leading sales, operations, research, strategy and analytics for Google's advertising business. Most recently, he led Google Canada's search and performance advertising business. Previously, Eric launched and led Google’s mobile advertising business in Canada.
In 2016 Eric was named inventor and issued a patent in the United States for identifying rising search queries and trends at scale for advertisers worldwide.
Eric was elected to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada’s board of directors in 2009, and served as Chair of the board in 2015-2017.
Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Eric is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
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 E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and the all new Conversations with CommerceNext podcast. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.
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.