ENCORE: Technology in the Service of The Customer with Michon Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Walmart Canada

🎧 Encore Episode Alert! Revisit one of our most popular conversations from Fall 2024 as I sit down with Michon Williams, Chief Technology Officer at Walmart Canada, for a wide-ranging discussion on leading technology innovation in Canada’s largest retail landscape. Recorded live at Walmart Canada headquarters, Michelle shares her career journey—from a high school intern at RBC to helming technology strategy at Walmart—highlighting the passion for problem-solving and creativity that fueled her ascent.

In this exclusive interview, Michon unpacks the complexities of managing three horizons of retail technology: maintaining system stability, driving incremental improvements, and pioneering disruptive innovations. She explains how Walmart balances global solutions with unique local requirements in Canada, from pharmacy operations to supply chain logistics across a vast geography. Michelle emphasizes that 30% of Walmart Canada's tech stack is tailored for the local market, showcasing the importance of adaptability in global retail operations.

A key theme is the accelerated pace of innovation post-pandemic, particularly in online grocery and omni-channel experiences. Michelle reflects on how the pandemic forced Walmart to “pivot quickly” and experiment boldly, fostering a culture of agility and learning. She provides an insider’s view on how Walmart Canada approaches innovation through a portfolio mindset, selectively adopting global technologies while developing homegrown solutions to meet specific Canadian challenges.

Michon offers candid insights into Walmart’s approach to AI, describing current use cases like automated product tagging and content generation, while stressing the need for “human in the loop” oversight. She positions AI as a transformational but still maturing tool—“we’re in spring training”—with long-term potential to level the playing field for businesses of all sizes.

We also explore the intersection of technology and marketing at Walmart, from empowering associates with actionable data to enhancing in-store experiences that bring the brand to life. Michon closes with powerful advice for women in tech, encouraging curiosity, continuous learning, and breaking out of limiting assumptions: “If you’re nervous about something, go learn it.”

Whether you're a retailer, technologist, or leader navigating innovation, this encore episode offers invaluable insights from one of Canada’s top retail technology executives.

💥 Don’t miss this repeat of a listener favourite!

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.