Joe Jackman backstage at the AGO in Toronto on his new book "The Reinventionist Mindset" and veteran eCommerce executive Rob Schmults interviewed on the streets of New York City during #NRF2020

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.

First up in this episode recorded live backstage in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario before the launch of his brand new book  THE REINVENTIONIST MINDSET: LEARNING TO LOVE CHANGE, AND THE HUMAN HOW OF DOING IT BRILLIANTLY (https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/8946794/type/dlg/https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-reinventionist-mindset-learning-to/9781989025925-item.html?ikwid=joe+jackman&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0)

the one and only Joe Jackman is my special guest for a feature interview.

Next, I re-connect after too long with Rob Schmults, Executive Board at Mid-Ocean Partners private equity based in New York, formerly Senior Vice President of eCommerce and CRM at Talbots, senior executive as GSI commerce and Mckinsey consultant.   We talked in New York city on the sidewalk just outside a popular whisky bar where Scott Silverman was hosting his annual  e-Commerce leaders party.

But first, let’s jump right into my conversation with Joe, picking it up as he describes the days of his youth already walking the retail show floor

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Thanks to Joe and Rob  for being my guests on this episode.  Well  Now let’s hit the highlights of the retail news in Canada and around the world with Retail This Week for the week of February 7th, 2020

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Voice of Retail.  If you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please 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 great week!

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.