Welcome to The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit special edition of the Voice of Retail I’m your host Michael LeBlanc and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

An elite organization that brings consumer goods retailers and manufacturers together globally, the Consumer Good Forum’s Global Summit is a CEO-led group that aligns the world’s retailers and consumer goods manufacturers together, alongside other key stakeholders, to secure consumer trust and drive positive change, including greater efficiency.

Check out this recent article: http://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/galen-weston-to-the-food-industry-lets-get-serious-on-sustainability-88156

This year their Global Summit was held in Vancouver in June, and since I was in the neighbourhood (Victoria giving a keynote presentation on the state of global grocery eCommerce) I grabbed a Harbour Air float plane from Victoria for the fun and picturesque half hour flight over to Vancouver harbour. Highly recommend taking this trip if you have not had the opportunity btw.

At the Global Summit I had the opportunity to mix and mingle with about 900 of the biggest thinkers and the brightest minds in retail, brand and strategy game, so of course took the opportunity to do some chitting-and-chatting for The Voice of Retail on and around the conference floor, in the media room and even on the EY thought-leader”ship” yacht parked behind the Vancouver Conference Centre.

First up a conversation with Kristina Rogers, Global Consumer Industries Leader: Consumer Products, Retail, Agribusiness. Based out of Chicago but born and raised in Canada, Kristina is responsible for global business leadership across multiple consumer industries and we talked about global eco-systems, risk and the nature of innovation.

Next, two global Canadian loyalty leaders who speak on an international stage: Caroline Papadatos, Global Loyalty Consulting Leader for Loyalty One, and Bryan Pearson, CEO of Loyalty One and a frequent (and frequently quoted) contributor to Forbes and thought leader in the loyalty space. In a wide ranging interview we talk about Big L loyalty and Little L loyalty, what has changed in the loyalty space in 25 years, the nature of modern retail loyalty & technology and the richness of the tools. You can reach Caroline at CPapadatos@loyalty.com and BPearson@loyalty.com

Lastly, and interview with two retail strategists as we talk about their thoughts on the latest in retail brand marketing strategy and consumer insights. This interview was recorded on the EY yacht parked in Vancouver Harbour, so the background is pretty noisy with Harbour Air flights coming and going, but stay with us as the conversation is really worth it.

But first, here is my conversation with Kristina Rogers from EY:

That’s a wrap on this special Consumer Goods Global Summit edition of The Voice of Retail, if you liked this podcast you can subscribe on iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry. You can also ask your favourite home devices, Amazon Echo, Google home to play the most recent edition.

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.

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