

Gillian Stein CEO of Henry's, Canada's largest independent photographic/digital retailer and certified professional coach Natalie Dumond talks courageous cultures and brave leadership
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.
In this episode I welcome Gillian Stein, CEO of Henry’s, a family-owned and -operated business, that first opened its doors in 1909 and is now Canada's largest independent photographic and digital retailer. Gillian takes us through the evolution of the retail brand, the ying and yang of being a mid-sized retailer, and the importance of staying true to your values.
Next, Natalie Dumond, certified professional coach and certified Dare to Lead facilitator, joins us for a discussion around the power of brave leadership, courageous cultures and gives us a sneak peak of what she will be presenting live on the main stage at Retail Council of Canada’s annual Retail Human Resources conference in March.
But first, let’s jump right into my conversation with Gillian from her studio offices in downtown Toronto
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Thanks to Gillian and Natalie 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 24 , 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.