A Baker’s Dozen of Additional Retail Influencers
If you’re interested in following the Twitter posts or blogs of “influencers” in the retail world, below are a few more to add to the recent “Top 50” list published by Vend.
Point of Sale software provider Vend recently published a list of the “Top 50 Retail Influencers,” which is described as a compilation of retail analysts, researchers, consultants, journalists, commentators, and professionals (but not IT provider CEOs such as Oracle’s Larry Ellison). Congratulations to all who made the cut! The list is an impressive collection of thought leaders, movers, and shakers in the world of retail. You can read the top 50 list here:
http://www.vendhq.com/top-50-retail-influencers
Understanding that making “top lists” involves a lot of research and difficult judgment calls, I think there are a few others who could have made the Top 50 list, or at least deserve an honorable mention. So if you’re interested in following a few more influencers in the world of retail, see below. My methodology is straightforward: it’s based on my 25 years of writing and publishing about technology, with an emphasis on supply chain/retail, including the last seven as director of marketing communications for Reflexis Systems, a provider of workforce management and real-time store operations solutions for retailers. I will be the first to admit that I selected the people below based on my experience in the store operations space, and I’ve left out influencers from the pure-play online world — it’s not my area of expertise. So without further ado, here’s a few more retail influencers, with links to their companies, and where available, their Twitter handles:
- Susan Reda, executive editor of Stores Media, the publishing group of the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association. @Susan_Reda
- Kevin Sterneckert, research vice president for Gartner covering demand sensing and optimization activities within the consumer value chain network of manufacturers & retailers. @Ksterneckert
- Cathy Hotka, founder of eponymous retail relationship marketing firm for getting in front of retail execs, especially CIOs and IT VPs, at events such as the annual NRF Retail Insiders Party. @cathyhotka
- Marianne Wilson, editor of Chain Store Age, the magazine and web site that covers store operations and development and produces the annual SPECS (Store Planning, Equipment, Construction, and Facilities Services) conference. @MWilson_CSA
- George Lawrie, vice president, principal analyst serving application development & delivery professionals, Forrester Research. Prior to Forrester, led numerous software implementations for multinationals and held GM/product manager roles. Authored reports include consumer goods value chains, retail store operations, and more. @ajglawrie
- Greg Buzek, referred to by many as “Mr. Store Systems,” is founder of consultancy, retail data service, and research firm IHL Consulting Group. He’s also one of the founders of the Retail Orphan Initiative, which raises funds and provides services for vulnerable children worldwide through events such as SuperSaturday Analyst Day. @gregbuzek
- Deena Amato-McCoy, retail analyst, blogger, and journalist who has or does write for numerous trade publications including Apparel Magazine, Chain Store Age, NRF Enterprises, STORES Magazine, RetailConnections, and more. @DeenaAmatoMcCoy
- Dan Berthiaume, former editor in chief for Retail Systems Alert Group publications and now senior editor for Chain Store Age. @DBerthiaumeCSA I can’t think of a single subject in retail that Dan and Deena haven’t written about at least once..
- Miriam Burt, research vice president in the Gartner Retail Industry Advisory Services team, and Ron Hanscome, research director who covers core HRMS, workforce management, talent management, and HCM technology strategy and applications evaluation and selection for the research firm. You can follow Ron on Twitter @ronhanscome
- Brian Kilcourse, former retail CIO and now analyst for RSR Research, and Steve Rowen, former senior editor for retail publications and now also RSR Research analyst. @rsrresearch
As with the original Top 50 list, there are a few more influencers that could have made the above list. For example, all of the people above write about all kinds of retail categories, and my list does not include major influencers in specific retail categories such as grocery, apparel, drug store, convenience, Quick Serve Restaurants, hospitality, and so on. There are of course many other influencers, such as PJ Jakovljevic, principal analyst for Technology Evaluation Centers, who covers enterprise applications for a variety of industries (not just retail, @pjtec), and Wall Street analysts.
If you can think of any others, please feel free to contact me. For example, there must be retail influencers in Germany, Spain, India, Brazil, and other countries not on either my or the Vend list.