Leading Retail CEOs, Strategists and Innovators to Explore New Dimensions of Customer Centricity at Arizona Conference

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona today announced that an extraordinary lineup of retailing leaders and thinkers will present at its 23^rd Annual Global Retailing Conference, April 4-5, 2019, at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson.

Included are the current and recently former CEOs of Walmart, Lowe's, Macy's, McCann Group Worldwide, Mattel, PetSmart, and Gibson Brands, as well as senior executives from IBM, Nike, and other retailing innovators. Highlighting the agenda is world-famous lifestyle designer and trendsetter Kathy Ireland.  

The retailing center, with its leading position as one of the industry's largest and most advanced academic programs, brings together students, faculty and industry executives in a forum to present and discuss breakthrough insights. This year's conference will focus on customer centricity as the retail industry's "moonshot" and unwavering target for success.

Speakers for the event include:

-  Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. Chairman and CEO, Retired

-  Kathy Ireland, chair, CEO and chief designer, Kathy Ireland Worldwide

-  Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart

-  Marvin R. Ellison, president and CEO, Lowe's

-  J.K. Symancyk, president and CEO, PetSmart

-  JC Curleigh, president and CEO, Gibson Brands

-  Matthew R. Shay, president and CEO, National Retail Federation

-  Harris Diamond, chairman and CEO, McCann Group Worldwide

-  Suzanne Powers, chief global strategy officer, McCann Group Worldwide

-  Robert A. Eckert, CEO, Retired, Mattel

-  Michelle Peluso, SVP and chief marketing officer, IBM

-  Anne Spangenberg, VP, global merchandising, Nike

-  Jill Standish, senior managing director, global retail consulting practice, Accenture

-  Sarah Quinlan, executive director, QAM Limited

-  Billie Whitehouse, CEO, Wearable X

-  Lauren Adams, principal, strategy director, Gensler

-  Amelia Falco, design director, senior associate, Gensler.

Details on the conference, including a complete agenda, are posted on  www.globalretailingconference.org, with pages on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/globalretailingconference/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/globalretailcon), and the hashtag #global2019.

"Our Global Retailing Conference has evolved over more than two decades to become a 'must-attend' event for those who want to understand trends as they develop. This year, in particular, attendees will hear directly from those CEOs, strategists and innovators who are blazing the path forward in serving the needs of consumers as they shift dramatically," said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. chairman and CEO, retired, who hosts the event and will deliver opening remarks. "With the pace of change accelerating, successful retailers are those who are creating and implementing new ways of serving consumer needs, presenting brands, developing talent and delivering convenience and value in ways that are revolutionizing business practices. This conference helps bring thought leaders from numerous aspects of the retail, wholesale, fashion, marketing and technology worlds into focus in an environment where our high-performing retail students are invited to ask questions and join the conversation."

Registrations for a limited number of attendees are currently being accepted.

The GRC is presented through the support of sponsors that include Macy's, SAP, MasterCard, Connection, Dell Computers, Kenneth Mink Fine Rug Gallery, Samsung Electronics America, Supima, VMWare Airwatch, Gordon Brothers, Leonisa, PetSmart, Speakap, Veras Retail and Helping Hands for Freedom.

For more information on attending the event, visit www.globalretailingconference.org and follow to the registration page. Or email Kimberley Brooke, associate director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing, at [email protected].

The Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing is part of the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It brings together the resources and expertise of academia and the retail industry, with a shared goal of developing strong future retail professionals and leaders. The school's Retailing and Consumer Sciences program undergraduate degree is considered one of the top retail business programs in the country. About 400 students currently are enrolled in classes.

Media Contact:

Kimberley A. Brooke

Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing

The University of Arizona

(520) 626-7952

[email protected]

SOURCE University of Arizona