Meet the 2012 Shop.org Board retail member candidates

Competition is not just heating up on the world stage over the next two weeks. At Shop.org, our own race is underway. The digital industry once again delivered top notch candidates to this year’s Shop.org Board election and we are excited to introduce them to our community. We asked our nominees to answer the question: “Why me?” and thought we should let each candidate speak for themselves. Read on as the 16 candidates (listed in alphabetical order by company) running for eight retail seats share in their own words why they are the best choice for the job.

Billy May Vice President, eCommerce and Customer Marketing Abercrombie & Fitch When people say, “retail is in your blood”, they mean it literally in my case. I am a 4th generation retailer, and if selected to serve, I would become a 2nd generation board member, following in the footsteps of my father who served 15 years on the NRF board. As a result, contributing to the broader community is a personal responsibility – not just a professional one – I take seriously. I am committed to maintaining the ethos of Shop.org’s value proposition, “by members, for members”, but recognize the organization must continue to evolve to meet the demands of its membership. A solid foundation has been built, and I look forward to leading the next phase of Shop.org’s evolution.

Sarah Veit Wallis Vice President, Global Ecommerce Bare Escentuals I credit the Shop.org organization – conferences, networking, research, and lobbying efforts – as a force behind my success, and I feel obligated and honored to return the favor. At Bare Escentuals, I launched and have grown our e-commerce business, led a cross-channel team, have been a force in our omnichannel efforts, and now am expanding our e-commerce footprint globally. These are all top-of-mind challenges and opportunities for digital retailers and I will bring that leadership and representation of a truly cross-channel, customer-centric, brand and retailer to the Shop.org board of directors. Together, we can encourage and enable our peers to be the next leaders of retail – expertise in digital retail will be a non-negotiable for retail leaders soon, if it is not already.

MJ Murphy GM Digital Commerce Cole Haan I have been an active participant and strong supporter of Shop.org since its inception. I have over 25 years experience in retail; the last 17 years focused on digital. Currently the GM of Digital for Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Nike, Inc., I have also worked for Nine West and Bloomingdales in digital, marketing, and special events positions. As a member of the Board, I would encourage members to optimize their membership by networking with peers, becoming involved in committees and leveraging the collective knowledge of the community. I would strive to ensure that other members enjoy the same value I’ve received from Shop.org throughout my career. I feel I am very fortunate to be a part of this amazing industry and would love the opportunity to serve as a member of the Board.

Peter Cobb Co-founder, SVP eBags Since co-founding eBags in 1998, I’ve been involved in every aspect of building the company into a successful online retailer which has been named Website of the Year six out of the last eleven years. I‘m passionate about internet retail and enjoy helping others in the e-commerce space. I’m currently vice chairman of Shop.org and have greatly enjoyed giving back to the digital retail community. I’ve spoken at ten Shop.org events and have been active in numerous Shop.org committees. I take pride in keeping an “open door” to assist other entrepreneurs and digital retailers seeking advice. As a member of the Shop.org board of directors, I’d work to help members optimize their business by encouraging, enabling, and assisting them in leveraging the collective knowledge of the community.

Lisa Gavales EVP & CMO EXPRESS I’d like to apply my experience in digital to help form the future direction of the industry with the leading association in this space, Shop.org. Having brought bloomingdales.com and express.com both from e-marketing sites to full fledged e-commerce sites with over $100 million and $200 million in sales respectively in less than four years, I have a healthy respect for the speed at which change can and should occur in this industry. As an outspoken advocate for an omnichannel view of a brand, I believe I can both learn and contribute to the already impressive work being done on the board. Because my most recent roles have been to lead the bricks and mortar marketing of multi-billion dollar brands as well as lead their digital businesses, I know the value of the digital business far exceeds the value of its P&L, and I hope to be able to further this notion.

Bryon Colby SVP Digital Commerce HSN Inc. / Cornerstone Brands My diverse background in digital commerce over the past 16 years as both a retailer and vendor – leading e-commerce teams at multichannel retailers, building technology platforms, directing usability projects, running an interactive marketing agency, and launching a mobile commerce start-up – allows me to bring unique insights and perspective to help develop and support Shop.org’s mission, programs, and services. I am very passionate to represent the Shop.org community, foster discourse, and aid in growing our industry as I believe it’s the ideal group to address common challenges — capital shifts from bricks to digital, integrating the customer voice, international expansion, making big data actionable, creating new and engaging value in mobile/tablet/social, and doing more with fewer resources.

Jeremy Liebowitz VP, Digital Commerce Jarden Consumer Solutions For over 12 years, I’ve been an active member and advocate of Shop.org. I want to continue to drive the organization as the leading global community for digital retail. Having worked in digital start-ups, etail at 1800flowers.com, multichannel retail at Limited Brands and the Jarden Corporation, a Fortune 500 brand manufacturer of everything from Mr. Coffee® to Rawlings®, I have a deep understanding of online retailing across multiple global marketplaces. Shop.org needs to continue to provide research, dynamic content and networking opportunities, providing its members the tools to grow digital retail in organizations of any size and in any market. Networking through the member community needs to be an important benefit by connecting retailers and solution providers to further digital growth. I’ve served Shop.org in many capacities and would like to now serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Johanna Murphy Vice President, eCommerce kate spade new york Johanna would bring a unique perspective to the Board of Shop.org: She has sat on both sides of the table, serving many brands and retailers as a vendor at some of the industry’s largest agencies and service providers, and now as a retailer. She has incorporated much of what she learned at GSI Commerce, as the former head of its Apparel and Luxury vertical, and at Scient/Razorfish as Managing Director of User Experience, in running the eCommerce business at kate spade new york. Over the past 13 years, she has worked both in digital marketing and in eCommerce operations, giving her a diverse, comprehensive background. This experience has formed her philosophy that in order to deliver a rich, branded customer experience, retailers need to focus as much attention to the operational aspects of the business, such as speed of delivery, as they do to the site’s features and functions.

Ulric Jerome Executive Director Pixmania As Executive Director and Partner of Pixmania.com, the leading e-commerce company in Europe operating in 26 countries I can bring to the board and members of Shop.org a European expertise and a fresh look on this very fragmented and complex market. As a Board Director, Vice President and active member of main European e-commerce federations I have a deep understanding on how valuable a federation can be to its members and am constantly updated on the evolution of trading rules in Europe in an effort to provide key information to members on this market.

Brad Brown SVP, eCommerce and Direct Sales Recreational Equipment, Inc. I am a retail industry veteran with extensive leadership experience across a range of retail formats, and passion for eCommerce – digital commerce, really. I have a strong desire to help other organizations through a role as a Shop.org Board member to lead through and win in the digital space. It is the battleground where retailers will ultimately win or lose customers’ loyalty to any brand.

Michael Burgess President, Saks Direct Saks Incorporated Through my experience leading e-commerce organizations including Saks Inc., FTD and Teleflora, I have been extensively involved in the evolution, innovation and leadership of e-commerce. Saks, as a department store retailer focused on omnichannel retailing, brings an interesting point of view to e-commerce and is actively engaged across the NRF community. I have broad relationships with retailers, vendors and partners across e-commerce and I have been a strong supporter of Shop.org and Shop.org events throughout the years. I am passionate about creating an outstanding Shop.org member experience and the revolution we are leading to make retailing and life better for our customers. I am excited about contributing my time, leadership and experience to the Shop.org Board to continue and build upon our great programs, services and community.

Charlie Cole VP, E-Commerce Schiff Nutrition I love Shop.org, in part, because of our clear drive for a better online marketplace. I’ll put boundless energy into that mission, and into growing the organization. And, I can bring a balanced perspective to Shop.org. I have the unique perspective of an e-commerce professional who’s managed a mature online business but is now building one from scratch. Finally, I love to teach! I sign off at all speeches with my e-mail, phone and twitter handle. I openly network and welcome people to contact me with questions. With the acceptance of my candidacy you will get a fun, energetic and analytically gifted individual who will support Shop.org’s mission and further proliferate it’s e-commerce footprint.

Kevin Ertell Vice President, E-commerce Sur La Table I am passionate about Shop.org and our community. I feel like I can represent all constituencies in the Shop.org community. I’ve been a retailer at large multichannel organizations (Sur La Table, Tower Records, Borders), and a smaller pure-play environment (OnlineShoes.com). I also spent time in the vendor community during my days at ForeSee and worked with more that 100 retailers of all shapes and sizes. Those experiences have given me an appreciation for the needs of each type of organization, and I feel like I have been able to make a case for all of them in Board meetings over the last two years. I feel like I’ve had a successful first term on the Board, where I’ve contributed regularly and was elected by my fellow Board members to serve on the Board’s Executive Committee. I would be honored to receive your vote to serve a second term.

Milton Pappas VP of Ecommerce Customer Experience Toys R Us As ecommerce continues to become a larger percentage of retail sales, it becomes increasingly important that retailers educate and create awareness in their organizations on the value of digital and how it will transform their businesses. I have held various roles in e-commerce since 2006. As head of marketing and e-commerce, and business development for the OneStopPlus.com division of Redcats USA, I was instrumental in transforming the company from a cataloger to a web-centric organization. As head of the US e-commerce business for Toys R Us, I am part of a team driving the company’s omnichannel strategy. Based on my industry contributions and track record in driving e-commerce growth and digital awareness, as a member of the Board Of Directors, I believe that I can be a key contributor in driving the Shop.org mission of assisting retailers in leveraging the collective knowledge of the community to grow their businesses.

John Rogers VP/GM Global eCommerce Under Armour I am a seasoned eCommerce executive with a proven track record for innovation and thought leadership rooted in solid DM fundamentals. As the eCommerce lead at a high growth, youth oriented, sport apparel and footwear manufacturer, I add an important dimension to the board as someone who is grappling with emerging technologies and the collision of broadcast, digital and internet retail innovation on a global scale. I have been involved with Shop.org since its inception and have benefited greatly as a result. I have served my first term on the board and invested the time to learn key issues, build relationships with key stakeholders and set structure and agenda. I would like to continue what I have started by helping craft a strategic vision for the future and to contribute to the success of an organization and industry that has provided me and my family with so much.

Allan Dick EVP Merchandising Vintage Tub and Bath Like any other investment, Shop.org must provide a real return to its members. Over the years I have done my best to help Shop.org attain that goal. I designed and moderate the “40+ Things You Can Do To Make More Money Next Week” sessions – one of the highest ranked and longest running programs of the Annual Summit. I have been a panel speaker, Content Committee member, webinar host, session moderator, planner and roundtable moderator on numerous occasions. I also helped revitalize the Regional Dinner concept. All of this while helping to build our family’s e-commerce company from $19,000 to $24M+ in annual revenue. Your vote will help give me the additional tools and reach I need to drive even more value to our members.

Want more info on each of our candidates? Check out their profiles on the election site now – and don’t forget to vote for your favorite candidates before August 10!