Merch Workshop 2012 Speakers
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Our speakers are experienced and accomplished eCommerce and multi-channel retail professionals. We learn about great speakers from Shop.org members, our Board of Directors, and from attending events in other industries. We try hard to find speakers from within the Shop.org membership—both our retail and associate members—because we know how many talented folks are part of Shop.org. |
| Speaker Bios and Photos |
| 2012 Online Merchandising Workshop Speakers |
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Photography and Video: Best Practices to Drive Conversion and Improve Customer Loyalty Jo Amie is the Global Operations Manager at Nike, where he oversees photography of more than 40,000 products each year for the global online market, developing and implementing best practices to drive conversion and maintain brand integrity. He has been a leader in e-commerce product photography for 15 years at two of the nation’s top retail brands, Nike and Target. Previously, Jo was part of the team that established Target.com, where he managed online photography, developed the company’s online style guide, and facilitated the relationship between sales and marketing. |
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Tim Ash, General Session The Five Deadly Sins of E-Commerce Landing Pages Tim Ash is author of the bestselling book Landing Page Optimization, and CEO of SiteTuners, a firm that specializes in improving website conversion rates through landing page diagnosis and redesign, conversion consulting, a/b and multivariate test plan creation, and client training/mentoring. A computer scientist and cognitive scientist by education (his PhD studies were in Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence), Tim has developed an expertise in user-centered design, persuasion and understanding online behavior, and landing page testing. In the mid-1990s he became one of the early pioneers in the discipline of website conversion rate optimization. Tim is a highly-regarded keynote and conference presenter, and the chairperson of Conversion Conference - a worldwide conference series focused on improving online conversions. He has published hundreds of articles about website usability, best practices in landing page design and tactics to improve website conversion rates, and he is the host of the Landing Page Optimization podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm. |
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Photography and Video: Best Practices to Drive Conversion and Improve Customer Loyalty Joe Barrett is the CEO of Sandbox Studio, an industry-leading resource for the production of photography, videography and interactive content, with studios in New York, San Francisco and Portland (Oregon) that support a national scope of operations. Prior to joining Sandbox, Mr. Barrett held Chief Officer positions at companies ranging from privately held, venture funded organizations to publicly-listed multinational corporations, including SynchroNet Marine Inc. (Founder & President, Software Services in the Maritime Transportation Industry), Moulin Global Eyecare (COO & Executive Director, Eyewear Multinational), Automoblox Company LLC (CEO & Partner, Toy Manufacturing and Retail), and B4 Strategies, Ltd. (Managing Partner, SME Management Consulting). He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children. |
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KEYNOTE: Rohit Bhargava, 10 BIG Ideas Transforming The World Of Retail Right Now Rohit Bhargava is a marketing expert and leading voice on how to bring more humanity back to business through social media and storytelling. Rohit is a founding member of the world's largest team of social media strategists at Ogilvy, and is currently a member of the Global Strategy & Planning group at Ogilvy. He has written nearly 1000 pieces of marketing advice on his personal blog Influential Marketing (including first introducing the idea of Social Media Optimization - SMO) and still wishes he had more time to blog! Rohit is the best selling author of Personality Not Included, an actually useful (gasp!) book about how to effectively build a brand personality which has been translated into 9 languages. His writing and ideas have been featured in media globally including Fast Company, Inc, PRWeek (UK), MarketingChina, New York Times and other suitably impressive places. He teaches marketing at Georgetown University and is a frequent "non-obvious" keynote speaker at business events like the World Communication Forum in Davos and TEDx on topics such as creativity, storytelling, business trends, social media, and why marketing is no longer like feeding a baby. Rohit's second book called LIKEONOMICS will be published globally in May of 2012. Shop.org Blog Post: Talking with…Likeonomics Author Rohit Bhargava |
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Photography and Video: Best Practices to Drive Conversion and Improve Customer Loyalty Jared Blank oversees the U.S. online retail business for Tommy Hilfiger. He re-joined the company in 2009, after launching Tripmela.com, a website focusing on deals for travel in India. Prior to joining Tommy Hilfiger as the Senior Director of E-Commerce Marketing in 2004, he was the Senior Travel Analyst at Jupiter Research. Previously, he was a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, focusing on supply chain management and strategic marketing. |
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H Crate and Barrel User-Centered Product and Home Page Website Redesigns Heather Brandner is an eCommerce merchant who focuses on a variety of special projects for both Crate and Barrel and CB2 brands. She plays a lead role in the launch of new products while working closely with many internal teams to plan and execute site-wide and company-wide initiatives. Heather held a variety of positions in our New York stores, including Store Manager. As a store manager, it was her responsibility to make sure every associate always put the customer first, effectively selling the right product to the right customer every time. Heather moved back to her home town of Chicago five years ago and joined the eCommerce team, where one of the biggest challenges is translating the clean warmth of the Crate and Barrel stores to the website. Her favorite part of the job is seeing the new product before everyone else. Lately she has been working on streamlining the process involved in new product launches so the site merchandising team can spend more time focusing on innovative presentation and content. |
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The Evolution of a Checkout Experience Dawn Bronkema, currently is Director of Digital Experience at Belk, and previously Director of Ecommerce Marketing at Meijer. She focuses on overall digital experience on Belk.com, mobile and all digital channels. Dawn also has been active within the Shop.org group having co-chaired the Shop.org Attribution Committee for 2 years. |
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D Doctor Is In Expert David Brussin is Founder and CEO of Monetate, a Philadelphia-based provider of online marketing technology with a client list that includes PETCO, QVC and Urban Outfitters. David also co-founded TurnTide, which created the world’s first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec in 2004. In 2001, David co-founded ePrivacy Group, which created programs, standards and products to protect the email marketing channel. The products helped email marketers increase response and conversion by protecting their trusted relationship with consumers. In 1996, David co-founded InfoSec Labs which was acquired by SafeNet in 1999, helped Fortune 1000 companies securely bring their businesses online. |
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Michael Customer Experience Goes Mobile Michael Burgess is President of Saks Direct, the online channel of Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks Fifth Avenue is renowned as an arbiter of modern style offering the finest designer collections for men and women, as well as accessories, cosmetics and gifts. With modern energy and great fashion authority, Saks Fifth Avenue delivers a rich legacy of exceptional style and service. Previously, Burgess served as Executive Vice President of the Consumer Division of FTD, and prior to that as Vice President and General Manager, Internet Business, of Teleflora both leaders in the online floral and gifting category. He began his business career at McKinsey & Company, where he led and served on teams providing strategic management services to several Global 500 companies in a variety of industries. Burgess earned his Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. |
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Leveraging the Power of A/B Testing Doctor Is In Expert Sue Chapman is the Director, Merchandising Practice at Demandware. During her career in eCommerce Consulting, she was instrumental in the online success of multi-channel retailers in the US and UK like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn Group, JCPenney, L.L.Bean, Sears, OfficeMax, REI, Argos and Virgin Records along with several e-tailers like NetShops and Overstock. She has also assisted customers in designing and implementing their merchandising strategies to increase conversion rates and overall sales revenue. Before joining Demandware, Sue started the merchandising consulting practice at Mercado Software (acquired by Omniture). While there she hired, managed and trained an international team of consultants. She also developed a unique consulting concept in the Merchandising Red Carpet Program where a Mercado eMerchandising Consultant managed the in-house merchandising efforts of the Mercado/Omniture toolset. Some of the clients in the program were Macys.com and Sears.com. |
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Personalization Never Goes Out of Style Nathan Decker is the Senior Manager of Ecommerce at www.evo.com. He engages in all aspects of online marketing, virtual merchandising and website functionality. An original member of the evo crew, he has helped evo grow from a three man eBay operation out of a garage in Seattle to a multi-channel Top 500 Internet Retailer. Nathan attended Seattle Pacific University what he affectionately refers to as the “Harvard of the west coast”, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Science. Nathan enjoys long walks on the beach, and quiet nights in front of the fire with a good book. |
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KEYNOTE: Krist Merging Content and Commerce: A Digital Deep Dive with Kate Spade New York Kristina Di Matteo is the Digital Marketing Manager at kate spade new york, where she is responsible for the development and management of digital marketing campaigns, brand awareness and strategy, innovation and traffic generation to katespade.com. Prior to joining kate spade new york, Kristina was the Associate Media Director at Morpheus Media, a Createthe Group company based in New York City, where she led the digital fashion and beauty business for LVMH, serving clients such as Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Sephora, Louis Vuitton and DKNY. Kristina previously held digital marketing roles at WPP agency, MECi and Kellwood Company. |
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 KEYNOTE: Kevin Ertell, Chief Marketing Officer, OnlineShoes.com
Increase Conversion Through Better Customer Experience Kevin Ertell is Chief Marketing Officer at OnlineShoes.com, where he is responsible for the e-commerce storefront and all marketing efforts. Ertell has worked exclusively in retail for more than 25 years, and for the has focused his expertise on e-commerce since 1997. He was Senior Vice President and Managing Director of TowerRecords.com and subsequently served as Senior Vice-President of E-Business with Borders, where he re-launched Borders.com as an e-commerce site and led the team that built Borders Rewards. More recently he was Vice President of Retail Strategy at ForeSee Results, where he collaborated with the product, delivery, client services and marketing teams to maximize the company's value to more than 100 top retailers. He is a member of both Shop.org's Board of Directors and Policy Advisory Group. |
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Doctor Is In Expert Lauren Freedman is a seasoned 15–year e-commerce veteran as well as a recognized and respected figure in the online retail industry,. She has a passion for merchandising that she has parlayed as president of the e-tailing group, evangelists for merchandising and customer service best practices. She founded the e-tailing group in 1993 after an extensive career as a department/specialty store buyer and under her guidance the e-tailing group has evolved to be one of the premier ecommerce consultancies. They advise retailers on merchandising, strategy and customer experience best practices while simultaneously developing thought leadership and go-to-market strategies for top technology companies. Client projects cover all retail sectors from brick and mortar to catalogers and range from start ups to retail stalwarts as well as best-in-class technology companies. Her company’s annual mystery shopping and merchant surveys provide a comprehensive overview of the state of e-commerce, setting industry standards while simultaneously highlighting best practices. Lauren authored her first book, It’s Just Shopping, which provided a comprehensive; behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of multi-channel selling in 2001. Her knowledge of e-commerce coupled with her candid and charismatic style make her a sought after speaker at e-retail conferences like Shop.org, eTail and Internet Retailer in the US and abroad. She is a go-to-resource for the press and is often quoted in media outlets that range from The New York Times, WWD, CNN, Financial Times, USAToday, Business Week, Forbes, Internet Retailer and Crains. Lauren has been involved with Shop.org since its inception and currently serves on the Content Committee while also working with the Direct Marketing Association and NAWBO’s Small Business Mentoring program. She continually gives back to the community in hopes of growing e-commerce as a vital retail channel. She lives to travel, takes advantage of local culture and spends her spare time with her daughter and husband in Chicago. |
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Leveraging the Power of A/B Testing Jonathan Isernhagen is Director of Marketing Analysis for Travelocity. After graduating from Kellogg, Jonathan was hired to release Sabre’s first cruise booking tool and the travel industry’s first cruise API. He then grew Sabre’s travel agency website group into a multi-million-dollar profit center. Travelocity hired him as Manager of Air Analytics, in which role he refined the use of site metrics to reveal subtle user experience problems. He then managed Travelocity’s A/B testing group, automating the test process—from idea solicitation through recommendation delivery—by means of a custom-designed database portal. This led to a quadrupling of test throughput and $13M in incremental profits. His current team provides decision support to Travelocity’s marketing channel and line of business managers. Jonathan is a Parish Lay Minister at Calvary Lutheran Church, Fort Worth, and was its recent council president. He is an avid amateur guitarist, photographer, shooter and writer of the novel Yarka. |
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Di Personalization Never Goes Out of Style A renowned marketing veteran, Diane is responsible for driving global demand and visibility for RichRelevance’s personalization and brand advertising opportunities — including corporate marketing, public relations, analyst relations, brand strategy, client marketing, advertising and business development. Diane has spent the last 20 years leading multichannel marketing, media and branding initiatives for companies like American Express, AOL, CNET, American Airlines, HP, Lockheed Martin, and Sprint. Diane was most recently president of SMA Global, a boutique market strategy and production company serving Fortune 500 clients and the public sector. Prior to that, she was vice president and chief marketing officer for Stanford Research Institute’s AtomicTangerine, leading global branding, marketing, communications and partner relations. Previously, she served as vice president of marketing for CNET, where she focused on branding efforts and revenue strategies across multiple advertising sectors. Diane holds a BA in Business from St. Mary’s College of California. |
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KEYNOTE: Next Generation E-Commerce: Tools to Engage Consumers Jim Kingsbury is vice president of marketing at One Kings Lane, bringing more than |
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J Doctor Is In Expert John Kinsella is a VP & senior consultant at FitForCommerce, with three decades of executive line management and senior consulting at several multichannel and ecommerce corporations. His expertise includes brand creation and development, multichannel retail management, strategic planning, merchandising, operations and facilitating organizational change. As an MD at Urban Outfitters, John developed the brand strategy, launched and grew the innovative garden lifestyle retail concept, Terrain, including the customer experience, merchandising, organizational development, real estate, store design, operations, direct marketing and public relations. John has held other management roles at Smith & Hawken, Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic and Gap. And he has worked with many well-known brands to develop strategies and tactics, analyze merchandise and marketing programs, and implement operational and technology improvements, including Home Depot, Nike, Anthropologie, Design Within Reach, Cabela's, Sur La Table, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Sundance and Illuminations. |
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Personalization Never Goes Out of Style Karen Kobus is the Lead Functional Analyst on the e-Commerce IT team at Office Depot where she oversees the Company’s efforts in website personalization, search and navigation. Karen joined Office Depot in 2007 and during that time has worked on major initiatives for the Company’s websites in North America, Canada and Europe. Karen brings an expertise in SEO, site usability, site functionality and design to Office Depot’s global e-Commerce platforms. Karen has a B.S degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Office Depot provides office supplies and services through 1,678 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.5 billion, employs about 39,000 associates, and serves customers in 61 countries around the world. |
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Next Generation E-Commerce: Tools to Engage Consumers As CEO, Doug is helping to create one of the most exciting online brands today. An e-commerce and consumer-industry veteran, Doug was CEO and co-founder of Scene7, the leading rich media platform for e-commerce, powering websites for more than 1,000 retailers worldwide, among them Nike, QVC, Macy's, and Williams-Sonoma. After completing the successful sale of Scene7 to Adobe in 2007, he joined the Adobe executive team, where, as vice president and general manager of digital imaging and dynamic media, he provided leadership for flagship properties such as Adobe Photoshop® and Adobe Flash Media®. Previously, Doug served as executive vice president of the Home Division for Broderbund Software, where he oversaw the growth of such leading consumer properties as Print Shop and 3D Home Architect. A graduate of Boston College, Doug began his career at General Electric and later joined McKinsey & Company. Doug and his family live in a warm, Tuscan-style home in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he’s not busy at One Kings Lane, he can be found on the sports fields of the Peninsula with his kids, cheering for their every kick, shot and swing. |
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KEYNOTE: Merging Content and Commerce: A Digital Deep Dive with Kate Spade New York
Johanna Murphy is the VP of eCommerce at kate spade new york, where she is responsible for the sales growth, marketing, merchandising, fulfillment and customer experience of katespade.com and jackspade.com. Prior to joining kate spade new york, Johanna was Vice President of eCommerce at GSI Commerce, where she led the fashion and luxury practice, serving clients such as Burberry, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Betsey Johnson and Tumi. She also previously held Managing Director roles at both Razorfish and Scient. |
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Doctor Is In Expert Elizabeth Peaslee is a Senior Consulting Director responsible for consulting and research clients across North America. She is one of the most experienced customer experience executives and consultants in the country. Her clients at Creative Good span retail, travel, insurance, and information services. She leads projects in the consumer and B2B markets and has spoken at many industry events like Shop.org, Direct Marketing Association, and private client summits, to name a few. Elizabeth also leads Customer Experience Council 3, a group of 25 executives across a range of companies. She is based in Dallas, Texas where she runs the Creative Good office. |
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Merchandising New Media: How to use Video, Editorial and Games to Increase Conversion Elizabeth Ragone began her career in Digital Merchandising at Lands’ End in 1998 when no one knew really what Digital Merchandising was. As Head Merchant of landsend.com, she grew the business to $450M, and then co-founded Fair Indigo, a multi-channel start-up featuring organic and fair trade apparel and accessories. She’s worked with brands such as Ann Taylor and Chico’s FAS and is now with HSNI, shaping a digital landscape that blends commerce, community and content into a whole new customer experience. |
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Leveraging the Power of A/B Testing Doug Rosenberg is the Online Traffic & Loyalty Manager at Brooks Sports. He manages SEO, SEM, Affiliates, Product Feeds, and new channels in addition to driving testing/analytics for BrooksRunning.com and MovingComfort.com. He has worked in Internet Marketing for over 7 years at Gap Inc, All Star Directories, and Brooks. At each company, he has driven the thought leadership in testing and analytics. Prior to eCommerce, he worked for 6 years in Strategic Planning roles at a boutique consulting firm and Gap Inc. International. He has an MBA from the Stanford GSB and two BS degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He spends his free time playing with his kids and running. He has run over 20 marathons but only 4 since becoming a dad. |
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Mary Crate and Barrel User-Centered Product and Home Page Website Redesigns Mary Schueler is the Senior Manager Site Merchandising for Crate and Barrel and CB2. She was the sole merchant when Crate and Barrel launched their website in 1999. Her team of site merchants is responsible for all season launches as well as a variety site functionality, onsite marketing and search initiatives. Working closely with the site management, design and development teams, she helps strategize new initiatives, redesigns and technology. She is most excited about the recent in-store launch of the proprietary 3D Room Designer and is anxious to see it on the Crate and Barrel site later this year. Prior to working in eCommerce, Mary held a variety of positions within the Crate and Barrel merchandising department and spent a few years working in their Chicago stores. |
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James Customer Experience Goes Mobile James Sherrett has been working in software and the e-commerce for 15 years. He likes to say things like 'Learn to do by doing.' James has led digital marketing in travel and tourism, telecommunications, software and consumer packaged goods. He has launched web and e-commerce properties resulting in multi-millions of dollars in revenue growth. Since 2011, James has worked as VP Marketing at Mobify, an open mobile platform for building responsive mobile and iPad websites. Mobify powers leading mobile commerce customers like Starbucks, Ideeli, Bosch, Conde Nast and more. Some of James' enthusiasms include playing hockey, fishing, local food, storytelling and reading. He has completed triathlons and renews his love for skiing every year on a reunion trip with childhood friends. |
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Doctor Is In Expert Olivier Silvestre is a seasoned executive with more than 14 years of experience in web analytics and online optimization. Olivier’s primary responsibility is to lead and develop the Revenue Optimization team, creating methods, processes and thought leadership to help Clients leverage the most of their Certona’s investment in online personalization. Prior to joining Certona, Olivier co-founded Tealium, a Universal Tag Management company and VinoMatch, a new generation search engine for wine. Prior to his entrepreneurship journey, Olivier was the Director of Web Analytics and Optimization Consulting for WebSideStory / Visual Sciences (Acquired by Omniture and now part of Adobe), helping Fortune 500 customers turn information into actions to maximize their online profitability. He was in charge of creating new customer data visualization tools and optimization services that drove ROI and improved communication for clients. He also managed a team of vertical specialists who are practice leaders and subject matter experts across a diverse range of sectors ranging from Media & Publishing, Commerce and Financial Services to Travel & Hospitality. Olivier holds a Bachelor in Electronics and an MBA from the C.N.A.M (Conservatoire National Des Arts et Métiers, France) |
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Customer Experience Goes Mobile Sarah began her career with Boston Consulting Group, and has spent the past 13 years in the ecommerce industry. After graduating from business school, she founded a niche ecommerce business, and then moved to Gymboree to manage the Janie and Jack online business. In 2006, she moved to Bare Escentuals, a leading cosmetics company, where she launched the online boutique and led the development of the online business. Promoted to Vice President, Direct to Consumer in 2010, Sarah was responsible for the Web, Catalog, and Club businesses as well as company-wide Customer Service. In 2012, she transitioned to Vice President, Global Ecommerce, and is now responsible for the global rollout and management of ecommerce for Bare Escentuals. Sarah holds an undergraduate degree in Quantitative Economics and an MBA from Stanford University. |
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Jo Amie, Global Operations Manager, Nike
CEO, SiteTuners & Chair, Conversion Conference
Joe Barrett, Chief Executive Officer, Sandbox Studio 
Author, LIKEONOMICS and Personality Not Included, Global Strategy & Planning Group, Ogilvy
Jared Blank, VP, E-commerce, Tommy Hilfiger
eather Brandner, eCommerce Manager of Merchandising Projects, Crate and Barrel
Dawn Bronkema, Director Digital Experience, Belk Ecommerce
avid Brussin, Founder and CEO, Monetate, Inc.
Burgess, President, Saks Direct
Sue Chapman, Director, Merchandising Practice, Demandware
Nathan Decker, Senior Manager of ECommerce, Evo
ina DiMatteo, Digital Marketing Manager, Kate Spade New York
Jonathan Isernhagen, Director of Marketing Analysis, Travelocity.com
ane Kegley, Chief Marketing Officer, richrelevance
Jim Kingsbury, Vice President of Marketing, Internet Marketing, One Kings Lane
ohn Kinsella, VP & Senior Consultant, FitForCommerce
Karen Kobus, Lead Functional Analyst, Office Depot
KEYNOTE: Doug Mack, Chief Executive Officer, One Kings Lane
Johanna Murphy, VP of eCommerce, Kate Spade New York
Elizabeth Peaslee, Senior Consulting Director, Creative Good
Elizabeth Ragone, Director, Digital Merchandising, HSNi
Doug Rosenberg, Manager, Online Traffic & Loyalty, Brooks Sports, Inc.
Schueler, Senior Merchandising Manager, Crate and Barrel
Sherrett, VP Marketing, Mobify
Sarah Veit Wallis, VP, Global Ecommerce, Bare Escentuals