Retail’s 10 Most Influential People
Retail technology is evolving at supersonic speeds, but with so much new and emerging tech on the market deciding which to invest in can be a daunting task. Who can retailers turn to for help?
In its annual look at the Top 50 Retail Influencers, Vend ranks the analysts, consultants, bloggers and journalists that have the greatest influence over the industry. This who’s who list of retail insiders are the go-to source for retail commentary and are helping drive retail’s agenda. Congratulations to all who made this year’s ranking, including RIS’ own editorial director Joe Skorupa who came in 47th on the coveted list.
The entire list is available here. Below is a quick look the top 10 finishers.
- Matthew Shay. Shay is president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. As the head of the world’s largest retail trade association he has the power to influence solution providers and retailers alike and is constantly quoted by the national news media. @nrfnews
- Bob Phibbs. Phibbs is the CEO of the Retail Doctor and a professional speaker on retail sales, training and marketing. He is a frequent source on marketing and branding for MSNBC, Fox and others. @TheRetailDoctor
- Nicole Reyhle. Reyhle is the founder, publisher and editor of Retail Minded Magazine. She founded Retail Minded 10 years ago to support independent retail businesses find success in their various small business goals and since then has published over a thousand retail focused articles in an effort to help small businesses thrive. @RetailMinded
- Deborah Weinswig. Weinswig is the managing director of the Fung Global Retail & Technology. She heads the global intelligent unit leading the research and ideation across the retail landscape. She travels the world to meet with high level executives and is a frequent speaker are numerous industry events. @debweinswig
- Doug Stephens. Stephens is the founder and president of Retail Prophet, a specialty advisory services company to the retail industry. He is a leading retail industry futurist and an in-demand retail speaker. @RetailProphet
- Mary Portas. Portas is the founder and chief creative officer at Portas, a fully integrated creative agency. The agency sets its self apart by looking at everything through the lens of people, predominantly in the retail, fashion and service sector. In addition Portas is an advisor, journalist, TV presenter and author. @maryportas
- Jason Goldberg. Goldberg is SVP Commerce & Content Practice at Razorfish, an agency that helps its clients drive change and create value through a unique blend of technology, creativity and innovation. He has 20 years of experience developing and implementing retail shopping experiences with a focus on marketing, product management, user experience, and business strategy. @retailgeek
- Sucharita Mulpuru. Mulpuru is the chief retail strategist at Shoptalk. Prior to joining Shoptalk last year Mulpuru was a long-time Forrester Research analyst Former retail analyst at Forrester Research. Her research focused on e-commerce forecasting and trends, merchandising best practices, conversion optimization, and social computing in the retail world. @smulpuru
- Neil Saunders. Saunders is managing director of GlobalData Retail and the founder of Conlumino. He focuses on all aspects of retailing and consumer behavior. @NeilRetail
- Maureen Hinton. Hinton is group research director at GlobalData Retail, formerly known as Conlumino and Verdict Retail. She manages the analyst teams and the content they produce, and is also a member of the KPMG Retail Think Tank. @maureen_retail