Jill Dvorak
NRF
Also available as audio
Industry experience is a non-negotiable prerequisite for analyzing retail strategy—you cannot teach, understand, or meaningfully analyze the sector without having worked inside it. Executives evaluating consultants, agency partners, or internal hires should prioritize candidates with demonstrated retail operations background over pure analytical credentials.
Marketing and e-commerce leadership require different skill sets and council structures; treating them as a single domain dilutes both. CMOs managing digital transformation should ensure marketing and commerce have distinct governance while maintaining clear cross-functional accountability.
The intersection of retailers, policymakers, and global markets is where real competitive insight lives. CDOs and CMOs should build external intelligence networks beyond vendor relationships—monitoring regulatory shifts and international market moves directly impacts domestic retail strategy.
Conversation 95
We can talk about that in a little bit, but it really gives you the best insight. I mean, you can't teach, you can't understand, you can't analyze, you can't do any of those things for an industry unless you've been in the industry. I truly, truly believe that. And so I did that for about 20 years and coming over to NRF, my first role was just managing what I knew, which was marketing, the Marketing Executives Council and the Digital Council, that's e-commerce.
Jill Dvorak, Retail 2025 and NRF 2026: Insights from Jill Dvorak at NRF
Jill Dvorak
OFFBounds Source · 95· NRF
