Michaels President Heather Bennett on Risk-Taking and Being the Leader Her Team Needs
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Heather Bennett, president of Michaels Stores, the leading creative destination in North America operating over 1,300 stores and online. This episode was recorded at Shoptalk 2025 inside the Women in Retail Pavilion. Listen in as Bennett outlines her career journey, including roles at Target and Toys’R’Us before landing at Michaels (1:05), her approach to risk-taking (3:20), and how to be the leader that her team needs (4:40).
In addition, Bennett shares her nontraditional approach to hiring and building teams (6:20) as well as her tips for finding driven employees (8:00) and maintaining team morale through transformation (9:45). She discusses her love for the dynamic nature of retail (11:50) and her enthusiasm for the evolving store experience (12:55). The episode concludes with audience Q&A, where Bennett touches on efforts to bring more inspiration to Michaels’ physical stores (15:10) and the potential for future community-driven customer experiences (16:45).
As president of Michaels, Heather is responsible for the company’s innovation and growth strategy. She also oversees marketing and e-commerce, leading the efforts to build customer loyalty, strengthen brand equity, and drive digital transformation. Before joining Michaels, Heather served as president of Bugaboo, where she led the company’s turnaround to achieve positive sales and operating income growth through a customer-focused approach. Prior to this, Heather held a variety of retail leadership roles, spanning from luxury goods and apparel to toys and hard goods. She holds a MBA in Finance from the University of Utah. Heather also holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Utah State University.
Date: April 15, 2025
Credits: Heather Bennett
Duration: 18:44
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