Whether you subscribe to the belief that autumn starts after Labor Day or, if like me, you’re hanging on to summer for as long as possible and waiting until the Sept. 22 equinox to declare an end to beach days, grilling and pool hangs, at Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC), we’re in deep prep...
Ongoing talks (and deadline extensions) surrounding TikTok’s potential U.S. ban continue to keep people on edge. Instagram revealed plans to create a separate app for its popular Reels feature. And Google is now indexing Instagram posts, like Reels or videos, that are relevant to a user’s search query. In short, short-form content’s influence can’t be...
At Women in Retail Leadership Circle, we’re proud to foster a national community of women executives in the retail industry that connect leaders across the country. Yet we also recognize the power of local connections and meeting other professionals right in your city. That’s why we created Regional Member Meetups! Led by local members who serve...
Sheila Kressler-Crowley serves as the director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona. Under her guidance, the center offers professional development, hands-on learning opportunities, internships, and job placement services for students majoring in retailing and consumer science. Recently, Kressler-Crowley introduced the Lundgren Consumer Science Lab, which grants brands and...
I recently had the opportunity to hear General David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the United States Space Force, speak. He noted that there are always going to be times of change and uncertainty in the world, but when times are particularly tumultuous, our job as leaders is to “ensure that tumult...
How do you know if you’re stuck on autopilot? Megan Miller, founder of UNLEASHED Leadership, took the stage at the 2025 Women in Retail Leadership Summit to outline what being on autopilot as a leader — and as a woman — looks like, and how we can turn it off and focus on intentionality and...
Imagine a customer support agent who never sleeps, learns faster than any employee, and can juggle dozens of complex tasks at once. Sounds like science fiction, right? It’s not. Welcome to the world of agentic artificial intelligence — a new frontier in retail innovation. AI was a major theme at the NRF Big Show this...
The best leadership roles aren’t packaged for you — they’re built by chasing what energizes you and leveraging your strengths to drive impact. My career in marketing wasn’t laid out in a neat box. Growing up, I loved critical thinking, creativity, and technology, but no one showed me how these could shape a future in...
There are certain things we tell ourselves as leaders that keep us on autopilot, that keep us from unleashing our full potential, that keep us in a fixed mindset. Megan Miller and Dr. Brandi Baldwin, co-founders of UNLEASHED Women’s Leadership, took the stage at the Women Leading Travel & Hospitality Summit last month and dismantled...
In today’s corporate landscape, board seats are no longer reserved solely for retired CEOs. Companies are actively seeking leaders who bring diverse perspectives and specialized expertise. But even as demand grows, the path to securing a paid board role can still feel unclear. That’s the focus of our next member workshop, Pathways to the Boardroom:...
