Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Women in Retail Leadership Circle and sister brands Total Retail and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
At the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, held April 27-29 in Miami, a panel of executives took the stage to discuss artificial intelligence implementation in retail. Panelists included Ekta Chopra, chief technology and AI officer, e.l.f. Beauty; Neelima Sharma, senior vice president, omnichannel and e-commerce technology, Lowe’s; Heidi Cooley, executive vice president, chief brand...
Having mentors and sponsors can dramatically influence one’s career path. Amiee Bayer-Thomas, chief retail officer at Ulta Beauty, reflected on her professional journey while speaking at the Women in Retail Pavilion at CommerceNext last month. In conversation with Melissa Campanelli, co-founder of Women in Retail Leadership Circle, Bayer-Thomas emphasized the crucial difference between mentors and...
Corie Barry, CEO of Best Buy, was interviewed by Jill Standish, senior managing director of retail at Accenture, during the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, held April 27-29 in Miami. During the engaging and educational keynote session, Corie spoke about her professional journey from auditor to leading one of North America’s top consumer technology companies....
At the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, held April 27-29 in Miami, a panel of retail executives took the stage to discuss career pivots. Panelists included Nora Gomez, founder and CEO, Next Generation Growth; Jill Katz, founder, Assemble; Lorrie King, co-founder and CEO, Caire Beauty; Jackie Hutson, founder, Piper & Mint and co-founder, The Sourcing...
Back in April, I wrote here to our Women in Retail Leadership Circle community about our sister brand Total Retail’s upcoming event, Total Retail Tech. This small-format show gathers select retail executives who oversee technology and marketing strategy together with leading technology providers. This year’s event will be held September 14-16 in Dallas. Qualified retail...
The growing influence of artificial intelligence on consumers’ shopping behaviors is causing brands to rethink their traditional customer journeys. Colleen Waters, vice president of e-commerce at Steve Madden, shared what the fashion accessory brand has learned from this new AI commerce landscape during the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit earlier this spring. Waters spoke...
In a landscape where leadership is often defined by strategy, Corie Barry’s appointment as CEO of Best Buy offers a refreshing perspective. When faced with following the admired Hubert Joly, Barry chose to highlight the transformative power of leadership. She shared her story during the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit in Miami this spring....
Dr. Simone Ahuja, strategist, author of “Disrupt it Yourself,” and co-author of international best-seller “Jugaad Innovation,” delivered a keynote at the 2026 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, held April 27-29 in Miami. Retail leaders today face intense pressure to do more with less — to stay innovative, support their teams, and drive performance in a...
With up to five generations working side by side, today’s retail leaders face growing challenges around communication, feedback, flexibility, and engagement. When these differences aren’t managed well, they often show up as misalignment, disengagement, and turnover. In this focused workshop, leaders learn how to adapt their communication, coaching, and recognition to lead effectively across age...
Staying connected to what young consumers are looking for is a constant challenge for brands. To gain fresh insights, Anu Narayanan, global president of women’s, home and retail at Anthropologie, hosts monthly coffee chats with entry-level talent within the organization. She explains how these meetings with young employees foster transparency and cultivate innovative ideas within...
