Remember when I told you last week to get ready for some exciting news about our Girl Talks West event, taking place at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco on Oct. 27? Well, here it is: Laura Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma, has signed on as a speaker. Laura’s talk is titled, “Lessons I’ve Learned,” and she will discuss — you guessed it — valuable lessons she’s learned along the way in building her great career.

Women in Retail Leadership Circle’s “Girl Talks” are designed to get you thinking, get you talking and, most of all, help you improve your lives both personally and professionally. At Girl Talks, women retail executives gather with their peers to hear short, passionate presentations (each lasting 15 minutes, with five minutes for audience questions) delivered by powerful women leaders. We’re sure you’ll be inspired by their personal stories as well as gain new insights and ideas on critical areas such as leadership skills, emerging retail technology trends, learning from failure, how to negotiate, and so much more!

Laura will be joining other stellar speakers who have signed up to be part of WIRLC’s “Speaker Squad” for the San Francisco event, including Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, founder and CEO of video shopping site Joyus, as well as the founder of theBoardlist, a group that aims to put more women on corporate boards; and Michelle Lam, co-founder and CEO of True&Co., which sells what it believes are the best-fitting bras to its customers.

Last week I wrote about our Girl Talks East event, which is taking place in New York City on Oct. 13. Read all about it here.

Make sure to grab your ticket to either (or both!) event today! The cost is $49 for each event for qualified retailers, and free for WIRLC members! (Members, please email me at mcampanelli@napco.com for the discount code!)

I can’t wait to see you this fall!