Beyond The Shelf

This week, we welcome Mike Geller to the show! Mike has built a career at the intersection of technology and retail, working with some of the world’s biggest brands, including PepsiCo, Newell Brands, and Amazon. He started as a founder, selling one of his first startups to John Sculley (former CEO of Apple & PepsiCo), and later helped shape e-commerce strategies at Fortune 500 companies. He is...

This week, Dave welcomes Jyoti Malik, Senior Director of eCommerce at Belkin, to discuss how brands can leverage data & automation to stay competitive. With over 15 years in eCommerce and omni-channel strategy, Malik shares insights on the evolution of eCommerce, retail media, and AI-driven optimization, what has changed and what remains constant.  She begins by reflecting on the early days of...

Dave’s guest this week is Elise Barry, Digital Communications Manager at Royal Canin, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of dog and cat food.  An eCommerce and Digital Marketing specialist with more than 10 years of experience in diverse marketspaces, Barry understands the importance of defining and maintaining a strong digital presence that is specific to your company’s goals....

Dave’s guest this week is Hayden Consultancy Founder, Eleanor Hayden.  Hayden Consultancy works with food and beverage brands to help them increase their digital footprints and and improve their eCommerce strategies. Having worked in the industry for more than 10 years, both as an entrepreneur and as a Shopper Marketing expert, Eleanor understands that every brand needs to find their own unique ap...

Dave’s guest this week is Kristy Meinzer, Discoverability Director for Performance Content at VML, a creative agency that helps brands grow by combining brand experience, customer experience and eCommerce insights. With expertise in search capabilities, content strategy and brand awareness, Kristy provides insights into the ever-changing world of eCommerce and discoverability, weighing in on how b...

Dave’s guest this week is Kiri Masters, who hosts and writes Retail Media Breakfast Club , a daily podcast and newsletter summarizing the latest trends in retail media.  She’s also a regular contributor to Forbes’ Retail section.  Previously she founded Bobsled Marketing, which was acquired by Acadia in 2022.  Kiri shares why it’s so difficult to find a true definition of “retail media” (3:28), wh...

This week we welcome Andrew Lipsman back to the show!  Andrew is an independent analyst and consultant with deep expertise in retail media, digital advertising, and consumer trends.  He authors the popular Substack newsletter Media, Ads + Commerce where he shares key insights and trends in retail media and the broader advertising and e-commerce universe.   Andrew is a predictions guru, and he unpa...

Dave’s guest this week is one of the most sought-after leaders in the E-Commerce and Retail Media spaces: Sam Gagliardi.  Sam’s 20-plus year career has included senior roles with both leading brands including Colgate-Palmolive, J&J and Barilla, as well as with SaaS enterprises Reckitt and, most recently, Circana - making him a veteran on both sides of the aisle.   Sam shares what originally go...

We’re thrilled to welcome Bryan Gildenberg back to the show.  Bryan was the very first guest on Beyond the Shelf , back in August 2023.  It’s amazing how much the retail landscape has changed in such a short period of time! Bryan is currently keeping busy as Managing Director of Retail Cities, a global retail data and insights firm, primarily focused on fast growth industries and markets.  He bala...

Dave’s guest this week is Sreenath Reddy, Founder of Intentwise. Intentwise provides unified, comprehensive, and reliable analytics and advertising applications for Amazon and Walmart. Sreenath provides overviews of machine learning (8:32) and Intentwise (11:21), and how they’re solving the problem of connecting scattered sources of data to help customers reach profitability faster (14:52).  He al...

Happy New Year!  We kick off 2025 with Neha Shah, Senior Manager, Digital Commerce and Omnichannel Shopper Marketing at The Campbell’s Company.  Neha’s nearly two-decade career has included senior eCommerce positions at Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue.  In her new role, she is spearheading omnichannel efforts across the Campbell’s portfolio of brands.      Neha shares her experiences in the early...

We’re closing out 2024 with a bang!  This week’s guest is Dawn Powell, Manager of Ecommerce at Kids2.  Kids2 is a leading manufacturer of products and solutions for early stage parents.  Baby Einstein, Brightstarts and SwaddleMe are but a few of brands under the Kids2 umbrella that are household names for parents. Recently, Dawn has spearheaded the successful automation of Kids2’s sell sheet proce...

Dave catches up with Jennifer Angelus, Director, Digital Shelf + Capabilities at Danone.  Jennifer has been with Danone for nearly a decade across a multitude of roles, including Brand Strategy, Trade Marketing and Category Insights, before shifting to the Digital Shelf side of the business in 2021, where she leads her “E-MAZING” team of ecommerce experts.  Topics discussed include: Jennifer’s adv...

Dave’s guest this week is Piyush Chaudhari, Chief Executive Officer at Salsify.  Piyush joined Salsify this past June after an illustrious career in leadership at prestigious firms including SRS & Co, where was CEO, and IRI, where he was President, Americas and Global Strategy.     Piyush shares the three things changing the retail landscape today (8:02), his experience at Salsify so far (10:0...

Dave speaks with Gireesh Sahukar, Vice President - Digital at Dawn Foods Global, a global leader in manufacturing and distributing finished baked goods and ingredients.  Gireesh is a founding member of Dawn’s Digital Innovation Hub, transforming the business’s digital strategy and capabilities.   Gireesh shares what it’s like to wear many hats in a startup environment (5:32), an overview of Dawn F...

Beyond the Shelf proudly introduces the first episode in our “Client Spotlight” series.  In these episodes, we’ll speak with prominent ItsRapid clients about our partnerships - what are their needs, how can ItsRapid fill in the gaps, and what are their specific use cases?  These conversations will peel back the curtain for our listeners, and give you more detail into what a partnership with ItsRap...

Dave kicks off November with Claudia Virgilio, Global Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Growth at Skai (formerly Kenshoo), a leading omnichannel platform for marketing intelligence and activation.  Claudia has been at Skai for over 15 years, initially heading up sales efforts to partner with clients including Expedia, Hilton, Walmart, Shutterfly, HP and more.  She also led the agency...

Dave’s guest on today’s show is McKenzie Bauer, Co-Founder of Thread Wallets, an e-commerce company redefining everyday carry items. McKenzie and her team are on a mission to create products that not only look great, but also support their customer’s active lifestyles.   Join them as they dive into her journey in building a brand from scratch.  You’ll learn the origins of Thread Wallets (1:27), th...

We take a trip to the agency side of things this week, as Dave interviews Margaux Logan, SVP, Head of Omnichannel and Emerging Marketplaces at Publicis Commerce. Publicis Commerce is a “center of excellence” responsible for developing the commerce practices of client teams across the Publicis Groupe umbrella.  Prior to joining Publicis, Margaux held senior brand management and marketing positions...

It’s a DTC-themed week on the show, as Dave speaks with Matt Gehring.  Matt has held leading marketing positions at several DTC brands that have become household names, including Dutch, Hims, Rothy's and Everlane. Matt provides an overview of his career DTC experiences (2:10), shares some analytics rules of the road (7:19), highlights the importance of channel diversification (16:22), provide...

This week's guest is Michael Reda, VP of Omni-Channel Marketing & Insights at T. Marzetti Company. Michael has transformed the company's digital and eCommerce strategy since joining in 2021. His previous brand management experience includes Conagra and Kraft Heinz. Michael shares the things he can take risks on with smaller brands that aren't possible with larger ones (5:58), ho...

Dave welcomes two luminaries on this week's episode: returning guest Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director at The Digital Shelf Institute, and Nate Pinkston, Head of Growth, Retail Media at Microsoft.  The two recently authored a DSI & Microsoft advertising report, "Joint Business Planning (JPB) Between Retailers and Brands: Effective Optimization Strategies for Collaborative Grow...

Dave closes out September with Gabe Wight, General Manager at 1WorldSync. Gabe's illustrious marketing career has taken him to several major agencies and organizations, and in 2019 he founded Webata, a software and analytics firm, which was acquired by 1WorldSync in 2023. They discuss the story of Webata's founding (6:13), why you don't need an eComm degree to excel in the space (10...

Dave speaks with Brad Santanna, Head of Omnichannel Marketing, Strategic Customers, Insights & Analytics at The Hershey Company. Brad has been at The Hershey Company for his entire career - over 20 years! - a rarity in this day and age. Dave and Brad discuss the disconnect in KPIs between online and in-store (10:02), the importance of targeting occasions and not just audiences (13:07), an over...

This week we're joined by Jo Callahan, Vice President, Strategy and Insights at Bazaarvoice.  Jo's previous experience incudes Citi, Pinterest and Unilever, where she was Director of U-Studio, Unilever's storied in-house creative agency. They discuss the creation of U-Studio (4:55), the definition of "fit for platform" (7:39), Bazaarvoice's evolution from a ratings an...