Michael LeBlanc

The Voice of Retail

Business EN ↓ 549 episodes

The Voice of Retail is a weekly podcast hosted by retail pioneer, advisor and keynote speaker Michael LeBlanc and is produced in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Each and every week I interview the most interesting people in and around the retail industry, examining the key issues and strategies on the minds of thought leaders in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. © 2018-2026 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Author

Michael LeBlanc

Episodes

Unprecedented: Part 2 with Michael Medline, CEO, Sobeys 20.05.2022 32:01

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Unprecedented is a remarkable collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from 29 chief executives at iconic Canadian companies. In this second and final part of a two-part series, I speak with the one and only Mich...

STORE22 Retail Conference Bonus Episode: Meet Paco Underhill, Author & Founder and Former CEO Envirosell 18.05.2022 17:09

Welcome to a special RCC STORE 22 bonus episode of The Voice of Retail podcast! In these STORE bonus episodes, we'll be meeting the keynote speakers that will be joining us to share their insights and wisdom with the Canadian retail industry. We talk about their background, business, and a preview of the knowledge they will be sharing at Canada's most significant in-person retail event of the...

Unprecedented: Part 1 With Author, Globe & Mail Reporter Andrew Willis 16.05.2022 30:23

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Unprecedented is a remarkable collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from 29 chief executives at iconic Canadian companies. In this first part of a two-part series, I speak with Andrew Willis , business rep...

Taking Chicken to the Next Level: Richard Scofield, President, St. Hubert Chicken: Best of The Food Professor Podcast 13.05.2022 29:28

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special episode, I am thrilled to be sharing an excerpt from my The Food Professor podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Our very special guest for this episode is Richard Scofield , Président et Chef de la direction at Groupe St-Hubert. We start by a...

Taking Employee Engagement to the Next Level with Jenny Posthumus, Director, Fire & Flower Cannabis 09.05.2022 24:40

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. There is no question that employee engagement, education, encouragement, and team building within the retail industry are more critical now than ever before. In this episode, we meet Jenny Posthumus , Director, Employee Experience Fire and Flower. Jenny tel...

Carl Goyette President & CEO at GURU Organic Energy: Best of The Food Professor podcast 06.05.2022 24:25

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. On this special episode I am thrilled to be sharing an excerpt from my The Food Professor podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Our very special guest is Carl Goyette President & CEO at GURU Organic Energy. Based in Quebec, GURU is succeeding in the highly...

The 2022 Gustavson Brand Trust Index and What It Reveals About the Post-COVID era with Saul Klein, Dean, University of Victoria Business School 02.05.2022 30:23

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. The COVID era has brought with it many changes in consumer behaviour - and plenty of questions amongst retailers as to what patterns will stick. We are all also trying to understand how consumers view brands in the modern, post-COVID (ish) era and how br...

Celebrating Episode #300 with Serial Retail Innovator Ethan Song on Life After Frank & Oak and the New World of Retail NFTs 29.04.2022 30:38

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. I’m celebrating my 300th episode of the podcast with an interview with a celebrated retail innovator in Canada, co-founder of the innovative, award-winning Frank & Oak, Ethan Song. Ethan joins me with Frank & Oak in the rearview mirror to talk about thoughts o...

Claire's CMO On Elevating the Brand Careers and Creating Community: Best of Conversations with CommerceNext podcast 25.04.2022 27:53

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. I am delighted to share an entire episode from the second season of my Conversations with CommerceNext podcast. From Disney to Playboy, the Gap, Pepsico and now back into retail with Claire's Stores Inc., Kristin Patrick is one of the most experienced and pass...

Top Global Retail Strategist and Educator Carl Boutet Live In Montreal on the State of Retail Innovation and the Great Acceleration 22.04.2022 38:14

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Live at the SIAL Food Innovation show in Montreal in The Food Professor podcast studio, and I welcome back retail educator and global retail strategist Carl Boutet . Together we catch up in person with pants on in a wide-ranging conversation around retail e...

Prep, Push, Pivot: Essential Career Strategies with author and career coach Octavia Goredema 18.04.2022 28:59

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. With her new book " PREP, PUSH, PIVOT": Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women" and her LA-based consulting company Twenty Ten Agency , Octavia Goredema " is denting the universe with practical and far-reaching strategies focussed on careers...

Stepping Out in Style with Crocs President Michelle Poole: Best of the Remarkable Retail podcast 15.04.2022 25:49

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. On this special episode I am thrilled to be sharing an excerpt from my Remarkable Retail podcast with best-selling author Steve Dennis. Our guest is Michelle Poole , President of Crocs. As Crocs celebrates its 20th anniversary we dig into the remarkable gr...

Winning Online with Veteran Retailer & Head of eCommerce for Vega, Andrew Cherwenka 11.04.2022 33:07

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. For my last in-person episode recorded live in my Las Vegas pop-up podcast studio at Shoptalk #2022 pop-up recording studio, I'm thrilled to welcome back to the podcast long time friend and colleague, veteran retail technologist, Andrew Cherwenka As a skille...

Modern store design thinking & the reality of the metaverse: an exclusive interview with Melissa Gonzalez, CEO, The Lionesque Group and Principal MG2 08.04.2022 23:20

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Recorded live high about the Las Vegas sand in my Shoptalk #2022 pop-up recording studio; on this episode, I enjoy sitting down in person with fellow ReThink Retail top influencer and sought-after thought leader in the retail design and architecture space, Mel...

The Echo-Boom of Global eCommerce: Kent Allen and Jim Okamura, Co-Founders of the Global eCommerce Leaders Forum Live from Last Vegas 04.04.2022 31:59

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Live from my podcasting studio high above the Vegas sands during Shoptalk 2022, I sit down and talk about the latest news and developments in the global eCommerce industry with two of the sharpest minds in the space. Kent Allen and Jim Okamura , consultant...

The Art of Retail Reinvention with Linda Maslechko, Chief Reinvention Officer 01.04.2022 36:17

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. I first met the impressive Linda Maslechko in her dual role of owning an award-winning retail apparel brand was a disruptor in its niche and serving the Canadian retail community on RCC's Board of Directors. Fast forward a few years, and her retail brand is...

The Great DTC v. Wholesale Debate with BMO's Simeon Siegel: Best of the Remarkable Retail podcast 28.03.2022 28:53

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. On this special episode I am thrilled to be sharing an excerpt from the most popular Remarkable Retail podcast so far of our fourth season, and second only to our Scott Galloway interview episode, where my podcast partner & best selling author Steve Denis an...

Elevating the Employee and Customer Experiences with Collaboration at Longo's 25.03.2022 26:41

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. On this special episode I’m picking up an interview from a livestream I hosted for the Retail Council of Canada Retail Human Resources forum. I’m joined by Liz Volk, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Alex Green, Chief Marketing Officer, from Longos, a 65 y...

Simons new CEO Bernard Leblanc on modern retail and leading an iconic Canadian retailer 21.03.2022 37:20

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. For the first time in its 180 year history, La Maison Simon, better known as Simons, based in Quebec City, will be led by a non-family member as CEO. And you are about to meet him. Simons was founded in 1840 by John Simons in Quebec City. It is Canada's olde...

CEO Excellence: An Exclusive Interview with author and McKinsey Practice Leader Carolyn Dewar 18.03.2022 29:42

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Being a CEO in the modern age is one of the most complex and challenging roles in business. Notwithstanding that, there has been no guidebook or framework that describes what excellence looks like in this all-important role. My guest on this episode is Carolyn...

The Long View on Retail Transformation with CSC CEO Justin Yoshimura:Best of Conversations with CommerceNext #podcast 14.03.2022 37:54

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. I am delighted to share an entire episode from the second season of my Conversations with CommerceNext podcast featuring an interview with the founder and CEO of CSC Generation, Justin Yoshimura. Justin and the team have mastered the art of transformi...

The Elements of Choice, a feature interview with Columbia Business School professor and author Eric J. Johnson 11.03.2022 24:58

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. The way we decide matters. So says Eric Johnson, director of the Centre for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School and author of the new book “The Elements of Choice” In a great conversation we delve into the architecture of choice - according to Eric...

Carolyn Spriet, President Hallmark Canada Talks About Special Moments in Retail and Getting Ready for the Future 07.03.2022 30:00

Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. For this episode we are taking more than a Hallmark moment to get to know Carolyn Spriet , the President of Hallmark Canada. In a wide-ranging interview we get to learn more about the Hallmark business. From humble beginnings in 1910, the Hallmark brand con...

Founders of The Citizenry, Rachel Bentley & Carly Nance: Best of the Remarkable Retail podcast 04.03.2022 26:21

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. On this special episode I am thrilled to be sharing an excerpt from a recent episode of my popular Remarkable Retail podcast, where my podcast partner & best selling author Steve Denis and I welcome Rachel Bentley and Carly Nance , the co-founders o...

Hanna Andersson’s CEO on Guiding a Brand Through Change: Best of Conversations with CommerceNext #podcast 28.02.2022 41:40

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Today I am thrilled to be sharing a full episode from the second season of my Conversations with CommerceNext podcast featuring an interview with Sally Pofcher, a retail strategy expert and proven creator of growth and brand leadership. From McKinsey...