Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 10

RETAIL: AT ISSUE

UNIVERSITY OF
ALBERTA CELEBRATES
RETAIL INNOVATION
Half-day conference in March will
feature leaders in retail innovation
and the importance of advancing
careers within the industry
Homage to the Singer family
BY SEAN C. TARRY
Dave Moncur, vice president of human resources at PepsiCo Foods Canada, at the U of A's inaugural Thought Leadership Conference.
ON March 4, 2016, the University of Alberta's School of Retail-

ing will hold its second annual Thought Leadership Conference
to align with Thought Leadership Week. The half-day conference, which will begin with breakfast and networking at Edmonton's Renaissance Hotel, will bring together students, sponsors
and industry thought leaders to discuss top-of-mind issues impacting the retail industry.
There will be an emphasis placed on innovation at the conference, with sessions focussing on Innovation in Recruiting Millennials and Innovation in Retail Analytics. During these sessions,
research specific to the retail industry will be presented as well
as insights that can be gleaned from the research in order to help
current and future leaders within the industry thrive.
In addition to thought-provoking sessions and speakers, there
will also be honours presented at the conference. The School of Retailing will recognize achievement and excellence with the Student
Award, Alumni Award, Real Estate Award, as well as the Advancing
Retail as a Career Award and the Innovative Leadership Award.
Based on the success of the inaugural conference, which took
place on March 6, 2015, the second iteration promises to showcase all of the excitement within the industry, and the innovation
that's propelling Canadian retailers forward.
"The conference is something really special that we're really
quite proud of," said Kyle Murray, director of University of Alberta's School of Retailing. "It's a great opportunity to recognize
all of the amazing things happening in Canadian retail and to
expose our students to the incredible potential that the industry
offers them."
The conference, already growing in only its second year, was
borne from another great event that the School of Retailing
formerly hosted, the Henry Singer Awards. And although the
School has transitioned away from the Singer Awards, parlaying
its success into a retail conference that will educate and inform,
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CANADIAN RETAILER | HOLIDAY 2015

the spirit of the former event is still evident.
"We're all extremely grateful to the Singer family," said Murray. "The Henry Singer
Awards became a large event that meant a lot
to the school as well as the community of Edmonton. However, we felt the time was right to
reframe the experience to speak more to what
we do and to focus more on the core mission of
the School of Retailing. That is to educate and
to teach and to emphasize our expertise with
respect to our understanding and knowledge of
Canadian retail, the Canadian consumer, and
the industry at large. In essence, the event has
been reimagined to fit more with the direction
and purpose of the School of Retailing."
It's a direction and purpose that's recognized
by most within the industry. And it puts a smile
on the face of Diane J. Brisebois, president and
CEO of Retail Council of Canada.
"The initiative is amazing," she said. "And the
focus that's been placed on elevating the stature
and perception of retail and all of the wonderful opportunities that exist for the bright young
talent interested in making a career within the
industry is extraordinary. We're proud to be a
partner of the University of Alberta's School of
Retailing and look forward to many more years
of success and growth working with them to advance the retail agenda."
For more information concerning the University of
Alberta School of Retailing and the 2016 Thought
Leadership Conference, visit www.ualberta.ca.

http://www.ualberta.ca

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