Canadian Retailer - The Technology & e-Commerce Issue - 8

UNDER THE BANNER

CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES
TO THRIVE

Best Buy Canada's e-commerce team going
the extra mile each and every day
BY SEAN C. TARRY

AS Senior Vice President of E-Commerce for Best Buy
GET TO KNOW THIERRY HAY-SABOURIN
Candid questions from Canadian Retailer elicit candid
responses from Best Buy Canada's Senior Vice
President of E-Commerce.
What makes a great leader?
A great leader has the capacity to inspire others to
dream bigger, aim higher and to do their very best for
their company, their customers and for themselves.
What's your favourite getaway locale?
Definitely Barcelona. Closer to home, I love to spend
time on Hornby Island with my family.
What's more important-education or experience?
Both. The best school in life is experience. But
you build that experience based on a theoretical,
educational framework.
What's your favourite mobile device?
My iPhone.
Do you shop in-store or online?
Both. I like to shop online for research and convenience, and in-store to touch, feel and experience the
products firsthand.
Which do you prefer-fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction is my vacation go-to, but usually non-fiction.
I like reading about ideas and strategies that inspire
change in our industry.
How would you describe your management style-
hands-on or hands-off?
Hands-off. I've learned the value of empowering my
team. It starts with hiring the right people, and
giving them the right direction and guidelines.
What's the next big game-changer in retail?
Machine learning and artificial intelligence will bring
new disruptions and innovations in all industries,
including retail. It will allow teams to access new
insights, improving the accuracy and the speed at
which decisions are made-even automate many
decisions-that will improve the customer
experience and bottom line for retailers.

CANADIAN RETAILER

Canada, Thierry Hay-Sabourin has steered the company's
online emergence as a leader in Canadian e-commerce.
Since 2004, Hay-Sabourin has been instrumental in
bringing Best Buy Canada's Total Retail initiatives to life.
A firm believer in leading with company values, his innovative, open approach, eye for attracting and retaining
the best talent in the business, and passion for bringing
out the best in his team has allowed a culture of e-commerce innovation to flourish. This has led to initiatives
such as the adoption of agile methodology and product
teams, both on software development and the business
side; the running of biweekly symposiums, e-commerce
'show-and-tells' where teams present the results of previous work sprints for instant feedback and regular collaborative, brainstorming sessions open to all.
Passionate about creating opportunities for employees
to thrive, Hay-Sabourin recently introduced regular e-commerce hackathons, the latest had the two winning teams
develop an augmented reality platform for appliances and
a new, streamlined careers website in just 24 hours, both
of which will be fully implemented in the months to come.
Plus, this year his department sponsored and provided
mentorship at BizHacks, a university hackathon, with the
winning team being awarded MacBook Pros and internships at corporate headquarters in Burnaby, B.C.
This innovative approach to e-commerce has contributed to Best Buy Canada being recognized with multiple omnichannel awards from Retail Council of Canada
and Canada Post over the last few years. But for HaySabourin, the true success is in what he sees routinely:
the team's unprecedented passion, perseverance, and
willingness to go the extra mile each and every day.
Hay-Sabourin resides in Vancouver with his wife,
Teresa, and four daughters. He holds a Bachelor's Degree
in Marketing from HEC Montréal, where he was a part of
the first cohort in Canada to achieve a Graduate Degree
in e-commerce.

| THE TECHNOLOGY & E-COMMERCE ISSUE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - The Technology & e-Commerce Issue