Retail guru Julie Gilbert Newrai to keynote Leadership Summit

Julie Gilbert Newrai

Retailing and branding expert Julie Gilbert Newrai, former senior vice president of Best Buy, will address women and the future of retail at the NEW Leadership Summit 2012 , Oct. 22-23 in Dallas.

Gilbert Newrai, president of WOLF, a consulting firm specializing in brand building and enterprise-wide cultural transformation, will blend real-lifebusiness stories, data and actionable advice in her keynote presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 23. During her 18 years as a corporate senior executive and four years heading her own firm, Gilbert Newrai has built growth for companies such as Motorola, Lifetouch, Microsoft, Major League Baseball and Target.

"While in retailing, Julie Gilbert Newrai became increasingly aware of women’s influence and spending power here and abroad,” noted NEW President Joan Toth. "She recognized that the voices of customers and customer-facing employees were unheard and responded by creating teams of customers and employees who connected with business leaders who could implement the best ideas across functions -- with outstanding results. The Network looks forward to sharing her vision and experience.”

The NEW Leadership Summit 2012 will kick off Monday, Oct. 22, with two one-hour NEW Leadership Academy workshops. The afternoon also will offer NEW regional officers a session on best practices, member-company affinity group meetings and a networking workshop for first-time NEW Leadership Summit attendees.

The NEW Town Hall 2012 will include the Network’s annual members meeting, plus special remarks from sociologist, educator and former talk show host Dr. Bertice Berry, author of the best-selling memoir The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption.

Opening night gala

An opening night gala will feature the annual NEW Silent Auction, which benefits the Network’s scholarship fund; a cocktail reception and regional awards banquet, which will honor the Network’s regional leaders and regional best practices; and an afterparty celebration.

Attendees also will choose from concurrent educational sessions fitting their experience level and interest: "Owning your career” workshops for emerging leaders, "Delivering results in tough times” sessions for managers and "Developing strategic focus” workshops for executives.

During the Leadership Summit, an executive roundtable of industry leaders will share their experiences getting to and working in the c-suite. The panel will include Irene Chang Britt, president of Pepperidge Farm; Tom Falk, president of Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Susan Chambers, chief people officer for Walmart; and Bhavdeep Singh, executive vice president, operations for Ahold USA. The discussion will be moderated by NEW past-chair Alison Kenney Paul, vice chairman, U.S. retail leader and principal for Deloitte.

In a closing keynote address, extreme athlete Yvonne Camus, a participant in the world champion racing adventure Eco-Challenge, will offer her insights on "Leading a High-Performance Life.” Camus will share her experiences as a member of the first rookie team to complete the grueling competition and speak about teamwork and rising to the challenges of training, preparation and execution.

More than 900 industry leaders and emerging leaders are expected to attend the NEW Leadership Summit 2012. NEW members are invited to register for the event at the early bird rate of $695, $100 off the standard rate of $795, before Sept. 21, 2012. To join the Network, contact your company's NEW Ambassador or join now for $200 as an individual member and receive 12 months of NEW benefits, including invitations to national conferences and full access to the Network’s online networking and collaboration tools.

Register now