While the cable news media has been focused on straw polls and the state of Iowa, folks in the retail trade, particularly those who are busy growing their online business, are focused on the annual elections to the Shop.org board of directors. And this year we are particularly excited about these elections because our CEO, David Brussin, is on the ballot. We wanted to share David’s thoughts on Shop.org and his potential contribution, should he be elected, in his own words:
“It is my belief that the role of Shop.org in bringing together members of our industry to learn from each other and share emerging best practices is even more valuable as we enter a new phase of ecommerce. For many retailers, online is not only the fastest growing part of the business, but the largest, and that means even more pressure to improve efficiency and ROI, which will require even more innovation and imagination from us all.
“As anyone who has heard me speak at Shop.org events will attest, I see non-retailer participation in Shop.org as an opportunity for open, honest, mutual education that empowers us all to move the industry forward (and definitely not a thinly disguised strategy for lead generation). Here is what I said when I was nominated to be on the ballot for this election.
“My contributions to the advancement of online retailing extend from my early work in e-commerce security and my efforts to defend and enhance email as a valid and valuable channel for retail marketing, through to my current endeavors to place online merchandising in the hands of retailers (as opposed to IT departments). I believe that information technology should truly serve the retailer and not be an end in itself.
“Through all of my efforts to grow our industry I have attempted to share as much as possible with my peers, through articles, blog posts, papers, panel participation, and face-to-face mentoring. As a big believer in vendor-neutral market education, I have insisted that my team publish a steady output of learnings, shared insights, and industry best practices that are readily accessible to all retailers who want to grow and improve their online business.”
Voting has begun, so if you are a voting member, please remember to vote by August 27. Here are details of the voting process.
