For Immediate Release
RETAIL TECH VISIONARY DEBORAH WEINSWIG NAMED TO BOARD OF RETAIL ANALYTICS COUNCIL, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Fung Business Intelligence Centre’s Executive Director- Head of Global Retail & Technology joins innovation leaders
to advise on studies of the convergence of retail and technology
NEW YORK (May 21, 2015) — Award-winning global retail analyst and retail technology specialist Deborah Weinswig, Executive Director-Head of Global Retail & Technology, Fung Business Intelligence Centre has been named to the Advisory Board of the Retail Analytics Council (RAC) at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Ill., she announced today.
The mission of the council — an initiative between the Medill School’s Integrated Marketing Communications department, Northwestern University and the Platt Retail Institute — is to study consumer behavior across shopping platforms to provide an understanding of how these affect retailers, particularly as new technologies are introduced.
“I’m honored and delighted to join the board of the RAC,” Weinswig says. “The convergence of retail, technology and data has been the driving passion of my career, and I’m excited to join some of the great minds in the industry to help determine some of the topics and trends the council will research going forward. The RAC certainly has hit the ground running in terms of research, much of it complementary to what we are doing at Fung Business Intelligence Centre, Global Retail & Technology.”
After a storied Wall Street career, Weinswig joined Fung Business Intelligence Centre, Global Retail & Technology in 2014, providing thought leadership and insight into the disruptive technology trends and innovations that are reshaping the global retail industry. The group’s reports and analyses can be found at www.fbicgroup.com and www.deborahweinswig.com.
Weinswig has also helped U.S. startups develop and implement retail technology systems and strategies, some of which have been adopted by top- tier national retailers. A mentor to Silicon Valley startup accelerators Alchemist Accelerator and Plug and Play, she also sits on the advisory boards of several early-stage companies.
“Deborah is an expert in retail and technology, and brings a unique global perspective to the RAC Advisory Board,” says Steven Keith Platt, Research Director of the Retail Analytics Council and Director and Research Fellow of the Platt Retail Institute, an internationally recognized consulting and research firm that focuses on the use of technology to impact the customer experience. “We’re thrilled to have her.”
Weinswig joins other industry luminaries on the RAC Advisory Board: Kent Anderson, President of Innovation for Macy’s Inc.; Steven Brown, Bauer Professor of Marketing, C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston; Carl Ceresoli, Senior Director, Infrastructure Architecture & Strategy, Microsoft Retail; Nitin Chaturvedi, Head of Retail Strategy and Operations, Google; Jeff Donaldson, Senior Vice President, GameStop Technology Institute, GameStop; Julia Fitzgerald, CMO, Sylvan Learning; Jeffrey Inman, Albert Wesley Frey Professor of Marketing, Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh; Roger Kibbe, Senior Director, Omnichannel Architecture, Gap
Inc.; Slava Sambu, Director, Web Analytics, Office Depot; Tom Schuetz, Senior Vice President/Chief Technology Officer-Americas/Asia Pacific, Luxottica Group; and Steve Sell, Director, North America Marketing, Tyco Retail Practice.
Founded in 2014, the Retail Analytics Council has published research reports on diverse topics that include the differences between the drivers of online shopping in the United States and China, retail store shopper card use, an analysis of of multimedia usage by social media, and more. The council also will host a two-day Executive Development Program on “Using Analytics to Develop Customer-Driven Retail Solutions” on June 10 and 11 at Northwestern University. More information can be found at http://rac.medill.northwestern.edu.
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ABOUT THE RETAIL ANALYTICS COUNCIL
The mission of the Retail Analytics Council (RAC) is the study of consumer behavior across shopping platforms to provide an understanding of how these impact retailers, particularly as new technologies are introduced. The RAC unites industry, faculty, students and its Advisory Board members for the study and exchange of ideas. The RAC is a global initiative between the Medill School, Integrated Marketing Communications Department, Northwestern University, and the Platt Retail Institute.
ABOUT US
The Fung Business Intelligence Centre (FBIC) collects and analyses market data on sourcing, supply chains, distribution and retail. It also provides thought leadership on technology and other key issues shaping their future.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, FBIC leverages unique relationships and information networks to track and report on trends and developments in China and other Asian countries. In addition, its New York-based Global Retail & Technology research team follows broader retail and technology trends, specializing in how they intersect and building collaborative knowledge communities around the revolution occurring worldwide at the retail interface.
Since its establishment in 2000, the FBIC (formerly known as the Li & Fung Research Centre) has served as the knowledge bank and think tank for the Fung Group. Through regular research reports and other publications, it makes its market data, impartial analysis and expertise available to businesses, scholars and governments around the world. It also provides advice and
consultancy services to colleagues and business partners of the Fung Group on issues related to doing business in China, ranging from market entry and company structure, to tax, licensing and other regulatory matters.
CONTACT: Debra Hazel
Debra Hazel Communications
718-634-4300 debra@debrahazelcommunications.com
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