I help retail executives turn business‑critical priorities into momentum.
I advise and embed at the VP and C-level, carrying your most important work from strategy through delivery.
I’m your right hand.
A new mandate gives you a narrow window to set direction and prove momentum at the same time. Whether you’re stepping into a new team or overseeing a critical initiative, I turn your vision into a clear direction your teams can act on, and stay with it to delivery.
Your ideas become a realistic strategy and roadmap your teams can deliver.
I align priorities, design, and approach across the people who do the work.
The work launches, gets adopted, and delivers results.
30%+ growth YoY
Four years straight
“Stephen’s directly contributing to our success, driving our topline growth, profitability, and online penetration.”
Monica Schwartz, Chief Digital Officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club
Digital penetration strategy and roadmap support
I’ve done this work before.
New market entry
SituationTiffany & Co. needed to compete online in China, and none of the infrastructure behind it existed yet: no local eCommerce infrastructure, no distribution, no service model, no established partners.
OutcomeA new eCommerce market launched, live on its own branded storefront and shoppable WeChat mini program, backed by a third-party distribution center and a contact center built to support it.
Clienteling and customer care
SituationBrand ambassadors and the care team needed one view of the customer to sell and serve from, and the existing clienteling platform was unusable.
OutcomeA clienteling platform with real-time purchase history, lifetime value visibility, and sharable product catalog capabilities, adopted by the team that has to use it every day.
Contact center modernization
SituationThe Shade Store’s contact center ran on a home-grown case system and a phone platform that couldn’t keep pace with the business.
OutcomeA modern contact center, live with real-time visibility into every case and service levels tracked instead of guessed at.
AI strategy and adoption
SituationBJ’s Wholesale Club faced the same pressure as every retailer: don’t fall behind on AI. Margins are thin, and the value of the technology isn’t obvious to capture.
OutcomeA functioning AI operating model, from executive governance and enterprise strategy down to ChatGPT and Claude—live in employee’s hands with scalable training and support models.
Other work includes global retail transformation, omnichannel strategy and roadmaps, CRM data architecture, buy online pickup in store, Fifth Avenue flagship transformation, and vendor selection.
“We would always count on Stephen to deliver our most challenging projects.”
Amy Kleinberg, Global Vice President, Tiffany & Co.
Two ways to work with me
We pick the engagement model together based on how much support you need:
An embedded retainer
I work as your right hand: always pointed at what matters most, re-aimed as priorities shift. You’re not buying a fixed scope; you’re buying a senior operator who moves with the work.
Fixed-price work
A single, contained outcome, defined and agreed up front. This is often how a first engagement begins.
Examples include:
- Strategy and roadmap
- Organization design
- Business case
- Vendor or SI selection
- Program plan
- Initiative health check
- Change management plan
Big programs need one senior set of eyes.
On a large implementation, your systems integrator stays in place, and I sit on your side of the table: a senior operator who knows the work and holds them accountable for what they deliver.
“He’s always thinking two steps ahead about implications across the business.”
Suzanne Dominick, Chief Revenue Officer, The Shade Store
I’ve worked every side of a retail initiative.
How I got here
I designed and delivered retail technology as a consultant at Capgemini and Slalom before going in-house at Tiffany & Co., where I ran global e-commerce, marketing, and CRM technology. I hold an MBA from NYU Stern and a bachelor’s from NYU in English literature and Mandarin Chinese.
Since going independent, I’ve led major initiatives end to end for brands including David Yurman, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and The Shade Store, doing the hands-on work where it’s needed and working with the existing teams where it isn’t.
How I work
I stay close to you so I know what you need by when. I work across the organization—not from one function—to keep the whole effort moving as one.
My goal is to hold the moving parts together through the handoffs, so what you set out to do is what actually gets done.
Big initiatives succeed on structure.
When big initiatives fail, it’s rarely on talent. It’s on structure: a plan with missing dependencies, technology designed without the right people in the room, momentum lost in the handoffs between teams. The team is rarely the problem.
Durable results come from setting your team up for success. With the right structure, a clear direction, and consistent follow-through, an existing team delivers, and the capability stays in the building after launch.
I’m most useful when you’ve got an important mandate that has to go right.
Reach me at stephen.reed@sdrretail.com.