SPEAKERS

Jim Crawford Executive Director Global Retail Executive Council Jim Crawford is the executive director of the Global Retail Executive Council (GREC). Having worked in the retail industry as an analyst, consultant, strategist and technology company executive, Jim has a unique perspective on the retail industry, bringing together divergent points of view - the consumer, the retailer, CPG supplier, and technology vendor - into a compelling storyline that addresses all sides of the issue. As a retail analyst at Forrester Research, Jim authored research reports on topics ranging from next-generation store design to the use of RFID in the retail supply chain. At Retail Forward, Jim served as vice president and CTO, leading strategy projects for retailers including Home Depot, Metro, REI and Limited Brands and developing custom research for technology vendors including IBM, Oracle, and Intel. Managing an annual marketing budget of $1.3 million at Intel Corporation during his tenure as global industry manager of retail/CPG, Jim increased vertical revenue by 32% in one year and led strategic proof of concept deployments at Wal-Mart, Metro, Tesco, and Circuit City. As the director of industry solution marketing for SAP Retail, Jim created the go-to-market strategy for food, fashion, and hardlines as well as retooling SAP's trade show presence to tell a convincing story using HD video for the first time.