Comment: New skills needed to lead multichannel

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I’m asked almost daily, ‘what are the growing areas of the market for senior retail appointments?’

I’m asked almost daily, ‘what are the growing areas of the market for senior retail appointments?’ Unsurprisingly, the demand for board appointments today is being driven by two of the most commonly pursued retail growth strategies: multichannel and international.

About half the retail board appointments that Korn/Ferry is handling at present are in direct response to retailers seeking greater integration of digital, social media and ecommerce into their business model to drive growth.

Whether the requirement is for an ecommerce or multichannel director in traditional retail, a chief executive of a pure-play, or a non-executive director who can bring digital experience to the board, the high demand for these types of leaders shows that retailers recognise the need to bring in new skills to keep pace with changes in consumer shopping habits.

The leadership demands for multichannel are significant. These special leaders need strategic skills to develop new business models, analytical horsepower to stay close to the consumer and translate mountains of data into practical action points, as well as the vision to anticipate what’s coming next. They also need to be strong communicators to educate the business in new ways of working, and to have great influencing skills at board level because often the agenda they are driving represents a significant change from the status quo.

And that’s not forgetting the operating skills to manage the P&L, and the leadership skills to inspire the team. Earlier this year at The Cloud Retail Week Conference, I predicted that multichannel as a function would provide a fertile training ground for next-generation chief executives. We recently asked bosses from Deloitte’s global 250 retailers report to nominate next-generation leaders from their businesses to take part in the Retail Leadership Forum later this month, which is being hosted by Korn/Ferry International, OC&C Strategy Consultants and Goldman Sachs. Despite the diversity of the 21 countries represented at the forum, it is striking that almost half the participants have had direct responsibility for online.

Demand for leadership talent to fill international roles is also increasing. We are seeing a greater number of appointments by UK retailers to drive growth in non-domestic markets, as well as retailers in emerging markets looking to the UK as a source of talent.

These high-growth retailers perceive British executives to be best-in-class for core retail disciplines, and to be more culturally adaptable than executives from other developed markets. This is creating a greater number of career opportunities requiring overseas relocation. Some executives are choosing to relocate, not only to gain incremental experience, but also because the prospects of working in higher-growth markets are appealing. As one chief executive relocating to Russia put it: “I’d rather be part of a dynamic growth story overseas than try to squeeze more out of the UK.”

Aspiring chief executives should stay close to online developments, as well as being open to the opportunities that an overseas assignment can provide.