Voice of the Retail Revolution

Stacey Widlitz is a leading consumer expert with more than 20 years’ experience analyzing global brands and retailers in North America, Europe and Asia. A former Wall Street Executive turned Entrepreneur, Stacey is the Founder and Chief International Store Hunter of SW Retail Advisors, a data driven Independent Research Firm with offices in London and NYC. The firm advises hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity and select corporates. Prior to founding SWR Stacey held senior roles at UBS, Cowen, Fulcrum Partners and Pali Capital. Stacey, also known as The Duchess of Retail, is an active Angel Investor, Board Member, Speaker and Forbes Contributor. She spent a decade as a CNBC TV Retail Analyst and is a recognized top influencer in the industry. Stacey is also a Co-Founder of DealmakeHers, a by invitation network of leading female dealmakers who are shaping the future of retail.

Rod Sides is the Vice Chair & US Leader of Retail & Distribution at Deloitte. Sides is responsible for driving key sector initiatives that include original research, talent development and strategies that guide retailers as they navigate uncertainty, compete globally and improve performance and profitability. He also continues to advise senior management of the organization’s leading clients. Sides has more than 30 years of experience assisting retailers with their strategies to improve operational efficiency and increase profitability. His experience spans store operations, supply chain, procurement, back-office operations, and information technology. He has published numerous articles related to retail trends and is an active spokesperson in the media, cited regularly by CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, and more.

Stephanie Benedetto is the Co-Founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles, keeping them out of landfills and turning pollution into profit. Prior to starting Queen of Raw, Stephanie worked as a lawyer in the fashion, media/entertainment, start-up, and technology industries and co-founded a sustainable textile manufacturing facility. Stephanie is a 2020 Inc. Female Founders 100, a Cartier Women's Initiative Laureate, an MIT Solve - Circular Economy Solver, a Climate Change Finalist in Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity, and an LVMH Innovation Award Finalist.

Deborah Weinswig is the CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, a leading research and advisory firm that focuses on the intersection of retail and technology. She is a recognized retail industry expert and thought leader whose global perspectives and insights are regularly featured in national business publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Barron's, as well as on Bloomberg TV and CNBC.

From 2014 to early 2018, Deborah served as the founding Managing Director of Fung Global Retail and Technology (FGRT), the research arm and Think Tank for The Fung Group. Her deep knowledge and understanding of global retail and emerging technology trends were fostered through her extensive banking career, which included 12 years as Head of the Global Staples & Consumer Discretionary Team at Citi Research, as well as senior research positions at Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley.

Deborah is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She serves on the board of directors for GUESS?, Inc., Kiabi, and Xcel Brands, Inc. One of her greatest accomplishments in 2020 was founding RetailersUnited, a nonprofit dedicated to SME retailers and fashion brands that have been impacted by COVID.

Melissa Gonzalez is an award-winning innovator, seasoned visionary, and brand storyteller. She is the CEO of The Lionesque Group, an MG2 company, pioneering the integration of physical environments and cutting-edge technologies to help companies such as Purple, Nordstrom, and Burrow foster foundational consumer engagement and evolve their offerings. In 2017 she led the invention of IRL, in real life, with the Brookfield Properties team as an early mover in creating turnkey retail platforms connecting real estate developers and leasing teams with some of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer brands in the industry.

In 2020, her work with Burrow House was honored by Fast Company’s Innovation by Design for Retail Environments. In 2019 she was honored with ‘Women In Design’ award of the year by Contract Magazine and was recognized as one of LinkedIn and design:retail’s “Top 10 Retail Design Influencers of the Year”.