Dr. Larry Senn, founder and chairman of culture-shaping firm Senn Delaney, a Heidrick & Struggles company, will provide a presentation, Winning Cultures and Exceptional Customer Experience, followed by a ‘fireside chat’ with Arby’s new CEO Paul Brown on revitalizing a strong culture at the Global Retail Marketing Association (GRMA) 9th Annual Executive Leadership Forum May 15-17 in St. Pete Beach, Fl.

The GRMA executive forum brings together 125 chief executives, chief marketing officers and c-suite retail leaders for a highly interactive, peer-to-peer, thought leadership dialogue on critical industry challenges they are dealing with.

Winning Cultures and Exceptional Customer Experience

During his presentation, Senn will share some of Senn Delaney’s time-tested, proven insights on building and systematically shaping a culture that will drive competitive advantage. “Companies are defined not just by their products and brand but also by their culture. Culture is what attracts and retains both customers and employees. It defines people’s experience in buying from a company and in working for it,” says Senn.

Senn notes that companies that align their cultures with their strategies outperform those that don’t by a two-to-one margin. “Culture has reached the ‘tipping point’ in terms of its recognition as a critical success factor in any organization. Nowhere is this more evident than in retailing where the culture has a profound impact on the firm’s agility and ability to keep pace in the fastest-paced industry,” he says. “Culture also impacts the brand, employee engagement and retention, the customer experience and customer loyalty. I am looking forward to sharing insights with retail executives at this important event from 35 years of working with companies around the globe to transform cultures.”

Fireside chat with Arby’s CEO to examine culture as an underlying success factor

Arby’s CEO Paul Brown will share his thoughts about how he and his team are building on strong sales to revitalize the Arby's brand throughout all 3,500 stores, as he had done in helping to lead Hilton Worldwide efforts to build the strongest portfolio of brands in the hotel sector, as well as driving a fast-paced marketing and branding proposition while at Expedia. Brown has worked in a wide variety of global industries, including high tech, consulting and hospitality. In each situation he believes that it all starts with a strong culture that permeates the entire organization from the senior management to the front-line employees and making it top-of-mind and a routine topic discussion everyday.

Brown says the underlining success factor has been "living" the company's culture everyday at every level. Brown and Senn will have a ‘fireside chat’ following their presentations to engage the audience in discussing how an emphasis on building a strong culture can be pathway to profitability. 

The GRMA executive forum was developed by CEOs and CMOs to meet the needs of their organizations today and tomorrow. Learn more about the 9thAnnual GRMA Executive Leadership Forum or qualify to attend athttp://thegrma.com/.

About Larry Senn

Dr. Larry Senn is chairman and founder of Senn Delaney. Larry has led culture-shaping engagements for the leaders of numerous organizations, including dozens of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, state governors, members of two U.S. president’s cabinets, deans of business schools and the presidents of major universities. He has co-authored several books, including Winning Teams, Winning Cultures and 21st Century Leadership. In 2013, he published his latest book, Up the Mood Elevator: Living Life at Your Best.Read full biography

About the Global Retail Marketing Association

The Global Retail Marketing Association (GRMA) is the premier exclusive and interactive association for retail CEOs, CMOs and executive decision makers. Through continuous networking platforms and resources such as the annual leadership forum, regional events, online CMO community, weekly newsletter, research, reports, and case studies, the GRMA provides continuous education and engagement within the global retail marketing community to develop better business leaders and affect positive change in the industry and society. Learn more about GRMA