Career Journey and Key Influence I have spent most of my career in retail and manufacturing, so joining The Dufresne Group felt like a natural step. Early on, I rotated through departments like credit, logistics, customs, marketing, retail operations, store development, and ecommerce. At the time, I did not realize it, but those experiences gave me a unique perspective on how every part of the business connects. That has stayed with me throughout my career.
Eventually, I found my way into IT, and that is where things really clicked. IT sits at the center of the business. It is where you can drive efficiency through ERP systems, automation and data intelligence, while also engaging with different teams and learning how their worlds work. That combination of problem-solving and collaboration is what made it stick for me.
At one point, I stepped outside retail and consulted in the provincial healthcare sector on large-scale capital projects. It was a very different view of IT. Instead of front-end systems, I was immersed in infrastructure: data centers, hospital networking, working with electrical engineers in a regulated environment. It filled a skill gap and gave me a deeper appreciation for the backbone of technology that keeps critical systems running. Ultimately, retail pulled me back because that is where my passion lies, but I brought all those lessons with me.
Balancing Strategic IT Execution with Innovation
For me, leadership in retail technology comes down to two things: people and alignment. On the people side, I believe in building lean but empowered teams. Technology is complex, but when people share knowledge, document processes, and support one another, you avoid the risk of one person holding all the keys. More importantly, you create a culture where continuous improvement is natural, not something reserved for project retrospectives.
On the alignment side, I have always viewed IT as a business enabler, not a silo. Overseeing strategy across multiple brands reinforced that perspective. Each brand has its own nuances, but the challenge is to create systems and processes that respect those differences while still delivering efficiency and scalability at the enterprise level. That starts with listening, understanding what a merchandising team or a store operator truly needs and then designing solutions that make sense for the business rather than pushing technology for its own sake.
Preparing for that future is not just about adopting new technologies, it is about building a culture of adaptability 
When you balance people and alignment, technology stops being “the IT project” and becomes part of how the company grows.
Seamless execution is always the goal, but in reality no project ever runs perfectly. If you wait for perfection, you risk falling into analysis paralysis where nothing moves forward. I believe in creating a mindset where every deployment comes with learnings, and those learnings are what allow us to refine and improve.
Getting a project launched is half the battle. If you never start, you never create the opportunity to make it better. That is why I am a strong advocate for MVPs. Once people see the potential of even an early version, it creates momentum, and through iteration and refinement, the real innovation happens.
Preparation for Transformative Retail Technologies Over the next five years, I believe retail technology will move away from rigid, monolithic systems and toward modular, best-in-class ecosystems. Rather than being locked into a single ERP, we will see containerized applications that can be rapidly deployed, swapped and scaled. This flexibility will give retailers the agility to innovate at the speed of the customer.
AI will also permeate every layer of the business, from forecasting demand to personalizing marketing and making real-time operational decisions. But perhaps the most transformative leap will be the convergence of robotics and AI in manufacturing and distribution. Supply chains will not only be automated but intelligent, with machines that adapt, learn and optimize in real time. That kind of efficiency and resilience will redefine value in retail.
Preparing for that future is not just about adopting new technologies, it is about building a culture of adaptability. I want my teams to feel comfortable experimenting. We invest in cloud, automation, and data skills, but more importantly, we build the muscle of iteration: launch, learn, refine. In a fast-moving technology landscape, adaptability is the ultimate competitive advantage.
My advice would be to never lose sight of the fact that technology is only valuable if it solves a business problem or improves the customer experience. Technical mastery is important, but the real differentiator is being able to step back, see the bigger picture and connect technology to strategy.
When you can do that, you move from being the IT expert to being a business leader who uses technology as a lever for growth. That ability to combine depth in the craft with a broad strategic lens is what defines the next generation of retail technology leaders.
