Getting Brand Communities Right

Lara LeeAs a Fortune 500 executive, operator with extensive P&L management experience, corporate intrapreneur, and consultant to senior leaders from startups to the C-suite, Lara Lee has spent over 30 years pioneering new territory and leading transformational change. Named a “Master of Innovation” by BusinessWeek in 2006, she combines techniques from strategy, design, and the social sciences to take brands into new markets, capitalize on untapped potential and create experiences worth sharing. Over 15 years at Harley-Davidson she developed a rider training business to fill the customer pipeline, built a museum to serve as a self-funding marketing machine, pioneered online community engagement and direct-to-consumer retailing, and turned cost centers into money-makers at the $6 billion company. She was Chief Innovation and Operating Officer at Continuum Innovation, SVP of Customer Experience Design at Lowe’s Home Improvement, and from 2016-2018 led a customer-centric transformation as the President of $600M Orchard Supply Hardware. Lara now runs Creative Renewal, a consulting consortium that helps companies create sustainable growth strategies and the cultures that make them stick.I this talk, Lara looks at…

1. People first – always. They will feel the difference, and it’s the proven way to win.
2. Celebrate diversity and let healthy conflict blossom – don’t let your desire for efficiency lead you astray.
3. Transactions are not relationships – think strategically and long-term about rich value exchange.