The Supply Chain in Retail, chaired by global supply chain executive Jennifer Kobus, will bring together leaders from the world's largest brands and retailers. The first gathering is scheduled to take place during NRF 2027.

New York, November 9th / PRNewswire / -- Rethink Retail Today, we announce the launch of Supply Chain in Retail ( SCiR ), a new executive community aimed at bringing together senior supply chain leaders from retail and consumer brands to exchange operational insights, challenge traditional thinking, and learn from experiences of different business models.

SCiR is chaired by Jennifer Kobus, the Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Vibrantz Technologies and a former executive at Ulta Beauty. The community aims to address a fundamental challenge faced by the industry: despite the increasingly complex supply chains of retailers and brands, opportunities for senior practitioners to exchange practical experience across industries remain relatively scattered.

From inventory planning, global procurement to fulfillment, automation, and operational resilience, many of the most critical challenges in the retail industry span across different categories. SCiR will create a dedicated environment where executives can discuss how peers in various fields are addressing similar issues and apply these experiences to their own organizations.

Rethink Retail CEO Marie Chevrier Schwartz stated: "Some of the most valuable insights in the retail industry come from those who solve similar problems in completely different businesses. We have seen through our existing community that when practitioners are involved in setting the agenda, industry discussions become more meaningful. With the help of SCiR, we are extending this approach to those leaders who make operational decisions and ultimately determine retail performance."

Created by supply chain operators, for supply chain operators

SCiR will initially start with a group of experienced professionals forming the founding community. They will shape the community's priorities and project arrangements, and lead ongoing peer exchanges and executive discussions. SCiR plans to expand participation to a broader supply chain ecosystem, including technical and logistics partners.

The first batch of founding members includes:

• Leila Jalai, David Yurman Chief Supply Chain Officer
• Kristin Bauer, Converse Chief Operating Officer
• Devin Hryhoruk, Vice President of Product Planning and Inventory Allocation at Mark
• Radharaman Jha, Flaconi Vice President of Supply Chain
• Ruchi Christensen, REI Vice President of Global Supply Chain
• Carolyn Scafuri, Farmer's Fridge Planning Supervisor
• Miguel Martins da Silva, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Dr.Max Group

SCiR does not organize discussions around a single retail category, but rather brings together leaders with different operating models and perspectives. The agenda, driven by its members, covers core functions of the supply chain, including planning, inventory management, procurement, logistics, fulfillment, and risk management.

Chairman Jennifer Kobus stated: "What excites me the most about SCiR is the opportunity to bring together supply chain leaders in a trustworthy community, where we can learn from each other, benchmark our practices, and candidly share what works and what doesn't. By connecting leaders from all aspects of the retail supply chain, we can transform our collective experience and best practices into actionable solutions, and jointly drive towards a more reliable, resilient, and future-oriented retail supply chain."

The founding members also believe that this opportunity is equally applicable to their respective businesses as well.

David Yurman Chief Supply Chain Officer Leila Jalai stated: "Retail is an extremely complex industry, where different business models and unique supply chain challenges coexist between hard goods and soft goods. Although both the retail and supply chain communities hold great value, I believe there is a real opportunity to combine these two worlds. As artificial intelligence, technology, and ever-changing market dynamics reshape our industry, focusing on collaboration becomes even more important in order to address the specific challenges and opportunities ahead. That is precisely the purpose of this community's existence."

Farmer's Fridge planning supervisor Carolyn Scafuri said: "When the shelf life of your product is measured in days, there is very little room for error, and this pressure can foster a great deal of creativity. Bringing ideas from other industries into the fresh food sector and sharing experiences from fresh food in return is of tremendous value. Supply chain leaders benefit from such a community, as these exchanges can occur openly across different product categories and company sizes."

Supply Chain Sunday will bring together retail leaders during the period from NRF to 2027.

The first offline gathering of SCiR, " Supply Chain Sunday ", will be held on January 10, 2027, at Lavan New York in New York, during the week of NRF Big Show.

It is expected that this event will bring together more than 300 senior leaders to discuss topics including AI-driven planning, inventory visualization, supply chain resilience, automation, fulfillment, and circular supply chains.

The agenda for Supply Chain Sunday includes a fireside chat on the transformation of the supply chain AI, with guest Gap, the Chief Supply Chain and Transformation Officer of Sally Gilligan, as well as executive leaders from companies such as David Yurman and lululemon. More speakers, agenda details, and registration information will be announced before the event.

Expand the executive community for Rethink Retail

SCiR is built on the experience of developing practitioner-centered communities established by Rethink Retail, including its Media in Retail ( MiR ), AI in Retail ( AiR ) networks.

This new SCiR community embodies the broader commitment of Rethink Retail to connect senior leaders within the retail ecosystem and to create meaningful opportunities for communication beyond traditional industry events.

Currently, applications are open to senior supply chain executives interested in joining the founding community, including leaders in areas such as transportation and logistics, warehousing and distribution, procurement, as well as risk and security.

For more information or to apply, please visit: https :// rethink.industries / scir /

About Rethink Retail

Rethink Retail is a global community of retail thought leaders, executives, and innovators dedicated to accelerating the future of the retail industry through collaboration and industry insights. Through its community, events, research, and media platforms, Rethink Retail connects decision-makers within the retail ecosystem to discuss trends, technologies, and strategies that will shape the future of business.