Charlie Cole is undoubtedly one of the most exciting new CEOs in retail today. Impressive, brilliant, delightful, humble and kind, Charlie has seemingly boundless energy. He recorded this 2-hour conversation from his standing desk, sharing story after story to illustrate his points. This powerful energy is well-needed, as Charlie recently took on one of the biggest challenges of his career: spearheading, as CEO, the revitalization of 110-year-old flower delivery company, FTD. Charlie started his career in digital marketing, though quickly found himself in the retail industry after landing at Lucky Brand Jeans, where he was able to learn from industry veterans and founders, Gene and Barry. Not long after, Charlie joined Adam Pritzker and Vanessa Traina in building The Line under Assembled Brands, where he took his first deep dive into luxury, fashion and experiential retail. He then took his first foray into revitalizing a heritage brand by joining TUMI as Chief Digital Officer, a role which transitioned into Global Chief eCommerce Officer for Samsonite after the acquisition. The culmination of these experiences ultimately led him to his second revitalization project, this time as CEO, at FTD. In this conversation, you will experience both Charlie’s humility and insatiable curiosity - they are part of what make him such a compelling leader. As an example, not all incoming CEOs would do what Charlie did upon joining FTD: take a few shifts in the customer service department. He read heart-wrenching stories of late deliveries… flowers that were meant for a mother dying of covid that did not arrive in time, and so many more. Not many businesses are so deeply attached to the emotional tone scale - only one of the many complexities Charlie is now facing at the helm of this formerly bankrupt, local-commerce focused flower delivery business. We talk all the time about what constitutes great leadership - it’s not just great business acumen and intellectual brilliance, but often an acute sense of self-awareness and very big heart that contribute to the makings of a world-class CEO, like Charlie Cole. As always, thank you for your support, and hope you enjoy our conversation.
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