Principal Retail Strategist

Role Description

The Principal Industry Advisor will guide senior customer leaders in helping them to improve the customer experience, increase store productivity, and remove risk from their business. This role will provide the voice of the customer within CDW and ensure that our teams understand and can effectively communicate the benefits, challenges, and impact of technology in the retail setting. Working with the leading vendor-neutral technical team in the industry, the role will serve as a critical educational expert voice for CDW.

• Provide ideation, customer access, strategic vision, thought leadership, subject matter expertise, and demonstrate relevance to the customer base and market in general.
• Drive strategic Go to Market plans for the retail industry.
• Grow revenue and profit for the retail industry.
• Develop innovative solutions to drive thought leadership inside the retail industry.
• Maintain and continue to develop partner ecosystem to support initiatives and go to market strategies.
• Establish, grow, and maintain partnerships with industry alliances to support the organization’s goals.
• Lead professional development sessions and workshops with technology leaders and other market leaders.
• Facilitate conversations about how best to integrate CDW industry solutions into customer concepts of operations.
• Develop Continuing Education programs for new and existing CDW sellers and sales teams regarding industry trends and solutions.
• Mentor sellers on industry messaging.
• Professionally represent CDW by attending and presenting at conferences and events.
• Co-develop the CDW Industry Opinion.
• Educate sales teams about retail market and industry customers and their mission and culture.
• Conduct strategic market analysis to identify new missions, requirements, and business areas.
• Plan for growth; strengthen partner relationships; conduct benefit cost analysis; brief senior leaders; ensure year-on-year business; and serve as a subject matter expert for proposal development.
• Participate in senior leader strategic planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years technology or line of business leadership in the Retail industry.
• Deep understanding of the vertical environment including knowledge of funding, investments, and use of information technology in the Retail industry.
• Knowledge of current publications, events, and organizations relevant to the vertical market.
• Credibility with vertical specific GTM landscape demonstrated through professional networks and understanding of the Retail industry.
• Strategic planning capabilities.
• Extensive presentation experience.
• Ability to travel at least 25% of the time.

Requirements

• Proven leadership skills, is a plus.
• Cognitive coaching and meeting facilitation experience, is a plus.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, is a plus.
• Passion for vertical and ongoing personal learning, is a plus.
• Extensive use of technology in the vertical market served, is a plus.
• Strong consultative, solution-based selling experience, is a plus.
• Effective negotiation and closing skills, is a plus.
• Strong conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, is a plus.
• Strong interpersonal skills, is a plus.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills and ability to communicate effectively with coworkers, management, executives, other CDW departments, customers, and vendor partners, is a plus.
• Adaptability and ability to lead through change, is a plus.
• Ability to utilize strategic thinking to fulfill long-term company goals, is a plus.
• Excellent time management skills to manage multiple projects and initiatives simultaneously, is a plus.
• Exceptional attention to detail and follow-up skills, is a plus.
• Ability to share in-depth knowledge of CDW capabilities with customers, is a plus.
• Strong internal and external customer acumen with high ethics and integrity, is a plus.

Benefits

• CDW is committed to being an AI-fluent organization.
• We’re looking for people who bring curiosity, a learner’s mindset, and a willingness to engage with ever-evolving technology and tools.
• We value adopting AI as a partner, openness to experimentation, and a shared interest in learning together on AI.
• Our goal is to create a culture where AI enhances—not replaces—human creativity and decision-making.
• We encourage candidates to embrace an AI mindset, one that’s curious, adaptive, and ready to explore what’s possible.