RSPA Trusted Advisor Ep. 88: Retail Strategists Carl Boutet and Michael LeBlanc

Episode 88 of “The Trusted Advisor” features a discussion between retail strategists Carl Boutet and Michael LeBlanc conducted live on stage during the RSPA Canadian Community Networking Event April 11 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Boutet is a Montreal-based business strategist and executive advisor with over 25 years of operational, marketing, merchandising, and retail executive experience. He has worked across retailer environments from the very large, such as 10 years with Costco Wholesale, to working as a strategy consultant for a group of 800 independent retailers across Canada. In May 2022, he published The Great Acceleration: The Race to Retail Resilience.

LeBlanc, based in Toronto, serves as President of Maven Media and acts as a Senior Advisor to the Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada. He brings over 25 years of brand, retail, marketing, and e-commerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives, and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. LeBlanc is also an RSPA Advisory Board member, a position he was appointed to in 2022. 

Boutet and LeBlanc have both been named Top Retail Influencers by RETHINK Retail. 

“The Trusted Advisor,” powered by the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA), is an award-winning content series designed specifically for retail IT VARs and software developers. Our goal is to educate you on the topics of leadership, management, hiring, sales, and other small business best practices. For more insights, visit the RSPA blog at www.GoRSPA.org. 

The RSPA is North America’s largest community of VARs, software developers, vendors, and distributors in the retail, restaurant, grocery, and cannabis verticals. The mission of the RSPA is to accelerate the success of its members in the retail technology ecosystem by providing knowledge and connections. The organization offers education, hotlines for legal, security, sales, and business advice, industry advocacy, and discounts on other services to assist members with becoming and remaining successful. RSPA is most well-known for its signature events, RetailNOW and Inspire, which provide face-to-face learning and networking opportunities. Learn more by visiting www.GoRSPA.org.