Ben Steele is a seasoned marketing and brand development leader, having most recently served as REI’s inaugural chief customer officer. Prior to carving out this new role at the Co-op, Ben began at REI in 2014 as chief creative officer. Over more than ten years at one of the country’s largest and most preeminent outdoor retailers, Ben has led brand stewardship and strategy, shepherded large-scale marketing initiatives, engaged and grown REI’s 24.5 million-strong worldwide membership, and connected essential merchandising, digital, and physical assets – amongst many other functions at the Co-op – all with the goal of sharing and facilitating a deep passion for the outdoors.

Ben and Roy discuss the inspiration for creating the chief customer officer role (as well as the challenges of being the first to occupy the position), navigating the ever-changing context of customer experience, and vital competencies he’s learned to nurture and develop within his teams.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• His initial action items upon joining REI (3:57)
• How Ben translated REI’s brand and culture through its employee base (6:07)
• The functions reporting into the chief customer officer role and the structure of Ben’s former team (9:55)
• Opportunities he’s had to bring the REI brand life for customers and members (12:35)
• Necessary adaptations and evolutions at REI in the past five years (17:42)
• The ways in which being a part of a co-op influenced Ben’s approach to leadership and collaboration (20:40)
• How to determine whether or not a company is serving their customers well (26:58)
• Ben’s predictions for the future of retail (32:03)
• Recommended resources for professional development, news, and networking (35:48)

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