Published On: November 9, 2015477 words2.7 min readCategories: Press ReleaseTags:

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Arlington, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Board of Directors, top executives from NACDS associate member companies and nationally recognized thought leaders will have a prime opportunity during December’s NACDS Week in New York City to assess and anticipate highly consequential political and retail dynamics.

If past is prologue, attendees are in for second-to-none intelligence, delivered in an entertaining fashion.

Former Governor Haley Barbour (R-MS) and Wendy Liebmann, CEO & Chief Shopper of WSL/Strategic Retail, will present and engage with attendees during the NACDS Leadership Roundtable on Wednesday, December 2. The collection of events that has become known as NACDS Week in New York City also includes meetings of the NACDS Board of Directors and of the NACDS Retail Advisory Board, which advises the NACDS Board on front-end retail issues. Also on the schedule is a series of networking events and meetings hosted by industry partners that are made possible by the industry’s gathering under the NACDS banner.

In a separate event on December 3, the NACDS Foundation Dinner will welcome Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly as its timely keynote speaker.

If past is prologue, attendees are in for second-to-none intelligence, delivered in an entertaining fashion, according to NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE.

“Governor Barbour spoke at an NACDS Political Action Committee event during the 2014 NACDS Annual Meeting, and he riveted us with his keen political wisdom, and with vivid stories that captured the moment in American politics. We look forward to the Governor’s insights on the 2016 elections and the impact they will have on the economy and the industry,” Anderson said. “Wendy Liebmann is regarded as an authority and visionary of modern retail, whose data-driven knowledge and sixth sense of the American consumer cannot be ignored. They are going to convey the knowledge and foster the engagement that NACDS members have come to expect and value from NACDS events.”

In addition to serving two terms as Mississippi’s governor, Barbour also served two terms as chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1994, under Barbour’s chairmanship, Republicans won the greatest midterm majority sweep of the 20th century, winning GOP control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years.

Liebmann brings a compelling philosophy to her consultancy, which is known for – among other strengths – its How America Shops® report: “If you follow the shopper, you will see the future of retail.” She founded WSL/Strategic Retail in 1986 to “get marketers out of their ivory towers to meet their shoppers on the selling floor” and to “understand the shopper in an intimate way.”

NACDS Week in New York City concludes the Association’s integrated and highly productive annual calendar of events. NACDS will launch its 2016 series of meetings and conferences with the NACDS Regional Chain Conference, to be held February 7-9, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, FL.