Board Announcements

Interviews/Articles

The Most Important Omnichannel Decisions to Get Right - Interview with Christiana Shi

Exerpt from “Omnichannel: The Path to Value,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 30, 2021

Christiana Shi is the founder and principal at Lovejoy Advisors and the former president of Nike’s direct-to-consumer business. Having helped grow that brand’s omnichannel capabilities, her first piece of advice to others is to pick a true north and stick with it. “If retailers know that everything has to be in the cloud, they should pick up their platform migration. If they know their business must be mobile, their mantra should be ‘mobile first,’ and they should accelerate app and mobile web investments.”

Her second piece of advice is to solidify the bootstrap changes retailers made during the pandemic, such as curbside pickup. “It amazes me,” she adds, “how many retailers quickly shifted their models to offer buy online and pick up in store and other omnichannel services, but then didn’t change their staffing and incentives on the back end to support these moves. Long lines of disgruntled customers waiting for harried employees to fetch items from the stockroom is not a recipe for customer satisfaction.”

Third, Shi advises, peg your tech investment to a percentage of revenue. “Whatever you spend on digital tech this year, don’t promise the board that spend will go down. Every year the bar will go up, and retailers need to stay competitive, so every year, look for room in your profit and loss to fund that. We’re in an era with constant spend on technology. Retailers have to be flexible.”

Finally, she says, it’s crucial to understand the progression of skills needed to grow in omnichannel maturity. Most retailers want to offer a fully integrated marketplace, for instance. But to deliver that, retailers not only have to guess how many items will sell by size, color, and style, they need to know where to position those goods. Will customers want the item shipped to their home or will they pick it up in the store or will they want to try it on first? Integrating the data, analytics and logistics to enable this degree of inventory management requires a high degree of sophistication.

Thinking of Joining a Board? Christiana Smith Shi (MBA 1986) Shares Her Experience

December 17, 2018

Q: What is the life in your work/life balance?

A: I love the way that question is phrased!  My life is really full, and such a joy - I feel grateful every day.  I worked in two intense careers prior to retiring, and like all of us, felt like I was juggling, trading-off, and trying to balance the impossible all the time. The gift now is that I'm able to do work that keeps me relevant through board service and philanthropy, but still have the time and flexibility to make all the key family events, travel when and where I want, and smell a few roses along the way. I highly recommend it!

Read the full Q&A here*.

* Note: HBS login required

Jimmy Carter and Wells Fargo build ‘hope’ for Habitat homeowners

September 27, 2018

Each volunteer who worked onsite in Mishawaka received a blue T-shirt and hard hat. Christiana Smith-Shi turned heads with her blue hard hat as she brought it with her through security at the South Bend International Airport en route to Portland, Oregon — tired and sore but inspired by her first Carter Work Project experience.

“It’s a special event in and of itself because, by the end of the week, you’ve created a whole new community of homes and become a community with the homeowners and volunteers,” Smith-Shi said. “But it’s especially poignant now, while we still have a chance to work side by side with former President and Mrs. Carter and really hear directly from them their thoughts and their long support of this organization and why they do it.

“I got to build alongside former President Carter today at his house, and he was working that saw all day long,” she said. “The guy doesn’t even like taking a break, and was so inspirational. To me, Habitat for Humanity is essential because all around the world you’re going to find there’s a critical housing shortage and a sizeable group of people who can’t afford a decent, safe place to life.”

Read the full story here.

More than 700 people volunteer for day three of Carter Work Project

August 29, 2018

I’m coming from Portland, Oregon. I think I’m one of the volunteers that’s come from the farthest away and I am still so delighted to be able to join. It really is a unique thing to see 800 plus people all working on a common goal for five days in a row.

Read the full article here.

Nike’s New East Los Community Store Ignites Sport and Local Engagement

October 15, 2015

Community Stores are an important part of our retail strategy in North America and build on a 20-year history and commitment to deepening our community connections around the world.

Read the full story here.

McKinsey & Co., Inc. Alumni Profile

July, 2014

Christiana Shi asked for what she needed and became a trailblazer as she advocated for flex time after her first child, and then became the first Principal and then the first Director elected on a part time program.  After an illustrious career, Christiana retired from the firm and is now President of Nike Direct-to-Consumer, in charge of all retail stores and e-commerce for the company globally, including its affiliate business., Even before she arrived in Beaverton, however, Christiana lived the “Just Do It” spirit.

Q:  When you joined McKinsey you were surrounded by women, right?

A:  Not quite.  I was the only woman in my class, there were no women partners in the office, and there was only one other female associate – who was two years ahead of me.

Q:  The all-male environment wasn’t completely foreign to you, though?

A:  Good thing I came from banking…!

Q:  How did you pioneer the part-time-yet-influential role at McKinsey?

A:  I was just about to be promoted to Senior Engagement Manager when I got pregnant.  At that time no one was really part time and – at least in my office – no one was raising the subject.  I knew that unless I could change my work schedule, I would want to quit after I came back from maternity leave.

Q:  But Bill Meehan changed that.

A:  He was my office manager and a great supporter.  Along with Jerome Vascellaro, they really encouraged me to challenge the status quo.  So I helped create one of the first part-time programs at McKinsey.

Q:  The rest is history but give us the highlights.

A: I was part time for almost ten years, becoming the first Principal and then the first Director elected on a part-time program.  At the time, both were thought not possible.  But I learned that at McKinsey, you could help shape what is possible.

Q:  What was your first exposure to McKinsey?

A: I majored in International Relations and Economics at Stanford, then worked at Merrill Lynch where I was a client team member on a McKinsey study.

Q:  What opened your eyes?

A:  I was totally impressed with how the McKinsey team came from all over the world, yet was able to work together very effectively.  So I applied to be a summer associate, but was turned down.

Q:  Then McKinsey came to its senses?

A:  They reached out to me as soon as I was back on campus.  That made a big difference.  They really took a personal interest in me.  In the end, McKinsey was a much better cultural fit, and had a much stronger professional development proposition than the other consulting offers I had.

Q:  What about the lifestyle side of the equation?

A: McKinsey won there too!  It was a much better lifestyle situation than the investment banking offers I had.

Q:  You had enormous success at McKinsey.  Tell us about the “Rule of 75” and what it meant to you.

A:  The “Rule of 75” is a concept where you can retire with full healthcare benefits when your time at McKinsey, and your age, equal at least 75.  When I hit that number it seemed like the right time to test what I learned in industry.  I had accomplished everything I had hoped to do at the firm.

Q:  Were you concerned your career options would stagnate?

A:  I had built a deep, industry-specific knowledge base in retail and I had a wide network of executive relationships.  Once I let a few clients know I was getting ready to retire, a number of choices came along.  The options at Nike were the best.

Q:   Other than leaving your friends and colleagues, what was the hardest transition?

A:  Learning to be a leader at scale.  I lead a very large front-line team at Nike Direct-to-Consumer, and I need to inspire and motivate them. I also must recognize their hard work, accomplishments and commitment to service every day. 

Q: Is the McKinsey alumni network everything they say it is?

A:  I’m still very close to many former colleagues.  Everything you’ve heard about the alumni network is quite true.  We all take calls, requests for help, at any point in time. 

Q:  What five people, places and things mean the most to you?

A: My son, my extended family (I am one of five siblings), Stanford (I am on the advisory board of several Stanford institutions) and my “new old” house in Portland which I fondly refer to as “my money pit.”