The Influencers 2016

The Influencers are champions of retail, bridging the gap between the industry and the rest of the world. Whether they’re journalists, activists, innovators or business leaders, these nominees don’t work in retail — but they’re helping it evolve. They’re passionate, persistent and intelligent, and their work is paving the way for innovative retailers everywhere.

Meet The Influencers 2016:

Walter Loeb

President 
Loeb Associates Inc.

When it comes to providing an experienced eye, no one comes close to Walter Loeb. Now in his 90s, Loeb began his retail career after graduating college in 1949, working for giants such as R.H. Macy & Company, the May Department Stores Company and the Allied Stores Corporation. Analysis and consulting came next, and today, his sharp perception and pointed critiques of the retail landscape are delivered through a weekly Forbes blog. Loeb’s acumen has become a must-read for those who want to stay on top of the strategies and trends affecting the business of retail. 

But life experience also is at play; the son of a wholesaler, Loeb was born in Germany, fled the Nazis and lived in Italy, Cuba and the United States before being drafted into the Army and landing in Normandy on D-Day. In business and elsewhere, Walter remains full of fight.

Al Sambar

Managing Partner
Kurt Salmon North American Retail and Consumer Group

From his days as a naval aviator to his role at global management consulting firm Kurt Salmon, Al Sambar has set his sights on going above and beyond. Passionate about retail’s ongoing transformation, Sambar has helped retailers stay on the forefront of innovation and reinvention.

Sambar developed Kurt Salmon’s HD Merchandising concept, which brings powerful data mining and visualization tools to the merchandising and planning process. He also helped lead one of retail’s most recent revolutions by partnering with Tyco and Mobispoke to create 1:1 Retailing Lab, which melds mobile commerce and the physical store. 

A love of working with people brought him into the industry, Sambar says, but its fast pace of change is what has kept him intellectually excited and seeking new heights.

The Honorable Mark Warner

U.S. Senator
Virginia

While most of his colleagues look at policy issues through the lens of a politician, Sen. Mark Warner uses his background in business and technology to give him a “think outside the box” approach that often sets him apart. 

As a businessman following graduation from Harvard Law, Warner kept looking for the next opportunity.  After founding two small businesses that failed, he soon landed on the cellular telephone industry, co- founding the company that became Nextel. His business success has allowed him to invest in hundreds of start-up tech companies, further creating job opportunities.

He put his own business expertise to work while governor of Virginia from 2002-06, where he established business principles later credited with turning a $6 billion shortfall into a $1 billion surplus.  At the completion of his term, Virginia was recognized as the best-managed state and the best state for business.

As senator, Warner has often carved his own path.  While the Senate worked its way through complex debate over cybersecurity, Senator Warner broke the mold by fashioning an approach to data security that treats all industry sectors the same. He is a leader on issues surrounding the rise of the “on-demand” economy, pondering what the modern social contract should look like in a way that continues to promote innovation and to preserve the flexibility of the “gig” economy.