LEAD Network CEO Allyson Zimmerman on Gender Equity, Inclusive Retail & The Future of DEI | WRC 2025

Foreign.

This is on We Talk Retail.

I'm Chris Walton.

And I'm Anne Mazinga.

We are coming to you from the Vision Group's podcast studio at the World Retail Congress 2025.

It's just off the main stage.

We're going to be here all day.

All day.

Kicking off our coverage bright and early here on.

And it's Wednesday morning.

It is, I believe that's correct.

Yeah, it is.

Yes, it's Wednesday morning here, at least I don't know if it is throughout the rest of the world.

But joining us today to kick off our coverage is Allison Zimmerman, the CEO of the Lead Network.

And for those maybe that are unfamiliar, the Lead Network is a nonprofit and volunteer led organization committed to attracting, retaining and advancing women in the consumer goods and retail sector in Europe.

Alison, welcome to omnitalk.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Yeah.

It's so wonderful to meet you, Alison.

Let's check, just give the audience a little bit of your background and the Lead Network's background, if you don't mind.

So I grew up in the US But I had a deep desire to live in Europe.

And So at age 14, no, 15, I started to learn German and I became fluent in German, moved to Germany, worked in Germany and lived around Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland.

But in my background in work, I've worked in many industries.

But I started, I don't always talk about this, but I started in food retail.

Okay.

So My parents had two KFCs.

Oh, wow.

And I started working at 11 years of age.

It was child labor.

KFC.

That was like the heyday of KFC.

Right.

I also learned a lot about trends in retail because the low fat, you know, during the 1990s, the low fat came along and it just, it was brutal on the business.

So the trends matter.

That's when they changed the name to kfc.

They took the fried out of fried cheese.

Yes.

Just, just hid that in the background a little bit.

Remember that very well.

But tell us a little bit about the Lead Network and how you came to, to be a part of that.

So I was previously overseeing an NGO called Catalyst.

Okay.

And I was, I oversaw the EMEA operations and it was also focused on gender equity.

And then Lead came along and they said, we want you to be CEO of our network.

I said yes, and then had to figure it out later.

And then what Lead is really has a sharp focus on CPG and retail.

We don't expand beyond that with intention because we see such an opportunity of having more gender equity.

But Also, more inclusion at every level in this industry.

And we do focus on gender, but our overarching vision is creating workplaces where everybody can contribute and grow and businesses can thrive.

So we're one of the largest networks in Europe.

Wow.

So I'm curious.

So there's been a lot of.

Oh, I want to add one more thing.

Yeah, please.

We have 25,000 members, and we have 17 chapters all across the globe.

Across Europe.

Across Europe.

Okay.

Chapters are in Europe, but we have members from all over the world.

But mainly Europe is our focus.

But we have people joining our annual conference from China, from Latin America, from South America, and it's free to be a member.

Okay.

Wow.

That's my shit.

Listen, that's good.

Pitches in.

It's good to know.

All right, so there's been a.

There's been a lot of scuttlebutt on the topic, particularly in the U.S.

so I'm curious, you know, when it comes to DEI, how would you sum up this state of it?

Because we're at a global conference, how would you sum up the state of it globally in comparison to the U.S.

well.

It'S incredible.

Having worked almost two decades in the space primarily on gender equity, I am shocked when I see the state of the world pushing back, and I say that.

But I think there's a reason for it, and I think there are a lot of misperceptions on what it means.

It's also.

There are perceptions on who it's impacting.

And so we always say, stay the course.

While there's.

I like the word scuttlebutt.

I never learned that.

Okay.

And there's a lot of scuttlebutt.

There is a lot of scuttlebutt.

Oh, my God.

On this topic.

Yes, there is.

If you get to the facts in this industry, the consumer, the discretionary buying power is held by women.

It is 75%.

And so this.

So the.

I don't get lost in what you call it.

You can change the language.

Let's not get lost in the semantics, but let's be clear on what you're trying to do.

And your customers are expecting that.

They're expecting that.

You reflect the marketplace they serve.

So for me, it's about purposeful growth.

It's about putting your customers and your employees first and looking broader and wider at how you look at talent.

What then, Allison, would you recommend or what advice would you have for retailers across the globe who are trying to tackle this topic and how to address it and move forward and include it as Part of their business kind of overview or capabilities?

Well, today we're going to talk about it, but one of the things that I'm going to talk about is focus on actions, not words.

Okay.

So don't get all tied up in.

What are we going to call it?

You know.

Yes.

But get really clear, because this is a huge opportunity to engage not only your talent, but your consumer base and deepen the work.

So it's really important that we know what we're trying to fix, what we're trying to solve.

And retail has such an opportunity to deepen the work, to go deeper into how to create inclusive workplaces where everybody can thrive regardless of their identity.

And would you use much more?

Yeah.

No, I mean, would you.

Yeah.

Would you say then that your recommendation would be to focus on specific actions that you can complete versus like, trying to tackle it as one more broad top?

Another one is move beyond representation, which sounds ironic when I say we're about gender, but it's really about the.

The representation is a lagging indicator.

It's the outcome of what you're trying to do.

Right.

So what you want to do is focus on embed, setting systemic changes that create a more inclusive work environment.

And there are multiple.

There are innumerable ways you can do this.

Yeah.

So don't get tied to DEI or don't get tied to this.

Get tied to the change you want to see in reflecting your marketplace and creating a safe, equitable workplace for your employees.

Right.

What's an example of an action that you have seen people take to accomplish that in that regard?

Oh, I've seen so many really positive examples.

I faced a lot and not so I would say one of the most powerful examples was a leader standing up and looking at his leadership team and saying, our consumer base is 80% women.

Right.

How are we understanding it when we're 80% men?

How are we.

How are we reflecting the consumer base?

They did not launch any program.

They didn't go and do a formal program.

But what they did do is they.

They really said, I want you to look at who you are helping advance.

Because we pick those like us.

Right.

Like, I know, you know, a friend from a person, our friend, a person from the town I grew up in.

Yeah.

Suddenly Chris and I have a lot in common.

And so we do that.

That's human, but it's really challenging assumptions and really looking broader and wider at the talent.

And this CEO, in a matter of four years, moved women up to the director level.

Not move, not picking and moving, but Got more sponsorship of this women.

And.

And they moved from 19% to 44% into that level.

It was not a DEI hire.

It was not that.

It was simply they intentionally made a focus.

Let's look broader and wider at the talent.

And the talent was there.

Yeah.

It's a strategic direction chosen by the CEO.

It sounds like, you know, in a.

Lot of ways let's have our leaders represent what our customers look like.

Yeah.

It's not rocket science.

It's really quite common sense when you look at it.

But.

And also listen to those that maybe, you know, address the resistance.

I.

One of the most powerful things I've learned in the last decades has been listening to people who don't really get it.

Yeah.

Don't like it or feel threatened by it.

Address the threat.

That's really important because they need to be heard too.

Right.

All right, so what, so what.

What ultimately brings you to wrc?

Have you been here before?

You're speaking on stage.

Right.

Your first time.

Okay.

And what's your take?

You were here yesterday as well.

So you're taking the conference in.

In full swing.

What's been your biggest surprise or biggest takeaway from the conference thus far?

I have to say I really love the welcome by Ken Murphy when he was talking about trust.

I found that really powerful.

And that's exactly what we're talking about.

How do you create an environment where the customers, the employees and by the way, the employees.

Families by your customers.

So, you know, he, he gave that example of one.

What was it in the UK?

1 in 100.

It was something like a hunt while you're going.

It was.

I forget this.

So it doesn't matter.

Some starting.

But basically everybody knows somebody who worked at Tesco.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so don't forget that your consumers are also.

Your employees.

Are also your customers.

Right.

And.

And vice.

Yeah.

Not vice versa.

Yeah.

But especially in an operation that large.

So.

Yeah.

Well, Lisa, thanks for taking time.

Spending time with us this morning.

Thanks for taking the time out of your.

Thanks, Allison.

Lisa, you did.

Let's try that again.

You know why I.

I've been meaning to ask you, I'm curious if you have family in Iowa because I have aunt with the same last name whose name is Lisa.

So I'm curious.

You don't.

But that's why I got confused.

But Allison, thank you for spending time with us.

I guess I got my follow up question after the interview.

Out of the way already.

Thanks for joining us again.

We're going to be at WRC all day long recording, tons of great interviews with executives from all across retail and across the world.

So until next time, and be careful out there.