The previous center, ‘Global Digital Retailing Research Center’ was proposed in August 2012 and launched in April 2013. Establishment of the Center Think Tank occurred in December 2014. Linda Mihalick joined as Sr. Director of the Center in August 2016 and Dr. Judith Forney, Ph.D. was named Research Director in September 2018. Numerous annual lecture series and symposium events have featured industry thought leaders including:
- Phill Oaks - Walmart.com
- Matthew Pritchard - Google
- Mike Ullman, III – JCPenney
- Jamie Nordstrom – Nordstrom
- John Koryl – Neiman Marcus
- Cathy David – Pier 1 Imports
- Kip Tindell – The Container Store
- Todd Copeland – Patagonia
- Delman Lee, Ph. D. – TAL Apparel Ltd.
- Garrett Eastham - Edgecase
In 2022, the GDRRC center was reshaped and renamed as ‘Innovation Center for Consumer Insights’ with the purpose to create collaborative research climate across academia and industry. We aim to translate our research intelligence to actionable consumer insights that bring business innovations.
Founding Members (List founding members here: https://gdrcenter.unt.edu/partner-companies )