Academy
The IADS Academy is an Association initiative started 30 years ago to develop young talented executives into future leaders, by giving them exposure to international markets, state of the art working method and a long-term network.
They work in small groups for several months on an issue raised by CEOs, fed via IADS’ team market knowledge with the latest business and industry trends, encouraged by a selection of guest speakers from the industry (more than 30 between 2020 - 2025), under the supervision of a qualified coach, as well as a former IADS CEO acting as an Honourary Dean. Also, every year, an active CEO is acting as a mentor for the cohort.
This initiative, unique in the industry, allows them to provide concrete and actionable answers, presented and discussed directly with the IADS members CEOs. Among current members, 3 CEOs and 1 COO are Academy Alumni. Over the 30 years of existence, 28 companies have participated, from 22 countries, and trained 180+ high potentials.
IADS Academy Seminar 2025
How to become better merchants? From intuition to data-driven decisions
IADS Academy Seminar 2025
The Academy is a strategic part of the IADS principles and foundation. Its core objective is the development of our young talented employees into our future leaders by giving them business insight, exposure to different international markets, ways of working, and a long term network for future communication and ideas development.
OUR PROGRAMME IS ABOUT BUILDING A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY
TOPIC - How to become better merchants? From intuition to data-driven decisions.
IADS Academy Seminar 2024
IADS Academy Seminar 2024
The Academy is a strategic part of the IADS principles and foundation. Its core objective is the development of our young talented employees into our future leaders by giving them business insight, exposure to different international markets, ways of working, and a long term network for future communication and ideas development.
OUR PROGRAMME IS ABOUT BUILDING A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY
TOPIC - AI and department stores' omnichannel activities: Given the number of possible AI applications, how can retailers develop a decision-making tool (in terms of investments, teams and time)? Once in the forecast, how can they decide and prioritize the right areas of application (examples: product development, customer loyalty, in-store operations, productivity-saving operations...)?
IADS Academy Seminar 2023
IADS Academy Seminar 2023
The Academy is a strategic part of the IADS principles and foundation. Its core objective is the development of our young talented employees into our future leaders by giving them business insight, exposure to different international markets, ways of working, and a long term network for future communication and ideas development.
OUR PROGRAMME IS ABOUT BUILDING A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY
TOPIC - What skills will we need in the future and how to attract those talents?
IADS Academy Seminar 2022
IADS Academy Seminar 2022
The Academy is a strategic part of the IADS principles and foundation. Its core objective is the development of our young talented employees into our future leaders by giving them business insight, exposure to different international markets, ways of working, and a long term network for future communication and ideas development.
OUR PROGRAMME IS ABOUT BUILDING A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY
TOPIC - How can department stores maintain and improve the profitability of Private Labels?
We aim to look at:
• Supply chain: with production tending to be more regional at the moment, and current issues with the supply chain resulting in an impact on margins, implying closer monitoring will be needed to improve profitability.
• Digital: while growth is expected to come from this part of the business, how will this affect the marketing and product strategies in the future?
• Sustainability: as it comes at a price, it is both a concern and an opportunity to convey a strong message to consumers. Can it be instrumental to growth and profitability?
• How will Private Labels' strategies evolve in the coming years? Are there alternatives to keep them fresh over time, such as buying out brands or sharing brands with other retailers?
IADS Academy Seminar 2021
IADS Academy Seminar 2021
The Academy is a strategic part of the IADS principles and foundation. Its core objective is the development of our young talented employees into our future leaders by giving them business insight, exposure to different international markets, ways of working, and a long term network for future communication and ideas development.
OUR PROGRAMME IS ABOUT BUILDING A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY
TOPIC - DESIGN A DIGITAL P&L FOR OMNICHANNEL. WHAT ARE THE NEW KPIS NEEDED?
In the age of the customer, channel-specific strategies, tactics, and organisational structures become irrelevant. Why? Customers expect seamless and connected journeys. Companies must therefore operate as a single unit. It is now urgent to achieve financial alignment with customer experience, a single P&L statement that measures and shows all channels as one integrated unit. If the company has a single P&L, there is visibility to budgets and allocations of funds to a consistent retail story executed wherever the customer wants to engage. The P&L becomes a tool to control productivity.
The topic is a challenging one which will demand skills from across our companies, not only from finance and controlling. We invite you therefore to select your candidate(s) for this Academy from among your most promising young executives, and those who will be capable of offering some real take-home value to our companies. They will be expected to come up with practical suggestions and innovative ideas.