On Jan. 14, 2023 — the day before the NRF Big Show kicked off — more than 220 retail executives gathered at Microsoft’s New York headquarters for a good cause at the RetailROI (Retail Orphan Initiative) SuperSaturday event.
Bringing together top retail and technology executives, the day featured business content and networking, but the ultimate aim was raising funds and creating solutions to help orphans around the globe as well as children in the foster system.
The event, which raised $384,000, led off with Sharon Leite, CEO of Ideal Image, who discussed her experience on Undercover Boss while CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe. Leite was followed by a series of other retail and charitable organization speakers.
“We are humbled by the spirit and the support of the retail community,” said Greg Buzek, President of the Retail Orphan Initiative in a statement. “To see all of these executives giving up a day with their own families to help children they may never meet is truly inspiring. The combined annual revenues of the companies represented surpassed over $2.48 trillion, an amount greater than the total GDP of Italy. Together we can make a huge difference to help children in need.”
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Sponsors of the event included Microsoft (host sponsor) and Avanade (red carpet/platinum sponsor) as well foundation-level sponsors IBM Consulting, KPMG and T-Mobile for Business; executive sponsors Aptos, Amperity, The Parker Avery Group, Tecsys, Verizon for Business and VMware; gold-level sponsors MacLaren Group and C-Core Consulting Group; and silver-level sponsors Toshiba Global Commerce, Amazon Web Services, XCCommerce, Fortinet, IHL Group and Digi.
