Parking: Open and free parking
Take elevator to 3rd floor security. A photo ID with first and last name will be mandatory to pass through building security.
Description: Start the summer with a rich experience learning about creativity and innovation in the workplace. Join the ATD Houston chapter for a tour of the Global Custom Commerce office facilities.
Global Custom Commerce (GCC), formerly Blinds.com, is the #1 online provider of blinds, shades, shutters and draperies across the United States and Canada. GCC strives to enhance the window covering shopping experience through a combination of service and personalization available nowhere else. Among the world’s most dynamic online retailers, the company earned the prestigious Marketer of the Year award from the American Marketing Association in 2009 and continues to push the boundaries of innovation in online retail.
For the field trip, the main goal is to explore Global Custom Commerce office environment and see how their talent development team creates an environment of continuous improvement and innovation for its employees. The field trip will include a message from the Founder of Blinds.com, a tour of its Innovation and Leadership Institute, as well as exploration of how GCC incorporates the Agile Methodology in their day-to-day work.
The Home Depot’s Global Custom Commerce showing their commitment to the development of our people has established the Institute for Leadership, Innovation, Advancement and Development (ILIAD). The mission of ILIAD is to design and deliver learning solutions that enrich our associates with knowledge, attitudes and skills that leave the classroom and produce outstanding results. ILIAD is a key driver of the company’s core values “improve continuously”, “experiment without fear of failure”, and “entrepreneurial spirit
Agenda:
| 5:30 – 5:40 |
Sign-in and Introductions |
| 5:40 – 6:00 |
A Story of Entrepreneurship, Continuous Improvement, & Innovation message from the founder & CEO, Jay Steinfeld |
| 6:00 - 6:30 |
Networking and Dinner |
| 6:30 – 7:00 |
Building Tour |
| 7:00 – 7:25 |
AGILE - Wade Pinder & Tom Cabanski
|
| 7:25-7:55 |
ILIAD - Institute of Innovation Leadership Advancement and Development (the ILIAD Team)
|
| 7:55-8:00 |
Closing (signing of MOU) |
ATD Competency Model - Area of Expertise This Session Supports: Performance Improvement, Integrated Talent Management, Change Management
Speakers
Jay Steinfeld - Founder and CEO Blinds.com, A Home Depot Company: As founder and CEO of Blinds.com, Jay was an early mover in e-Commerce, in 1993 bootstrapping his website built in his garage for just $1500 into the world’s #1 online window covering store. In January 2014, Blinds.com was acquired by The Home Depot. Jay is still active as CEO, driving and integrating the Blinds.com platform into Home Depot’s interconnected retail strategy.
Jay earned a BBA in Accounting with Honors from the University of Texas in Austin, after which he worked as a CPA for KPMG Peat, Marwick. His next seven 7 years were with the national franchisor, Meineke Discount Mufflers as Vice-president of Finance. In 1987, following the sale of Meineke, he and his wife started a small brick and mortar retail store selling custom window coverings. They sold their store in 2001 and went online full-time.
Blinds.com has been awarded 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in America, Top 5 Workplaces in Texas, Houston’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work, Best Customer Service Department of the Year, among many other others.
Jay has served on numerous charitable organization boards, and is currently on The XPRIZE Innovation Board. He is an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Houston Technology Center, and writes a column for Inc. Magazine entitled Chief Effective Officer. Jay is an advocate and frequent speaker on how company culture and authentic core values drive profitable growth.
Wade Pinder, Senior Project Manager: Wade has served as a Product Manager with GCC for over 5 years. He's acted as the Scrum Product Owner with our Agile Development Teams to deliver the Autobahn ecommerce platform to Blinds.com, Home Depot online and our other sites. Wade recently worked with the Interconnected Retail team to bring a brand new Measure & Install experience to Blinds.com and Home Depot. As a Product Manager, Wade works with all departments and groups within GCC to identify business opportunities, create User Stories, prioritize the story backlog and work with the development teams to turn the stories into features our customers will find valuable. Wade strongly identifies with the GCC core values and strives to apply them in both his work and personal life. He's been an Agile practitioner for over 10 years and is an active member of the Houston Agile Leadership Network, where he recently started speaking about Agile, Scrum and what it takes to be a great Product Owner. He enjoys mentoring local Houston entrepreneurs about getting their ideas formed into a Minimal Viable Product (MVPs) and out to market as quickly as possible.
Tom Cabanski , Chief Technology Officer: Tom Cabanski is a professional hands-on leader, agile developer, cloud expert and entrepreneur with a successful 35-year track record of using technology to enhance business success. He has made an impact across a variety of industries including e-commerce, telecommunications, oil and gas, finance, aerospace, manufacturing, commercial printing, distribution, mortgage and retail in software development, consulting, I.T. leadership and executive leadership roles.
Over the last seven years, he has taken on positions of increasing responsibility for Global Custom Commerce (GCC), a Home Depot company, focused on launching a series of revolutionary new e-commerce platforms, products and services for various brands including Blinds.com and HomeDepot.com. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at GCC and is responsible for an ambidextrous IT organization delivering agile innovation while also ensuring stable and secure operations.
Prior to joining GCC, he operated successful technology consulting companies in Chicago and Portland before helping to take Kinetics.Com public in the very early days of the dot.com boom. He subsequently founded Objective Advantage, Inc., a commercial print industry ISV and technology consulting company, which operated successfully for over 12 years before selling its IP and customer base in 2009.
