About this video
Description
Senior Vice President at RONA, Jamal Hamad has spent over three decades transforming some of the most iconic brands in retail. From his early days in a family-run supermarket to 32 years at Home Depot and now leading change at RONA, Jamal brings a lifetime of lessons in leadership, customer experience, and digital transformation.
In this episode of VTEX Live, host Santiago Naranjo, Chief Revenue Officer at VTEX for Latin America, sits down with Jamal Hamad for a powerful conversation on change management, technology adoption, and the human side of innovation. Jamal shares why 85% execution with emotional buy-in beats 100% without it, how a flooded demo call led RONA to choose VTEX, and why the future of commerce will be won through emotional connection, not just operational efficiency.
If you’re building digital platforms, leading transformation, or navigating the future of B2B, this episode is a masterclass in leading with heart, strategy, and vision.
YouTube Chapters:
00:00 Jamal’s first time in Brazil and a soccer-loving family
02:03 32 years of retail: From family store to Home Depot
03:53 Leaving Home Depot for a new challenge at RONA
05:18 Learning IT on the job, and leading transformation
07:23 Coffee, AOV, and customer experience as the metric
09:04 Why 85% execution + buy-in beats 100% perfection
11:15 People over process: The real secret to success
13:37 Advice for young talent: Fail fast, dream big
18:46 The flooded demo call that sold Jamal on VTEX
24:55 Culture over code: Why relationships beat tech
26:52 AI, B2B, and the next 5 years of retail innovation
30:31 Emotional connection is the new retail differentiator
Resources:
Jamal Hamad on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamalhamad/
RONA Official Website - https://www.rona.ca/en
VTEX website - https://vtex.com/en-us/
VTEX Day - https://vtexday.vtex.com/en/
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Apple: https://bit.ly/3Jpl6r6
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3JrCV92
