Most leadership frameworks try to add complexity. The best leaders do the opposite.
In Season 2, Episode 11 of Frontline Fridays, host Ron Thurston sits down with Corinne Suarez, VP and Head of Retail at Marine Layer, to unpack the principles that have guided her through more than two decades of frontline leadership across some of retail’s most iconic brands.
From leading massive store fleets at Old Navy and American Eagle to scaling a fast-growing, high-touch brand like Marine Layer, Corinne shares why great leadership ultimately comes down to a few non-negotiables: respect, care, fairness, and dignity. She reflects on the three questions that define every strong leader–team relationship: Do you care about me? Can I trust you? Are you committed? and explains how these questions become practical tools for navigating conflict, building trust, and scaling leadership at any size.
Ron and Corinne explore what it really takes to lead at scale without losing humanity, how to translate strategy for the end user on the floor, and why investing in people consistently delivers better business outcomes than any process or tool alone. They also dig into the future of retail, where technology should eliminate friction, not create it, and where physical stores remain essential for connection, storytelling, and emotion.
If you’re leading teams through growth, change, or complexity, or thinking about how to build a retail career that lasts, this episode offers grounded perspective from someone who has done it at every level.
The 3 Questions That Define Great Retail Leadership — Frontline Fridays, Season 2, Episode 11 is available now.
🎧 Watch on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrohqoj-V_gskdgonZVHPSVNYO0K2mtpO
👤 Corinne:https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinne-suarez/
👤 Ron:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/
💡 YOOBIC:https://yoobic.com | https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/
