Shows
We Move Forward TogetherTransformative Journeys: The Impact of Service TripsThe Impact of Service TripsAndrew Abberton discusses the profound impact of service trips organized by the Dominican Sisters. They explore the transformative nature of these experiences, the importance of community engagement, and the role of spirituality and social justice in their work. Andrew shares personal anecdotes about his journey with the Dominican Sisters, highlighting the connections made through service and the lessons learned about poverty and compassion. The discussion also touches on the significance of charism in Dominican life and the power of presence in building relationships.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Context of Service Trips02:57 The Role...
2026-01-2737 min
OFFBounds Retail73. Vitamin Shoppe's COO, Andrew Laudato: "IT teams have to earn the right to innovate"In this episode, I sit down with Andrew Laudato, COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, a leading U.S. health and wellness retailer with 650+ stores, to explore how great IT teams are built, why innovation starts with operational excellence, and how AI is transforming retail. From vibe coding and RPA to inclusivity and composable commerce, Andrew shares why tech leaders must speak the language of business and why the best strategy isn’t about AI—it’s about using AI to better serve the customer.
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2025-06-1031 min
Living Our FaithLiving Our Faith - The Catholic Ecology CenterConnecting to Christ and His Creation through the Catholic Ecology Center The Catholic Ecology Center in Neosho, WI, is a wonderful oasis of nature and Catholic spirituality. Inspired by Pope Francis, the center welcomes people of all ages. Our guests share with us everything the center has to offer and its connection to Pope Francis’ letter, Laudato si' (on care for our common home). Joining us are from the CEC are Joe Meyer, Executive Director and Jackie Lesperance, Program Coordinator. Fr. Andrew Linn, the pastor of St. Anthony in Menomonee Falls also joins us to r...
2025-05-0930 min
What Matters MostPop Culture Matters: White Lotus Season Three with Martin StrongWelcome to the fifth episode of Pop Culture Matters, a conversation with my good friend and veteran of radio and television in Vancouver and beyond Martin Strong. In this episode we discussed White Lotus season three. It would not have been on my radar for a Pop Culture Matters episode prior to this season, but then again it had never dealt so overtly with Christian and Buddhist spirituality before. It had in the first two seasons focused on the foibles of the rich and materialistic, but this season it took what I think was a welcome turn to explore...
2025-04-181h 03
Retail RelatesFostering Innovation in a Modern Retail Organization: A Conversation with Andy LaudatoCurious about what it takes to stay ahead in the fast-paced world of retail and technology? Andrew Laudato, COO of Vitamin Shoppe, joins us to uncover the secrets behind his transformative career journey, from pivotal college decisions to navigating dynamic roles at major retailers like Bath & Body Works and Pier 1 Imports. Tune in to hear how Andrew's passion for people-oriented work and his strategic moves across industries have shaped his approach to leadership, innovation, and community building in the ever-evolving retail landscape.We've got an insightful exploration of building robust IT infrastructures that keep retail businesses agile...
2024-10-1739 min
Commerce ExperienceWhat the Retail AI Council Wants You to Know about AIToo many conversations about AI in commerce fail to account for the legitimate questions and concerns of retailers that are being asked to take a huge leap of faith into a new world. Without clear guidance from trusted sources, the gap between technological advancements promoted by AI providers and the readiness of retailers to adopt these technologies will only continue to widen.This week, Elena speaks with Andrew Laudato, COO at The Vitamin Shoppe, the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Retail AI Council, and Josh Baumrind, Chief Partnership Officer at the Retail AI Council. Andrew and Josh are...
2024-07-2522 min
RE SearchRE Search Episode 51: Stewardship and Laudato Si.Explaining the concept of stewardship, and exploring what Laudato Si teaches us about environmental and social problems. With Fr. Peter Smith
2024-06-1129 min
The Story of a Brand ShowThe Vitamin Shoppe - Understand the Customer and The Technology Will FollowThis episode is brought to you by Tidio and SARAL - The Influencer OS Join host Rose Hamilton, Founder of Compass Rose Ventures, as she sits down with Andrew Laudato, Chief Operating Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe, to discuss the fascinating evolution from a technologist to a retail leader. In this episode, we'll discover the innovative strategies The Vitamin Shoppe is employing to navigate the retail landscape amidst technological advances and evolving consumer behaviors. Key Themes: Customer-Centric Philosophy: * Andrew emphasizes the critical importance of always putting the customer first.
2024-01-2253 min
The Retail Razor ShowS3E17 – #NRFforBeginners with Andrew Laudato, Taylor’s VersionIn this episode of Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden talk about preparing for NRF 2024, celebrate being a finalist in the Vendors in Partnership gala for The Retail Voice Award, and bring the latest episode of Blade to Greatness, all in under an hour!They host a special “Taylor’s Version” replay of a prior interview with Andy Laudato, COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, sharing his comprehensive guide for maximizing your attendance at the NRF Big Show. Andy returns to the show for a new discussion of his anticipation for the combined...
2023-12-1354 min
What Just HappenedFrom Brick-and-Mortar to WEB3: The Future of Retail in a Digital-First WorldIn an era where retail is rapidly transforming, understanding the nuances of technology, strategy, and innovation has never been more critical. The retail industry is at a crossroads, grappling with the integration of digital and physical experiences, and the stakes are high. This backdrop sets the stage for a compelling discussion on the future of retail during the latest episode of "Fad, Trend or Strategy" by What Just Happened.What does it truly take to innovate and thrive in today's retail environment? This core question is explored in-depth in the latest episode of "Fad, Trend or Strategy,"...
2023-11-1226 min
Retail Gets RealThe path to unified commerce with The Vitamin Shoppe’s Andrew LaudatoFor 46 years, The Vitamin Shoppe has been helping customers be their best selves, however they define it. Innovation and technology have played a major role in the company’s growth, and on today’s episode, Andrew Laudato, EVP and COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, talks about that growth and adding stores through franchises, today’s definition of omnichannel and why technology is just a tool for creating better customer experiences. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.
2023-08-2221 min
The Retail Razor ShowS2E8 - #NRFforBeginners with Andrew LaudatoHappy New Year from the Retail Razor Show! A new year means it’s time for the annual National Retail Federation Big show held in New York City. But what if it’s your first time? It can be quite overwhelming for retailers and retailtech beginners. Fortunately, we’re here to help by bringing you a seasoned NRF veteran with his best tips and tricks to get the most out of your NRF experience!Fan favorite friend of the show, Andrew Laudato, COO of The Vitamin Shoppe joins our hosts to talk all things NRF Bi...
2023-01-0642 min
The Positive Effect - A retail leaders guide to changing the worldSeason 3: Episode 2. Featuring Andrew Laudato COO, of The Vitamin Shoppe and now turned AuthorThe impact of Positive Leadership needs to be celebrated and shared; it is the number one driving force of successful companies in my experience.
Andrew Laudato is a passionate Leader with expertise in Retail, Healthcare, Technology, Supply Chain, Digital, e-Commerce, Analytics, Project Management, Portfolio Management, and Agile.
He is currently the Chief Operating Officer at The Vitamin Shoppe and the Author of Fostering Innovation: How to Build an Amazing IT Team.
You can purchase his book here on AMAZON directly.
I met Andrew a year ago at a Retail Networking Event...
2022-08-2433 min
The Retail Razor ShowS1E10 – The Retail Avengers & Building a Culture of InnovationS1E10 – The Retail Avengers & Building a Culture of Innovation Welcome to Season 1, Episode 10 of The Retail Razor Show! In this episode, we turn the dial up to eleven on our ongoing innovation discussion! We previously focused on digital transformation & innovation both from a “what” and “who” perspective, but how do you create an environment and culture that fosters innovation without breaking the business? To answer that, we bring you a special guest, Andrew Laudato, Chief Operating Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe, fellow Advisory Council member of George Mason...
2022-06-0657 min
Acton VaultCreation and communion with GodRooted in the tradition of the Orthodox Church and its teaching on the relationship between God, humanity, and all creation, Fr. Michael Butler and Prof. Andrew Morriss offer a new contribution to Orthodox environmental theology. Too often policy recommendations from theologians and church authorities have taken the form of pontifications, obscuring many important economic and public policy realities. The authors establish a framework for responsible engagement with environmental issues undergirded not only by church teaching but also by sound economic analysis. Fr. Butler and Prof. Morriss take the discussion of Orthodox environmental ethics from abstract p...
2022-05-201h 10
Conversations with CommerceNextFostering Innovation and a Winning Company Culture: Andrew Laudato, COO, The Vitamin Shoppe.Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by CommX. Now more than ever, retailers and brands face a relentless and unprecedented pace of change. Leaders are adapting to new workplace dynamics and processes that were initiated by the COVID era. Retailers see both the benefits and the downside to the distributed workplace; broader hiring choices, productivity gains, and in some cases, a happier workforce. But with those gains comes real challenges—how to fos...
2022-05-1127 min
Don’t Miss This Edge-Of-Your-Seat Full Audiobook — Perfect This Weekend.Fostering Innovation by Andrew LaudatoPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/96292to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Fostering Innovation
Author: Andrew Laudato
Narrator: Paul Bellantoni
Format: mp3
Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
Release date: 05-10-22
Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 16 ratings
Genres: Forecasting & Strategic Planning
Publisher's Summary:
2022-05-106h 06
Al-Mahdi Institute PodcastsIRS | Creation and the environment in Christianity | Sr Isabel Smyth (2 of 3)Panel Two: Presentation by Sister Isabel Smyth on the creation and the environment in Christianity. (Part 2 of 3)
Sister Isabel focused on the Catholic perspective with an analysis of Pope Francis’ letter, Laudato si that sets out the Pope’s care for creation using the theology of creation as a motivation for believers. It reflects a change in the theology in response to changes in society, as is the ongoing process within Catholicism. The initial understanding of Genesis was that nature was created for the ease of human beings, however, due to the original sin of Ad...
2021-06-3027 min
The Gray Area with Sean IllingFrom politician to priestI first met Cyrus Habib at a conference a few years ago. You don't forget him. He's a Rhodes scholar. Iranian-America. As lieutenant governor of Washington state, he was the youngest Democrat elected to statewide office in the country. And he's blind.Then, a couple of weeks ago, I read a piece in the New York Times that I didn't expect: Habib, who had a clear shot to be the next governor of Washington, is leaving politics to become a Jesuit. He is going to take a vow of obedience, of poverty, of chastity...
2020-05-282h 02
Build Better Tech: How the nation’s leading companies use tech as business strategy to win.Vitamin Shoppe CTO/COO Andrew LaudatoAndy Laudato has an incomparable level of experience in retail tech. In addition to developing groundbreaking customer-facing tech, he has the superpower of being able to understand the overall business and design solutions to optimize for it. He’s a business leader first, and a technologist second. Accordingly, he has recently stepped from the role of Chief Technology Officer into Chief Operating Officer at Vitamin Shoppe. Topics by time stamp: 0:45 — Andy and technology at Pier One: Where they started, and how did he lead the tech team to have a greater impact (apparently winning...
2020-02-0149 min
Bridge Builder PodcastDr. Andrew Bacevich discusses foreign policy, military strategy, and Just War TheoryWe start off this episode speaking with Dr. Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at Boston University, about the United States conflict with Iran and other Middle Eastern conflicts. He also shares how his own perspective on war and international relations has changed since the Cold War.
Dr. Bacevich is the author of many books including, "The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War", "American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of US Diplomacy", and "America’s War for the Greater Middle East."
In our mailbag segment we discuss "Integral Ecology" and MN Catholic Conference's teaching resource, "Minnesota Ou...
2019-07-2330 min
That's So Second MillenniumEpisode 019 - Conclusion: SCS ConferenceWe pick up from last week's episode with the next speaker. Kara Lamb followed Andrew Sicree; her research is about the atmosphere and climate. She mostly talked about climate, and got a ways into specifics about her research on black carbon soot in the atmosphere. She did stop to draw a parallel between Laudato Si and Pacem in Terris, that in both cases the Popes stopped to address humanity at large and not just the Church.
Juan Martin Maldacena was after her, and was presented the St. Albert Award. You don't schedule Juan Maldacena and not have...
2018-08-0647 min
Irenicast - A Progressive Christian PodcastResponding to the Global Environmental Crisis - Green Eggs and Traffic Jams How do we have a meaningful response to the global environmental crisis? Jeff, Mona and Allen wade through a challenging question this week. From their own skepticisms and personal journeys in relating ethically to the earth, they discuss pandas, waste, animal agriculture, calorie costs, and oceans. They try to wrap their minds around the impact we all have as creatures and consumers within larger global ecosystems. The episode concludes with one of the silliest Knowin’ Jemonen segments yet, where the hosts argue about which animal each person would be if they were an animal. C...
2016-01-191h 02