By Craig Patterson

Montreal-based Lightspeed, the powerful cloud point-of-sale system for independent retailers and restaurants, has announced that is has appointed four new board members. They will contribute to the company’s global expansion with their diverse perspectives from a wealth of industry experience.

The new board members include; Patrick Pichette, Marie-Josée Lamothe, Rob Williams and Paul McFeeters.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Patrick, Marie-Josée, Rob and Paul, and their vast sets of expertise to Lightspeed’s board of directors," says Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. “Following our funding announcement in October 2017, we set out to diversify our board with executives who have the specific skill sets that will help guide us forward as we make ambitious plans for the future.”

Lightspeed is used by independent retailers and restauranteurs in more than 100 countries. The company has more than 650 employees with offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia. The company continues to grow rapidly.

The following is some information on each of Lightspeed’s new Directors:

Patrick Pichette is formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Google and brings to Lightspeed a wealth of experience building and scaling global companies. Mr. Pichette currently holds the role of General Partner at iNovia Captial. “As a Montreal-native, I am truly delighted to join Lightspeed, a true Canadian global tech success story. I look forward to contributing among the group of distinguished board members and advising the company on fueling its ambitious growth agenda,” he said.

Marie-Josée Lamothe is from Google Canada where she served as Managing Director of Consumer Products, Government and Entertainment and also Managing Director of Quebec. Ms. Lamothe is the Founder and President of Tandem International, an advisory firm specialized in omnichannel retailing and branding. She is also Professor of Practice at McGill University's Bensadoun School of Retail Management and is an active member with various associations in the field. “It is a privilege to join the board of a POS company that is revolutionizing the way independent businesses work. With my background in retail and product marketing, I plan to support Lightspeed’s unique vision to ignite city streets and maintain a competitive advantage in the international cloud POS space,” she said.

Rob Williams has over 20 years in eCommerce and retail experience working in leadership positions for both high-end specialty and big-box retail. Mr. Williams comes to Lightspeed from Amazon, where he led Tier 1 Vendor relationships globally. In his decade at Amazon, Rob was promoted and rotated to five leadership positions on both the Seller and Retail teams. He currently consults worldwide on Disruptive Innovation and eCommerce and is a notable speaker on those topics. “As a true champion of independent businesses, Lightspeed perfectly aligns with my values on empowering entrepreneurs. As a former Amazon employee, I look forward to leveraging my experience with this customercentric approach and data-driven leadership team,” said Mr. Williams.

Paul McFeeters brings Lightspeed a proven track record of leading internationally-recognized companies. He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of OpenText, and he joins the board with more than 30 years of experience in financial services and the software industry. He has served on several boards throughout his career including Hootsuite, Constellation Software and Blueprint Software Systems. He said, “With Lightspeed’s beautifully designed user interface, it is clear they have a commitment to providing independent businesses with an easy-to-use cloud POS that improves customer experiences. I am thrilled to join a team that is both ahead of the curve in POS technology and continues to operate with such a rich culture.”

Lightspeed recently unveiled its Retail Success Index and joined forces with fellow Apple Mobility Partners: Intuit QuickBooks Online, Planday and Deputy to improve the business management experience for its independent retail and restaurant customers around the world. The Retail Success Index is an industry-validated questionnaire that independent retailers can utilize to determine a score for their business that will reveal new insights and opportunities for advancement.

The Retail Success Index allows independents to delve deeper into the current state of their businesses — that includes measuring their stance among competitors by identifying their strengths and granting them knowledge on areas their company can improve. Information gained is useful to retailers, no matter how long they have been in business. The five-minute questionnaire provides valuable information on the spot, and retailers can take the test every few months in order to monitor their growth.

Lightspeed has identified five critical areas that contribute to a strong retail model. These Retail Success Index Categories include:

Inventory Management
Employee Management
Marketing and Customer Relationship Management
Data Intelligence
Sales Sophistication

A retailer’s Retail Success Index is calculated using an algorithm that assigns points to questionnaire answers in the five categories above, and averages out points while altering the weight of each based on the information provided. Using the accumulated score, Lightspeed then provides detailed results for each category as well as actionable tips to help independents grow and ultimately become more successful.

Lightspeed continues to innovate and last year it introduced Lightspeed Analytics, which is geared towards independent retailers and is designed to provide retailers with insights and recommendations into their sales, inventory, employee performance and customer behaviours, with an aim of providing retailers a competitive edge in their industry. We profiled Lightspeed Analytics at length in a previous article.

Craig Patterson, now based in Toronto, is the founder and Editor-in-Chief Retail Insider. He's also a retail and real estate consultant, retail tour guide and public speaker.

Follow him on Twitter @RetailInsider_, LinkedIn at Craig Patterson, or email him at: craig@retail-insider.com.

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