Ep 44: Lauren Bolles, Tesco Media - How Great Businesses Scale; Leadership, Customer Obsession & Building Retail Media

SHeCOMMERCE

The episode features a deep dive into the operational mechanics of scaling businesses with Lauren Bolles, COO of Tesco Media. Hosts Christin

Key takeaways

• Scaling requires transitioning from 'heroic efforts' and individual expertise to clear operating models and accountability structures.
• AI is shifting the e-commerce focus from being 'searchable' to being 'understandable' for AI agents and interfaces.
• Effective business operations (BizOps) bridge the gap between strategic ambition and operational reality by tracking leading indicators.
• A non-linear career path—moving through brand, agency, and consulting—provides a unique 360-degree view essential for complex roles.
• In retail media, the next growth frontier involves managing the inputs and signals that drive revenue rather than just reporting top-line numbers.

Main topics

• Retail Media Scaling
• Business Operations (BizOps)
• AI in E-commerce

Notable quotes

Strategy and operations... sit in the gap between the ambition and the reality.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a masterclass for leaders on how to build scalab

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:08) Welcome back to SheCommerce, where power women, big business, and conversations are happening after the meeting all collide. I'm Christina. Speaker 1 (0:17) And I'm Jackie. And today we're talking about something that every company says at once. But very companies, very few companies, are actually great at scaling. Speaker 3 (0:32) Not announcing scale, that is, right? But not putting transformation on a PowerPoint slide, but actually building that operating model, the people, the processes, and the metrics that let a business grow without completely losing the Speaker 1 (0:47) plot. Exactly. And today's guest has had a front row seat to that very journey in a pretty extraordinary career. Think luxury brand, performance marketing. Management consulting. I mean, that's pretty much the perfect prototype for where she is now. Then helping build an operating muscle inside one of the biggest retail media businesses in the world. And now, a move across the Atlantic and a COO seat at another retailer with very big ambitions. Speaker 3 (1:32) It's going to be a good one. So we're going to go behind the strategy deck today and really dive into what does BizOps actually do? What breaks when retail media scales? Which metrics genuinely matter? And what changes you take on and what changes from an American playbook can be brought to a European market? And of course, we'll talk about AI. Speaker 1 (1:58) Because I mean, come on. We're basically contractually obligated to discuss AI in every conversation in 2026. It's in Speaker 3 (2:09) the bylaws. We have to. I Speaker 1 (2:11) love a bylaw. But we're going to get past the buzzwords and talk about where it's actually changing the operating model, which is a little bit different, a pivot from what we've been talking before. Speaker 3 (2:24) Yeah. So that conversation is coming. But first. Let's spill some good old sweet tea. All right, Jackie, I feel like we have an entire SheCommerce editorial calendar in our spill the tea headlines today from AI reshaping e-commerce, Dolly Parton, and a high rock story I genuinely wish I could unsee. And obviously our guest, a woman stepping into a major CCO seat. That is. Speaker 3 (3:01) Yeah. We're touching on all the things today, so stay with us. And apparently gastrointestinal distress. Speaker 1 (3:11) Jackie, Speaker 3 (3:11) come on. You sent me the article. Come on. Yeah. Fair, fair. Okay. Well, if anyone ever doubted our promise that nothing is off limits once Speaker 2 (3:21) we start chatting. Welcome to SheCommerce. Speaker 1 (3:25) Business, leadership, AI, women changing industries, and poop. Speaker 1 (3:35) Everybody poops. Speaker 3 (3:36) It's not just business. It's personal. It's very personal. Very personal. All right. Well, let's start with the commerce and G-commerce because eMarketer, we love our friends at eMarketer, just dropped their new U.S. eCommerce 2026 forecast. And there is one number in particular that jumped out. U.S. commerce is expected to grow almost. 8 % this year, 7.9%. That's pretty resilient considering the economic uncertainty and softer consumer sentiment that we keep talking about. But the bigger story is AI. So under eMarketer's base case, AI-driven eCommerce goes from just 3.2 % of U.S. retail eCommerce in 2026 to 50 % of U.S. retail eCommerce in 2026. 13.8 % by 2030. That is a massive jump. This is not an AI like side hustle anymore. That starts Speaker 1 (4:42) changing the channel itself. And can we just remind everyone that 2030 is less than four years away? Yes. Speaker 3 (4:53) Very Speaker 1 (4:54) true. Yeah. And the interesting part for me. is that we're getting close to the ceiling on simply adding more digital buyers. So the next growth battle isn't necessarily how do we get more people online? It's who influences the decision? Who owns discovery? Who owns the customer relationship? Who owns the data? And who gets paid along the way? Speaker 3 (5:24) Show me the money. And eMarketer also says eCommerce officially enters its mobile-first era in 2027. So we're just at the cusp of that. So we've gone desktop, mobile, and now potentially into a world where AI becomes another interface between the shopper and the shelf. Speaker 1 (5:45) Which means brands can't just ask, are we searchable? That is so 2023. They need to start asking. Are we understandable to an agent? Speaker 2 (5:59) Are Speaker 1 (6:00) our products discoverable? Is our data good enough? And what happens to retail media when the shopper isn't always the one doing the searching? Speaker 3 (6:12) Now that feels like a whole episode just on that question. Speaker 1 (6:17) Oh, 100%. And it probably is. Speaker 3 (6:21) Yeah. But very conveniently, it also sounds like something we might ask today's guest. Speaker 1 (6:28) And now we go from artificial intelligence to perhaps the most aggressively human story of the week. Oh, God. Here it comes. Australia did a thing. With High Rocks, their athlete, Joanna, I'm going to butcher this. So, Joanna, I'm really sorry. But the High Rocks athlete, Joanna Wajtrzyk, had a serious gastrointestinal situation mid-race in Beijing. Speaker 3 (7:09) Definitely a situation. We're using gastrointestinal situation because we're being very mature and classy. Right, Jackie? Oh, Speaker 1 (7:18) I'm so in my classy, distinguished older woman era. Yes. But here's a story, right? So she continued racing. One day event and the images went viral. But honestly, the more interesting update came afterward. High Rocks acknowledged that officials should have intervened and has now said it's changing its processes and competition rules following the incident. Speaker 3 (7:49) And I think that matters, not for the obvious reasons, but this is definitely not about body shaming an athlete. Endurance sports are brutal. Our bodies do unpredictable things. But when you have shared equipment, a shared course, hundreds of competitors, and a health and safety issue, which this is, somebody has to know where that line is. Speaker 1 (8:17) Yeah. I remember when you and I used to do those ultra endurance marathon Ironman. Speaker 3 (8:23) Yeah. Right. Yeah. I remember. Ever. Never. Speaker 1 (8:27) But exactly. Right. So it's. It's weird enough that this is our episode theme yet again. Performance does not replace process. It may sound boring. It may sound trite. It may sound old school. But here's the thing. You can have an elite performer. You can have an incredible brand. You can have a fast-growing business. But if the operating system... does not know what to do when something goes sideways, you are pooped. Speaker 3 (9:06) I like how you went full circle there, Jackie. Yeah, I did not think we were going to derive an operational excellence lesson from this story, but that's Speaker 1 (9:19) what I love about you. Stick with me, sweet cheeks. I will find you operational excellence in literally anything you throw at me. Almost. True. Speaker 3 (9:29) So, SheCommerce, finding the business lesson nobody Speaker 1 (9:33) asked for. Speaker 1 (9:35) There you go. Okay. But Christina, I want to end this week's tea a little differently because we lost somebody recently who embodied so much of what we talk about. Speaker 1 (9:50) And she was absolutely my own personal icon. Dolly Parton. Speaker 3 (9:56) Yes. And Dolly Parton passed away on August 25th at 80 years old or 80 years young in her case, I should say. And just weeks later, Nashville's airport authority voted unanimously to begin the process of renaming Nashville International Airport in her honor. The final name is still being worked through, but. Gosh, what a tribute. Speaker 1 (10:18) I mean, it's what we keep coming back to. It's not just the music, but my God, the music was amazing. It was, yeah. It's the way she built. She built an unmistakable brand without sanding down who she was. She built businesses. She built opportunity. And through her imagination library, she used her success in literally to, to actually literally put. books into children's hands. Her legacy is not, actually, it's not celebrity. It is sheer, unfettered impact. Speaker 3 (10:56) And for a show like us about women who build, lead, and lift each other while they're doing it, there may not be a better example of someone who did that with such class. She never seemed to believe becoming powerful required becoming less feminine or less funny, less herself and authentic. And I think there's something really incredibly powerful in that. Speaker 1 (11:24) Absolutely. She proved you could have rhinestones and the business brain, the ambition Speaker 2 (11:30) and Speaker 1 (11:31) the generosity, the platform and the responsibility to use it. Christina, for Dolly. I will wear a rhinestone denim jacket. Speaker 3 (11:46) Well, that I will take that as a win. There you go. Thank you, Dolly. So this week we raised our tea to Dolly, a woman whose influence became bigger than an industry and even bigger than her personality and whose legacy will now quite literally be part of Nashville's map. Speaker 1 (12:05) fierce, funny, generous, unmistakably herself. She's basically the unconscious blueprint that SheCommerce was built on. Speaker 3 (12:15) She really is. Speaker 1 (12:18) Okay. I have one more people move this week. And Christina, normally we talk about somebody else in this segment. We talk about an incredible, fierce, amazing powerhouse woman who is in a leadership role. Today, We're not doing that. We're talking about you. Oh, God. Speaker 3 (12:39) Wow. Wow. It's something I really feel, Jackie. Speaker 1 (12:45) Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Listen, I have the mic and I'm going to use it. So I'm going to mute you. But for anyone who missed the news, also, how are you not following us? My fantastic, brilliant, amazing partner in crime, commerce nerd, bestie. And okay, I'm not going to lie. One of my favorite women to watch. Absolutely crushed it. and has joined Righteous Valon Craft Jerky as Chief Commercial Officer. Speaker 1 (13:23) Thank Speaker 3 (13:23) you. Also a bit uncomfortable having you read my own news to me. So that's, that's odd. There's something. Speaker 1 (13:32) Okay. So here we are. So here's the thing, get over it. Because you would absolutely do this to me, but, but, but listen, all joking aside, let's, let's take a moment in terms of why this deserves a moment. You have stepped into an integrated commercial role spanning sales, marketing, consumer insights, category, strategy, e-commerce, retail media, and innovation, which is essentially somebody looking at the last 20-ish years of your career. Speaker 3 (14:04) Yeah, it started when I was 15. Oh, that late? Oh my God, such Speaker 1 (14:09) an underachiever. But basically looking at this, they would look at it and say, you know, all those things that you have done, that you have been connecting your entire career, this is a culmination. Go run it. Yeah, Speaker 3 (14:30) when you put it that way. And Speaker 1 (14:32) also, let's call a spade a spade. This is not a sleepy little assignment. Righteous Felon is scaling nationally. The business has reported 66 % to your CAGR. That's compound annual growth rate, because you know I like to explain my alphabet. More than 100 million... $100 million in annual retail sales, and it landed on the 2026 Inc. $5,000. I mean, wow. So Christina Baranici apparently decided her next chapter should be Challenger Brand, Hyper Growth, C-Suite. Hold my jerky, baby. Speaker 3 (15:18) Oh, my gosh. I think that actually needs to be my new LinkedIn headline. Yes, please. Yes. But no, seriously, thank you. And, you know, what excited me about this opportunity was the chance, as you mentioned, to take all those different pieces and all those different experiences that I've worked across consumer, shopper, category, commerce, media, insights, strategy, and then. bring them together around one growth agenda. And, you know, who doesn't love a good challenger brand story, especially one that has so much good, such a great foundation and such a great category to be playing in. I think there's something so energizing about a company that already has an incredible personality, craveability, consumer love, and is asking. How big can we really make this? Speaker 1 (16:16) And you know what, Christina? Best of privilege means I get to say this part. This is so deserved. We talk constantly on this podcast about women taking the seat, taking the risk and being willing to bet on themselves. And sometimes it's the woman who's sitting next to you that actually does it. And when she does, oh, God damn it, you celebrate the shit out of her. No pun intended. with previous stories. Speaker 3 (16:49) Coming full circle as you do, tying it all together. That's what I love about you. But seriously, I'm going to get emotional and just how, you know, I feel very supportive through this podcast and all the amazing women that we have to, as you said, like bet on yourself. And, you know, it's a big pivot from big CPG. And, you know, you have to trust that what... what you've built within you and trust your skills and trust that your curiosity to be able to stretch into that in new places. Oh, Speaker 1 (17:24) 100%. And I'm so insanely proud of you. It's a huge, huge congratulations. And I have a feeling that Righteous Fallon has no idea what has just hit them. Speaker 3 (17:38) Probably not. Although after listening to this episode, they might. Righteous Fallon, consider this your Speaker 1 (17:47) warning. Speaker 3 (17:49) Thank you. Thanks, Jackie. Okay, so back to the original scheduled programming. Today's conversation could not be better timed because my new role has me thinking constantly about operating models. Growth, obviously, and moving from strategy into that day-to-day execution and how you build something you can genuinely scale. It's perfect. Speaker 1 (18:17) Which brings us perfectly to today's guest. There are leaders who are fantastic at standing on stage and telling you what the strategy is. And then there are people you want in the room on Monday morning when somebody asks, great, now how the hell are we actually going to do it? Today's guest is one of those people. Speaker 3 (18:37) Lauren Boll has built a career at the intersection of strategy, operations, brands, performance marketing, and retail media. And what's fascinating is that none of it followed that neat little career ladder we're all supposedly meant to climb. She started on the brand side at Cartier, fancy, working in luxury leather goods. then moved into agency-side performance marketing, then into management consulting at Bain, where her work included e-commerce acceleration and helping build the firm's retail media capabilities just as this entire industry was beginning to explode. I Speaker 1 (19:17) mean, you had me at Cartier. Right? But then not only did she do all of that, then came Walmart Connect. Lauren joined in 2021 and spent the next five years inside one of the fastest growing and most consequential retail media businesses on the planet, moving from chief of staff and increasingly senior business strategy and operations leadership roles while helping build the operating infrastructure behind that growth. And that's the bit that we're particularly interested in today because everybody. Everybody loves talking about the sexy stuff. Revenue. Ooh. New ad products. AI. Measurement. Big partnerships. Speaker 3 (20:07) Mm-hmm. All of that. But somebody has to actually build the machine underneath it all. The goals, the metrics, the decision-making, the org design, the processes that let hundreds of people move in the same direction instead of creating 17 versions of the truth. Speaker 1 (20:26) And earlier this