Gary Johnson, Vice President of Loss Prevention, The Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.
Immediate past Chairperson for the National Retail Federation's Loss Prevention Advisory Council - 2011 to 2013
 

Impacting the Loss Prevention Industry
 

Just completing his two year term as Chairperson for the National Retail Federation's Loss Prevention Advisory Council this past June, The Daily wanted to share with you his prospective of the council's efforts, focus and some key accomplishments during his term. Understanding that all of the LP Advisory Council positions are voluntary assignments that these executives accept, in addition to their professional obligations with their respective retailers, you've got to respect and appreciate the dedication and extra workload that each one of these members enthusiastically invest on behalf of the Loss Prevention industry. Representing the best and brightest of our industry, these LP executives are supported by the NRF's leadership team and staff who are ultimately responsible for delivering the services, coordinating all the efforts, steering the national development and legislative agenda, developing and managing the largest retail Loss Prevention conference each and every year, and ultimately being the Voice of Retail Loss Prevention.

As Chairperson of the Advisory Council, Gary had a very clear and precise mission that focused on increasing engagement and participation. Given the economic times, everyone's expanded responsibilities, the rapid pace of change going on in retail, and the customary stresses volunteer positions are under, Gary's mission was perfectly aligned with the needs of the industry. By effectively communicating and integrating his back-to-basics mission throughout his two year term Gary, the Advisory Council members and the NRF LP team were able to keep people focused on a core development need that helped produce record breaking attendance at the NRF LP Show with a robust slate of educational offerings.

From an internal prospective, under his leadership the Advisory Council made some “behind the scenes” organizational changes within the Advisory Council. These enhancements were intended to better achieve the Council’s mission while adding improved guidance and accountability. First, the Council took an in-depth look at the numerous Committees and evaluated whether or not they were meeting the current needs of the Industry. This work effort influenced them to eliminate some Committees that were no longer viable and focus their energies on those seven (7) Committees that continue to add value and better support the LP Community for the challenges ahead. In addition, the succession planning ensured that each Committee was led by a Chairman and supported with a Vice Chair, while the Committees were aligned with a Council Vice Chairman which ensured the committee members got all of the support they needed to be successful. Existing Committees include:
 

The Advisory Council continued the fight on the ORC front and continued to push for passage of Federal Legislation. Though many States have passed ORC legislation the NRF continues to push for a Federal tool that will provide LP and Law Enforcement with a valuable tool.

- The Women in LP Caucus, which celebrated their 10-year anniversary, continued to excel with a dynamic slate of development opportunities through the Mentor Program and Leadership Conference call series that many in the LP community took advantage of.

- And of course the Conference Planning Committee worked alongside the NRF partners to deliver an outstanding Conference this year. Based on feedback Gary received, by all accounts it set a new standard for the Industry. This is a cornerstone event and Steve Ippolito, who will be taking the reins from Alan Tague, has the enthusiasm, dedication, and drive to make it even better!

- New talent was added to the Advisory Council with an infusion of new members – Charles Delgado, Steve Fahey, Chris Hackler, and Scott McBride—all three of which are impact players and in the coming year the Council will feel their enthusiasm and passion for our Industry which will add value.

- Because Retail continues to be an important engine in our Country’s economy, Gary also stressed the importance of the Advisory Council continuing to have a voice in the industry and demonstrate Leadership with the challenges that lie ahead. Especially areas like:
 

Gary, the entire Advisory Council, and the NRF team did a remarkable job over the last two years and delivered great results as evidenced by the increased attendance at the LP show and participation on the part of the entire Loss Prevention community. It certainly validates the academic requirement of developing and communicating a mission statement that drives your efforts and helps your organization and team reach its goals. Job well done Gary!

Gary Johnson:

"I'm pleased and honored to pass the Leadership baton to Rosamaria Sostilio. She is an outstanding choice to lead our council. I look forward to working with her as our Industry evolves and tackles the new challenges." I also challenge everyone in the LP Community to become more involved and participate in our Industry events. Our Industry is loaded with bright, talented, and forward thinking people – get involved! Share your ideas! Make us even better!”