When you’re moderating a panel at a conference and the room isn’t even half full, most people would ignore it and proceed as if it were standing room only. But Kimberly Lee Minor, CEO of the Women of Color Retail Alliance, isn’t most people.

“Thank you for joining us today,” began Lee Minor, who was leading a panel about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for the third consecutive year at The Lead Summit in New York recently. “I’m going to just jump in to acknowledge the open seats. So last year we had this conversation, there were maybe five open seats; the year before, people were lined up against the back wall; and as we sit here today, there are more open seats than not.”

Lee Minor promised “a great conversation, whether there’s one person in the room or 100” and urged attendees to share their takeaways with friends and colleagues.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Here’s another one for the “completely unsurprising tariff revelations” column.

A majority (54%) of US-based companies said they’ll need to raise prices following President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” announcement, compared to 46% that said the same thing before the big April 2 reveal, according to an Allianz survey.

There’s been a tariff deal since Allianz conducted its survey. The US and China earlier this month agreed to a 90-day pause that lowers tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and lowers China’s tariffs on US goods to 10%. This likely changes little for pricing strategies, according to Allianz.

“Despite recent positive developments, price hikes are likely to remain the go-to strategy globally to counter tariff impacts,” the report states.

Keep reading here on CFO Brew.—AZ

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Nick Morgan is founder and CEO at content commerce company Vudoo, used by brands like Nike and Rip Curl.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? My job is to create innovative solutions that allow brands and retailers to connect with consumers in new, engaging ways. At Vudoo, we focus on enabling brands to meet consumers where they are with interactive video technology. As CEO of the company, I sit at the helm of a team providing retailers with tools that enhance customer engagement and drive conversions.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? My LinkedIn profile won’t reveal much about my leadership style. I believe culture eats strategy for breakfast. Creating a strong company culture is really important to me, and I go to great lengths to ensure my team feels valued. I care deeply about supporting them; I recognize the amazing effort they put in and I try to match that. I aim to be respectful of people’s home life and don’t expect people to work around the clock. I have worked to create a company culture where everyone feels we can call on each other.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? It has to be developing and evolving Vudoo’s interactive video technology.

Keep reading here.—EC

Before TikTok tutorials and next-day delivery, there was Sephora.com. Launched in 1999, it transformed beauty retail—and helped make e-commerce mainstream. Step back into the early internet days and see how a bold bet became a $3.3b digital empire.