On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself. Ryan Deutsch is chief customer officer at retail marketing platform Bluecore, which works with retailers like Wayfair, Gap, and J.Crew. How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I ensure shoppers feel seen, known, and valued by the brands they engage with by helping brands unlock the power of their existing customer data to make experiences feel more meaningful and personalized. I identify ways for brands to leverage the “friendship” a shopper has built with them to create seamless and genuine customer relationships. One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? The sheer degree of empathy required to do this job well. I spend a large portion of my day helping my teams, from engineering to customer success, understand the actual context and challenges of retail customers. My profile will show that I’ve been both a retailer and a service provider, but it doesn’t show how influential my previous roles have been in helping me empathize with my customers. Since I understand the challenges of driving revenue and increasing inventory turns, I can use that experience to help my teams create better products and become better listeners. What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I am incredibly proud of the Bluecore Marketing Agent that launched at the end of February. It was born directly from empathy for the Monday morning dread that every retailer knows. About six months ago, we asked 40 of our customers to name one thing AI could do to make their lives better. They were unanimous. Keep reading here.—EC | 
