President Donald Trump has promised to “end the tyranny” of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, both in the public and private sectors, prompting companies including Target and Amazon to roll back their diversity efforts. And with the Trump administration barring federal employees from using preferred pronouns in email signatures and vowing not to respond to reporters who do, the way that REI’s new CEO, Mary Beth “MB” Laughton, introduced herself at a recent meeting couldn’t help but sound like an act of defiance.

“I’m Mary Beth Laughton, or ‘MB,’ and I use she/her pronouns,” Laughton said on May 8 at the annual member meeting of the outdoors retailer, an incorporated consumer co-op. It is, according to Laughton, common for REI executives and employees to voluntarily state their pronouns at gatherings.

But the company’s dedication to both DEI and environmental stewardship was at the core of Laughton’s remarks.

“For decades, our core values and our impact priorities aimed at protecting a healthy planet, ensuring access to nature, and fostering an inclusive outdoors have guided our decision-making and have been a beacon for attracting great talent and have strengthened our community,” Laughton said. “In a time when our public lands and values like diversity, equity and inclusion are under threat, I want you to hear from me that REI believes these are essential to our business.”

Laughton, who took the helm at REI March 31, previously served in leadership roles at other DEI-stalwart brands, namely Sephora, Nike, and Athleta. But in an interview with Retail Brew, she stopped short of criticizing brands who backtracked on DEI.

Keep reading here.—AAN

After filing for bankruptcy earlier this month for the second time in less than two years, Rite Aid Corporation is offloading more than 1,000 pharmacies to rivals such as CVS and Walgreens as well as grocery chains such as Albertsons and Kroger.

In a press release, Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said that the goal of transactions is to ensure continuity of care during the bankruptcy process; the company emphasized that all pharmacies will remain open through the transition to provide prescription refills and immunizations without interruption.

Keep reading here.—AV

Companies are at a pivotal moment with how they attract and retain talent.

Talent shortages have and will continue to make it difficult to hire, particularly for hard-to-fill roles, meaning organizations must also think about how existing talent can be trained or developed to meet these needs. To address these challenges, some companies have commissioned chief talent officer roles to oversee recruitment and talent acquisition, performance management, learning and development, and workforce and succession planning.

In April 2024, Walmart created its own chief talent officer position. The retail giant appointed Lorraine “Lo” Stomski, the executive then in charge of its learning and leadership initiatives to the new role.

Keep reading here on HR Brew.—PM