Coworking with Julie Oxner

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Julie Oxner’s 26-year retail career includes over 15 years at Procter & Gamble. Now, she’s SVP of business intelligence at Acosta Group, focusing on revenue growth management, e-commerce insights, supply chain, and advanced analytics and data science.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I use data and insights to solve problems for manufacturers and retailers so they can remove barriers to growth.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? In my job, I’m a “connector.” I connect clients and retailers with the right solution to address their problems. Whether connecting customers with my team or another Acosta Group team, we can always help.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? My favorite project has been leading the revenue growth management (RGM) training and certification of 1,500 people across our sales and business insights team. It was great for my team to work with so many people across our organization to achieve this objective. This commitment from Acosta Group’s leadership in the emerging focus area of RGM is helping us change the game for our clients and our associates.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about this year, and why? I’m excited about the emergence of ChatGPT to see how it will be integrated into our everyday lives both at work and personally. I first heard about it from my kids and have been using it quite a bit to learn, review, or question things.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Pike’s Place Roast with one pump of sugar-free vanilla syrup, but I’m really a Diet-Coke-in-the-morning gal.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? One of my chemical engineering professors told me I should go into academia, even saying I was “wasting my talent” by going into CPG/manufacturing. I’m so glad I followed my passion and I’ve had so much fun in the CPG industry over the past 26 years. It’s fast-paced and I get to learn and teach every day.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? I have dry skin, so my favorite product at age 15 was Oil of Olay Beauty Fluid with SPF 15. I am very lucky because having sunblock daily as a teen has really helped prevent wrinkles and sun damage now that I’m in my late 40s. My favorite product now is Burt’s Bees Lip Balm—the peppermint one. I usually have two on me at any given time.