Retail Technology Veteran Tom Litchford to Join NRF as Vice President of Retail Technologies

Washington, June 22, 2012 – The National Retail Federation announced today that Tom Litchford – a retail technology veteran who has held prominent roles at Microsoft Corporation and NCR, and who has more than 30 years of experience in this space – will join NRF as the association’s new vice president of retail technologies starting on July 2. In this role, Litchford will report to Vicki Cantrell, SVP of NRF’s Communities and executive director Shop.org, and will lead and manage NRF’s Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) and the exclusive, invite-only CIO Council. He will be responsible for developing and enhancing strategic programs, activities and relationships with retail and technology communities domestically and internationally.

“Tom’s in-depth industry knowledge and his experience in and around NRF’s communities and events, including Retail’s BIG Show, NRFtech and ARTS’ User Meetings, make him the ideal candidate for this position,” said NRF Senior Vice President of Communities Vicki Cantrell. “I’m really delighted to be able to work with Tom in this capacity after having worked beside him in the industry for several years. We’re extremely confident that his arrival at NRF will help cement our position as a thought leader within the retail technology sector, and will benefit the industry and our members in great ways.”

“I am thrilled to join NRF and work with such a diverse group of retailers and their business partners,” said Litchford. “Retail technology inspires and drives many facets of the industry. I’m eager to be a part of the conversation surrounding innovation, standards and best practices and am looking forward to bringing my experiences to the table.”

Litchford’s hiring comes at a perfect time as ARTS long-standing executive director Richard Mader will retire in July, assuming the role of ARTS director emeritus. With more than 15 years of knowledge and experience with ARTS, Mader will remain involved with that community in a collaborative role, including supporting their efforts worldwide.

Litchford comes to NRF from Microsoft Corporation, where he directed the planning, development and execution of strategic partnerships in the retail and hospitality industries. Prior to assuming his current position, he held other key Microsoft industry positions including marketing manager, marketing and channel director, and most recently industry director for retail and hospitality for the company’s Enterprise Partner and Industry Solutions Group. Prior to joining Microsoft, Litchford was director of business impact modeling for NCR’s Retail Solutions Group, where his team worked with retailers to help them understand the business impact of implementing various technologies.

Litchford has been active with ARTS’ board of directors and the Fair Factories Clearinghouse advisory board, a collaborative industry effort involving retail and consumer brands and retail trade associations to create a system for managing and sharing audit information.

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s Retail Means Jobs campaign emphasizes the economic importance of retail and encourages policymakers to support a Jobs, Innovation and Consumer Value Agenda aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation. www.nrf.com.