Bath & Body Works.

Nada Aried

College is where Nada Aried, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Bath & Body Works, started her retail career working part-time at Express stores. Her journey in retail extended from working in the field to the Columbus, Ohio, corporate offices of The Limited (later known as L Brands, Inc.), which owned Express at the time. Over the years, the store field experience was very helpful as she continued her corporate career in store operations, business analysis and technical development. The experience at L Brands, Inc. provided Nada with opportunities to work in fashion, lingerie and personal care while contributing to the success of some of the most iconic brands in the world.

Please tell our readers about your day-to-day responsibilities at Bath & Body Works.

The best part of my day is supporting our business functions and ensuring they are operating as effectively as possible and providing solutions to challenges they face. Technology as an enabler is leveraged throughout the organization by supporting all areas including back-office functions such as logistics, supply chain, human resources, and finance. It is also my responsibility to support the store and digital experience to ensure our associates and customers have the best experience possible. Daily my role is to provide support, guidance, and solutions with technology enablers to ensure our business prospers.

How do you perceive the retail industry's transformation in the era of digital payments?

The digital wallet is gaining immense popularity, and most customers carrying a mobile phone have access to a variety of payment options like Apple Pay and stored credit cards making it seamless to interact with retailers with one touch. Additionally, digital wallets provide other advantages as they can store a customer’s loyalty program information allowing for a method to identify, transact and redeem with ease. Our Gen Z and Gen Alpha are mobile ready with digital payments, and retailers are transforming to create a customer-centric experience in person and digitally.

“As we consider how our customers want to interact with our business, we need to acknowledge that the bar is higher; customers expect an experience that meets their needs in stores and on any digital platform. Organizations will need to continue to rally around the customer experience and break down silos to provide a seamless and unified experience that our customers expect.”

Can you share any project initiatives that you are currently working on?

In 2021, Bath & Body Works became an independent, publicly traded company after the separation from Victoria’s Secret.  While for the past two years, our technology team’s highest priority has been on the formal separation of technology, we have also been exploring how to enhance our customer-facing solutions. We are excited to learn a lot in the next couple of months about implementing some of the new capabilities. 

How do you envision the future of the retail industry in the next two years?

What we have learned from the past few years is that customers have very high expectations of retailers. During the pandemic, tools like “buy online, pick up in store" (BOPIS) and online shopping were the main sources of shopping, and now as customers want both in-person and digital experiences, they are expecting an experience that will support their preferences. I think one of the biggest trends we are seeing right now is focusing on ensuring our front-line associates have the best tools to support our customers and that technology investments support a delightful experience for our customers.

What will be your piece of advice to your fellow peers?

Connect with your team; provide insights into the corporate strategy; and help connect the dots to the technology solutions they are delivering. A team that understands the objectives of the company’s goals and can tie them to their own work will be more engaged. Lastly, be visible and be a great listener.