Will Smith
Senior Vice President - Chief Marketing Officer
PetSmart
Will Smith is currently SVP/CMO at PetSmart -- the $10.1BN, industry leading pet specialty retailer, operating 1650 stores throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada.
In this role he leads a team of 145 and is responsible for managing all domestic and international marketing functions -- brand strategy/positioning/creative development, loyalty/CRM, visual merchandising, insights/advanced analytics/marketing research, PR, corporate communications, as well as the integration and growth planning for PetSmart Charities into connected company outreach.
Since 2019 he has been actively elevating the company’s marketplace presence via a new, fully integrated brand platform “Anything for Pets”…which has become a unifying rallying cry for the entire organization -- HQ to field, and has indelibly contributed to the enterprise’s 3 years of consecutive double digit comps – a net sales growth over the period that exceeds 41%.
Prior to PetSmart, Will held the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Abercrombie & Fitch – where, in addition to marketing leadership responsibilities on the parent brand – Abercrombie, he also led the strategic development and evolution of Abercrombie Kids, and Hollister – the company’s other class leading international trademarks.
From 2008-2017, Will served in a similar capacity in senior marketing roles at Caleres Inc., formerly known as Brown Shoe Company. During his tenure there he drove the repositioning of Famous Footwear, upgraded the in-store communications and design, led the brand’s foray into digital and social media, led and accelerated ecommerce sales and traffic gains, and contemporized all customer contact strategies and tactics – including the revitalization of a customer loyalty program that is now directly connected to more than three-quarters of the organization's total annual revenue.
Furthermore, as Chief Marketing Officer for Famous Footwear / Brown Group Retail, he played a critical role in the parent company's 2015 corporate rebranding initiative that resulted in its name change to Caleres - which modernized its identity and improved customer sentiment for the 137 year-old company.
Earlier in his career Will garnered extensive additional retail, wholesale, P&L leadership, and brand building experience -- having worked in senior brand management positions for iconic packaged goods companies such as Kraft Foods and Philip Morris USA, in entertainment as VP of Marketing for Urban Music at Atlantic Records, and GM for Blackground Records/Virgin Records, N.A., and in fashion apparel as Group Vice President of Marketing for Kate Spade/Liz Claiborne Retail.
He is a true marketing talent who has led successful, transformative brand campaigns via impactful go-to-market planning, advertising, digital marketing, mobile outreach and customer loyalty programs. He is a tremendous asset for all companies who desire focus on strengthening the connection with customers and enhancing the power and clarity of their brands and their unique points of difference in the marketplace.
Will holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Cornell University, and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Additionally, he has served on the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes from 2013-2017 and on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois from 2009-2017.
He’s an active and founding member of BECA – the Black Executive CMO Alliance – whose mission is to create opportunity, access and equality for the current and next generation of qualified Black marketing leaders.
He’s also an active member of Google’s Retail Advisory Council.
He and his wife Nancy currently live in Desert Ridge, Arizona and have two children, Lauren & Jordan.
In this role he leads a team of 145 and is responsible for managing all domestic and international marketing functions -- brand strategy/positioning/creative development, loyalty/CRM, visual merchandising, insights/advanced analytics/marketing research, PR, corporate communications, as well as the integration and growth planning for PetSmart Charities into connected company outreach.
Since 2019 he has been actively elevating the company’s marketplace presence via a new, fully integrated brand platform “Anything for Pets”…which has become a unifying rallying cry for the entire organization -- HQ to field, and has indelibly contributed to the enterprise’s 3 years of consecutive double digit comps – a net sales growth over the period that exceeds 41%.
Prior to PetSmart, Will held the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Abercrombie & Fitch – where, in addition to marketing leadership responsibilities on the parent brand – Abercrombie, he also led the strategic development and evolution of Abercrombie Kids, and Hollister – the company’s other class leading international trademarks.
From 2008-2017, Will served in a similar capacity in senior marketing roles at Caleres Inc., formerly known as Brown Shoe Company. During his tenure there he drove the repositioning of Famous Footwear, upgraded the in-store communications and design, led the brand’s foray into digital and social media, led and accelerated ecommerce sales and traffic gains, and contemporized all customer contact strategies and tactics – including the revitalization of a customer loyalty program that is now directly connected to more than three-quarters of the organization's total annual revenue.
Furthermore, as Chief Marketing Officer for Famous Footwear / Brown Group Retail, he played a critical role in the parent company's 2015 corporate rebranding initiative that resulted in its name change to Caleres - which modernized its identity and improved customer sentiment for the 137 year-old company.
Earlier in his career Will garnered extensive additional retail, wholesale, P&L leadership, and brand building experience -- having worked in senior brand management positions for iconic packaged goods companies such as Kraft Foods and Philip Morris USA, in entertainment as VP of Marketing for Urban Music at Atlantic Records, and GM for Blackground Records/Virgin Records, N.A., and in fashion apparel as Group Vice President of Marketing for Kate Spade/Liz Claiborne Retail.
He is a true marketing talent who has led successful, transformative brand campaigns via impactful go-to-market planning, advertising, digital marketing, mobile outreach and customer loyalty programs. He is a tremendous asset for all companies who desire focus on strengthening the connection with customers and enhancing the power and clarity of their brands and their unique points of difference in the marketplace.
Will holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Cornell University, and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Additionally, he has served on the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes from 2013-2017 and on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois from 2009-2017.
He’s an active and founding member of BECA – the Black Executive CMO Alliance – whose mission is to create opportunity, access and equality for the current and next generation of qualified Black marketing leaders.
He’s also an active member of Google’s Retail Advisory Council.
He and his wife Nancy currently live in Desert Ridge, Arizona and have two children, Lauren & Jordan.