About Steve Dennis

I spent the first 25 years of my professional life primarily as a senior executive in the retail industry, most recently as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Marketing for the Neiman Marcus Group. Before that I was an executive at Sears. From the outhouse to the penthouse it would seem.

In 2008, I slowly began the process of “waking up” and now split my time among retail strategy and innovation consulting through the firm I founded (SageBerry Consulting), speaking, writing, mentoring entrepreneurs and working in the social enterprise/impact arena with a particular focus on poverty alleviation, education and social justice.

I currently serve as the Board Chair/Chief Governance officer of Social Venture Partners Dallas and as a mentor for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ GroundFloor initiative. I’m also an advisor to the Akola Project, Education Opens Doors, REVTech, Invodo and Nectarom and recently became a Trustee at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas.

I started my first blog (“The Art & Science of Customer-Centricity”) in 2010 and more than 500 posts later it’s one of the most followed in the retail industry.

With this blog, well, who the heck knows.

I grew up outside of New York City and then spent some time in Boston, attending Tufts University and the Harvard Business School. From there I moved to Chicago (Go Cubs!) where I lived for more than 20 years. Following my desire to live in a foreign land I moved to Dallas in 2008.

My hobbies include fighting procrastination and searching for the perfect slice of brisket.

I have two daughters, one in college and one a recent graduate.