Dave Finnegan
CIO
Build a Bear Workshop

An award winning Chief Interactive and Information Technology Officer with a proven track record, Dave is driving the transformation of Build-A-Bear Workshop stores into the newly designed “Store of the Future”. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of National Retail Federation - Chief Information Officer Council and also the innovation board member of Orvis. Dave is an expert in interactive store technologies, ecommerce, social media, mobile, supply chain, business operations, business systems, security and business intelligence, and has a proven ability to articulate business and technical concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations

Our digitally connected guests are redefining how they interact with brands. This can be a big challenge for retailers who are burdened with inflexible systems and infrastructure that are not easily adjusted to the changing environment. The need for scalable and flexible systems will continue to grow throughout 2013.

If I had one wish, I would ask for enterprise level systems that could be implemented in a much more rapid and reliable way. We talk a lot as an industry about leveraging cloud, but many solutions are just not there yet. I would love for solution providers to leverage the cloud model more in the future.

The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier

The explosion of digital tech includes mobile and social media is a great new story for CIOs. Guest focused technology is now more important than ever and will continue to grow. However, the tools to measure and integrate new guest touch points and the explosion of data they create is a challenge for each of us as CIOs.

Technology Trends Impacting Enterprise Business Environment

In Q4 2012 Build-A-Bear Workshop launched the very first Store of the future concept. These in store interactive experiences include Microsoft Surface (Pixel Sense) tables and Samsung interactive screens and tablets. Each piece of interactive technology works in concert to provide an integrated magical experience for our guests. In the six stores we have converted to this newly imagined design have produced an average 30 percent improvement in sales. We will continue to see a convergence between digital and brick and mortar spaces that will be focused on delivering an experience for customers.

Mobile will continue to transform how customers interact with brands. “Pre” shopping, checking on deals, using passbook, gaming, payment systems, and using mobile during the shopping experience will all shape the way we deliver our products and experiences.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

Today’s CIO is a blend of Marketing, Operations and Technology. They merge business savvy, tech and the ability to partner with other executives to deliver strong results. The best example of partnership is our newly imagined store. While all of our chiefs are involved in making this new store a success, the CIO is the executive sponsor and leading the company for the next generation of experience at the store.

Lessons learned as a CIO

We learned that when it comes to truly innovating, it can be a challenge to clearly communicate the possibilities. The key is to help the organization envision how technology can transform the business. Our technology team found that we could help our organization visualize new innovations by creating prototypes of each experience. We would not talk in terms of technology, but in terms of Guest Experience. We would literally walk through the experience from the guests’ perspective. We then would rapidly change that prototype based on what we learned from putting it in front of our teams and guests. We eliminated wireframes, long scope documents, and detailed specs and replaced them all with a rapid prototyping process. It created break through business results in a fraction of the cost and time.