RCC’s Diane Brisebois reflects on her career and retirement plans
Though it’s not quite farewell yet, Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), has announced her retirement. Brisebois has held the top position at RCC since 1995, after a 14-year tenure as president and CEO of the Canadian Office Products Association. As the search for her successor is underway, Brisebois says she is “quite happy” to stay on at RCC until the role is filled. In this Q&A, the highly respected leader looks back on her distinguished career and the legacy she hopes to leave in the retail sector.
Tell us how you got your start at Retail Council of Canada and what drew you to the retail sector.
Like a lot of young people, my first part-time job was in retail as I was going through school, and it continued from there. That was my first exposure to the industry. After that many years, it became a love affair with retail. The industry just draws you in, especially if you love interacting with people, bringing people together and finding solutions. All of those elements, I think, were what drew me to the sector and eventually to the Retail Council of Canada.
What are some of your proudest accomplishments over the years?
It’s a difficult question because I don’t see them as my accomplishments—I see them as the accomplishments of the Retail Council of Canada and the industry. So, I prefer framing it that way. But number one, I was exceptionally lucky to come into an organization that was already well established, had a very stable leadership and a strong brand… So, I was building on top of a strong foundation.
Looking back over the last 30 years, I’m very proud of RCC establishing itself as the voice of the retail sector and as the most effective advocate for all retailers, including food, non-food, general merchandise, small, mid and large. That takes an enormous amount of time, investment, perseverance and passion.
The other accomplishment, which is another evergreen project, is to elevate the reputation of retail and attract young people to the sector; to look at retail as a viable career and the opportunities that it offers. The organization spent a lot of time on this throughout the years. We established a scholarship program, which I’m very proud of. We established great relationships and partnerships with colleges and universities across the country, who have continued to be ambassadors for the retail industry.
I’m also proud of the work we’ve done to bring the industry together, be it through conferences, networking breakfasts or lunches, sharing information and providing best practices. We’re very focused on helping our retailers grow and succeed.
What is the biggest challenge retailers are facing today?
The greatest challenge is tariffs and retaliatory tariffs. While we understand that our federal government has to respond to protect this country, retaliatory tariffs are going to make it even more expensive for retailers to import goods from the United States. Coupled with a weak currency, the biggest challenge will be how can our retailers continue to remain competitive in this environment. I think this is going to be a challenge for as long as the current U.S. administration is in place. So, the next four years will be challenging for the industry because there’s so much uncertainty.
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Retailers spend an enormous amount of time on planning and investing for the future, and this trade war is simply creating chaos and making it extremely difficult for retailers to determine if, when and where they should be investing. And that’s a challenge. It’s an existential threat right now. It’s a bit like a dark cloud following us for the next four years.
Can you share the most important lessons you’ve learned about leadership throughout your career?
One thing that I’ve learned is to learn from your mistakes. Don’t deny your mistakes or point the finger at someone else. Sit back and think about what happened and what you could have done better, and then share. As a leader, your team needs to see that you can, at times, make mistakes. But most importantly, it’s how you deal with those mistakes and how you bring everyone together to do better next time. That is key because most associations don’t work with thousands of employees and serve thousands of members [as we do at RCC]. And so, we need to be very strong together. We need to be moving forward together and we need to be learning.
How would you like to be remembered for your leadership at RCC? What impact do you hope to leave on the retail community?
I’m not very good at spending time thinking about some of my accomplishments, but if you pushed me against the wall, I would say I hope that the industry sees me as someone who is determined and completely focused on the needs of the industry, and passionate about the sector. Always pushing myself to do better for our members in the industry. So, if I’m remembered for anything, it’s having been authentic about the incredible passion that I have for the members of this sector and for our hard work.
During COVID, I think it was very apparent to the members that we weren’t just doing a job, we were living the job. That we were 100% engaged and involved with our members and absolutely obsessed with being there to help them come through difficult times. So, if I’m remembered for anything, I hope it’s for that.
How do you plan to spend your retirement and what are you most excited about as you enter this next phase?
I’m excited about the unknown. I think people are shocked when they ask me what I have planned or where I’m going to travel. My answer is ‘I don’t know’ and their response is, ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ That’s the way I’ve always been. I see this as a new journey, whatever that looks like. I've always been a glass-half-full person. I’ve also been a person who’s been blessed—sometimes cursed—with lots of energy and lots of passion. So, I’m just going to enjoy helping the organization make the transition and support the team and see whatever comes my way… I think more people should take it easy and not worry so much about the next stage. I’ve never worried about the next stage. And I’ve been extremely fortunate. Lots of great opportunities have come my way and I’m sure there will be more opportunities for me to consider.
This interview has been edited for length.
