Beyond The Shelf
This show is an open exploration of the people and process behind E-Commerce. Through conversations with innovators in the space, we learn the stories of these leaders and their strategies for E-Commerce success. You can join our mailing list and access more content at itsrapid.ai.
David's past guests have included: Bryan Gildenberg from the CPG Guys, Todd Hassenfelt from Colgate-Palmolive, Anne Zybowski from Circana, Randy Mercer from 1WorldSync, Jared Taitel from PepsiCo, David Novak from Salsify, Harvey Ma from Albertsons Media Collective, Carter Jensen from General Mills, Pam Perino from Ghirardelli Chocolate, and many more.
Episodes
133 episodes
Asking Better Questions of Your Data — with John Santaferraro
This week, Dave speaks with John Santaferraro, CEO & Founder of Santaferraro Consulting, and host of The Digital Analyst Podcast.John shares how AI is transforming retail, ecommerce, and digital strategy — from the shift from traditi...
Beyond the Shelf Live from the Digital Shelf Summit: Piyush Chaudhari (Salsify)
We're LIVE from DSS 2026 in Atlanta! Dave catches up with Piyush Chaudhari, CEO of Salsify, live from the show floor.Piyush unpacks what's driving conversation at the event—AI—and how Salsify is helping brands navigate the shift from dig...
BTS Live from the Digital Shelf Summit: Kevin Creese (Wastequip)
We're LIVE from DSS 2026 in Atlanta! First up, Dave catches up with Kevin Creese, Director of Ecommerce at Wastequip.Kevin shares how Wastequip is approaching AI adoption in a practical, operator-first way—focusing on automating re...
The Leadership Gap in Retail Transformation - with Steve Dennis
This week, Dave speaks with Steve Dennis, President & Founder of Sageberry Consulting.Steve brings decades of experience across retail strategy, operations, and transformation — and shares a candid look at why so many companies strug...
Winning the “Every Shelf” Strategy — with Syndigo's Simon Angove
This week, Dave speaks with Simon Angove, CEO of Syndigo.Syndigo’s acquisition of 1WorldSync marks a major shift in how brands and retailers manage product data, content, and the entire commerce experience.In this episode, Simon b...
BTS Live from Syndigo Connect: Russ Dieringer (Stratably)
We're live from Syndigo Connect 2026! In this BTS Live miniseries, we'll be featuring interviews some of the best and brighest minds in in the digital commerce space, right from the show floor.
BTS Live from Syndigo Connect: Tim Sullivan (Syndigo)
We're live from Syndigo Connect 2026! In this BTS Live miniseries, we'll be featuring interviews some of the best and brighest minds in in the digital commerce space, right from the show floor. We continue the miniseries with ...
REWIND: Breaking the Digital Shelf Bottleneck — with Acosta Group’s Joe Lamberson
This week we're replaying our 3/10/26 episode with Joe Lamberson, Director of Digital Initiatives & Partnerships at Acosta Group, to discuss how brands can modernize digital shelf execution and keep up with rapidly rising retailer expectati...
BTS Live from Shoptalk: Kiri Masters (Retail Media Breakfast Club)
We wrap up our BTS Live at Shoptalk Miniseries with Retail Media Breakfast Club's Kiri Masters, who talks with Dave about the next phase of retail media.As AI reshapes the shopper journey, Kiri explains why traditional ad formats — espec...
BTS Live from Shoptalk: Daniel Torres Dwyer (The FMCG Guys)
In this BTS Live Minisode from Shoptalk, Dave speaks with Daniel Torres Dwyer of The FMCG Guys about key themes emerging from the event.While AI continues to dominate the conversation, Daniel points to a more nuanced reality — where exci...
BTS Live from Shoptalk: Lauren Livak Gilbert (Digital Shelf Institute)
Our BTS Live from Shoptalk Miniseries continues! Dave speaks with DSI's Lauren Livak Gilbert about how AI is impacting both organizations and the digital shelf.Lauren highlights the growing importance of talent, upskilling, and internal ...
BTS Live from the Commerce Media Brand Summit: Shawn McGahee (Roundel)
Our BTS Live from the Commerce Media Brand Summit miniseries concludes with Shawn McGahee, Sr. Director, Performance and Insights at Roundel.Shawn speaks with Dave about the growing maturity of retail media — from a focus on ROAS to a de...
BTS Live from Shoptalk: Manish Sharma (Think Blue)
Our BTS Live series continues - this time from Shoptalk 2026! In this minisode, Dave speaks with Manish Sharma from Think Blue about the next phase of AI in digital commerce.As AI moves beyond experimentation, the focus is s...
BTS Live from the Commerce Media Brand Summit: Collin Colburn (IAB)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the WBR Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.Dave speaks with Collin Colburn of the IAB about the next phase of retail media m...
BTS Live from the Commerce Media Brand Summit: Jack Kneuper (Perdue Farms)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the WBR Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.Dave speaks with Jack Kneuper of Perdue Farms about the evolving role of performa...
BTS Live from the Commerce Media Brand Summit: Skye Frontier (Incremental)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.Dave speaks with Skye Frontier of Incremental about the evolving role of measurement ...
BTS Live from the WBR Commerce Media Brand Summit: Celia Van Wickel (Russell Stover)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.Dave speaks with Celia Van Wickel of Russell Stover about how brands are evolving the...
BTS Live from the WBR Commerce Media Brand Summit: Michele McNamara (Newell Brands)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.Dave speaks with Michele McNamara, Director of Digital Commerce & Omni Activation...
BTS Live from the WBR Commerce Media Brand Summit: Andrew Groom (The Wine Group)
This episode is part of our BTS Live miniseries, featuring quick conversations recorded on the show floor at the Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta.In this minisode, Dave speaks with Andrew Groom, Senior Director of Digital Marketing...
Breaking the Digital Shelf Bottleneck — with Acosta Group’s Joe Lamberson
Dave sits down with Joe Lamberson, Director of Digital Initiatives & Partnerships at Acosta Group, to discuss how brands can modernize digital shelf execution and keep up with rapidly rising retailer expectations.With Acosta supporti...
Driving Growth Through Customer-First Retail Media – with Tesco Media’s Stephen Shepherd
This week on Beyond the Shelf, Dave sits down with Stephen Shepherd, Head of Strategy & Consulting at Tesco Media, to explore how retail media has evolved from a tactical revenue stream into a strategic growth engine.With ne...
Experiment More and See What Happens— with Tenacity Venture Capital’s Ben Narasin
Dave’s guest this week is Ben Narasin, Founder and General Partner of Tenacity Venture Capital. Ben is a venture capitalist and longtime entrepreneur who invests at the intersection of technology, commerce, and consumer behavior — with a career...
Performance Marketing that Drives Incrementality — with Ibotta's Chris Riedy
Dave’s guest this week is Chris Riedy, CRO at Ibotta, where he’s helping evolve promotions and offers into a true performance marketing engine for CPG brands.In this episode, Chris breaks down why great sales is really about problem-solv...
Creative Strategy Before Creative Execution — with Matt Gehring
Dave’s guest this week is Matt Gehring, a returning guest on Beyond the Shelf and a seasoned growth advisor, independent brand strategist, and Fractional CMO.Since first appearing on the show in 2024, Matt has stepped into a new...
The Digital-First Approach — with Benedict Enterprises’ Scott Benedict
Dave’s guest this week is Scott Benedict, retail strategist, longtime merchant leader, and former Walmart and Sam’s Club executive with 35+ years across brick-and-mortar, eCommerce, and global retail. Today he runs Benedict Enterprises and serv...