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.
Beyond The Shelf
How Great Retail Events Come Together – with Groceryshop & Shoptalk's Rocquan Lucas
This week we’re joined by Rocquan Lucas, VP of Content at Groceryshop and Shoptalk, where he leads speaker recruitment, agenda development, and content strategy for two of the most influential retail events in the world.
Rocquan shares his journey from interning at Internet Week NY to curating high-impact events attended by thousands of the biggest names in CPG, grocery, and tech.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How to design content for 5,000+ attendees – Rocquan shares the mix of research, instinct, and collaboration that goes into building a world-class agenda for Groceryshop and Shoptalk.
- Behind the scenes of speaker selection – From CEOs to challengers, hear how the team curates speakers who bring both credibility and fresh perspective.
- Why editorial integrity matters – Rocquan explains why Groceryshop avoids pay-to-play programming—and how that creates trust with both attendees and speakers.
- The trends shaping 2025 events – GenAI, retail media, and unified commerce are in—but so is creating content that resonates across functional silos.
- What makes a great on-stage moment – Practical advice for presenters: come prepared, have a point of view, and remember you’re there to connect—not recite.
Connect with Rocquan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocquan/
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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com
Producer: Jake Musiker