Grace Barruga

Grace Barruga brings a unique blend of frontline retail leadership and modern data strategy to her role as Director of Retail Strategy at Strategy. She holds a B.S. in Retailing & Consumer Sciences and spent more than a decade working directly in retail as a Store Director and Lead Stylist for brands including Anthropologie, Michael Kors, Elie Tahari, Henri Bendel, Nicole Miller, and BCBG. Her background gives her a deep, practical understanding of merchandising, store operations, customer experience, and the real-world pressures retail teams face daily.

At Strategy, Grace applies that hands-on industry experience to help retailers unlock the full value of their data. She partners closely with Sales, Product, and Executive leadership to shape the go-to-market strategy and develop programs that focus on real-time insights, AI-powered decisioning, and measurable business outcomes.

Grace also leads Strategy’s flagship retail initiatives—from NRF and Gartner to Mindshift Summits—designing executive experiences that bring together top global brands to explore the future of retail intelligence and operational agility.