Josee Larocque, Burton

Summer may have just ended, but I am already looking forward to snowy winter days. My latest guest on Hidden Layers, Josee Larocque, knows all about that feeling, having worked at Burton Snowboards for 22 years. Formerly Burton’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Larocque currently oversees the company’s digital transformation on its journey to becoming a consumer-centric, digital-first retailer.    I sat down with Josee to talk about why Burton decided to make the transition from a wholesale business to also having a large direct-to-consumer business, and the challenges - and successes - that the company encountered along the way. We talk about the changes internally that Burton needed to make, from implementing new data management platforms to focusing on last mile delivery, as well as how the pandemic affected their plans for the future. We also may or may not have mentioned a certain Vermont senator’s viral inauguration get-up — listen to the podcast to find out!