Retail Gets Real 403. Building a people-first culture in modern retail with Ulta Beauty
Retail is an industry built on people, emotion and constant reinvention, and few leaders embody that reality more fully than Ulta Beauty President and CEO Kecia Steelman. In this episode of Retail Gets Real recorded live from NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show in New York City, Steelman explores her remarkable career journey, leadership philosophy and how she’s guiding the nation’s largest specialty beauty retailer through one of the most transformative moments in retail history.
(00:00:00) From the sales floor to the CEO seat
(00:05:48) How retail creates opportunity at every level
(00:09:14) Why beauty retail is about emotion, not just products
(00:12:52) Why the future of retail has no finish line
(00:16:24) How culture drives performance at Ulta Beauty
(00:19:28) How Ulta Beauty localizes a global brand
(00:22:14) What retail needs more (and less) of right now
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