Shownotes
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from World Retail Congress 2026 in Berlin, Chris Walton connects with Kristin Wolf, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Ulta Beauty, to discuss how one of beauty retail’s biggest players is thinking about long-term growth, AI, and global expansion.
Kristin shares how her newly created executive role reflects Ulta’s focus on balancing core business growth with future innovation, from scaling internationally to rethinking how AI can transform retail operations, agility, and customer experience. The conversation also explores why traditional planning cycles are breaking down, how organizations need to evolve alongside technology, and why AI is forcing retailers to rethink not just tools, but the way work itself gets done.
Plus, Kristin breaks down Ulta’s recent expansion moves, including the acquisition of Space NK and partnerships across Mexico and the Middle East, and explains why disciplined innovation matters more than chasing “shiny objects.”
Key Topics Covered:
• Why Ulta created the Chief Strategy & Growth Officer role
• How AI is reshaping retail strategy and organizational design
• The future of agility and test-and-learn retail operations
• Why growth today requires balancing core business + future bets
• Ulta’s international expansion strategy and recent global moves
• How AI can accelerate both efficiency and customer experience
• Why leadership teams need to rethink processes before deploying AI
• The changing pace of retail transformation and innovation
• How beauty retail continues to lead consumer and omnichannel trends
Thank you to Vusion for supporting Omni Talk Retail’s live coverage from World Retail Congress 2026 in Berlin.
#WRC2026 #WorldRetailCongress #OmniTalkRetail #UltaBeauty #BeautyRetail #RetailInnovation #AIinRetail #RetailStrategy #CustomerExperience #FutureOfRetail
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Transcripts
Hello, everyone.
Speaker A:This is Omnitalk Retail.
Speaker A:I'm Chris Walton and I'm coming to you once again from the World Retail Congress in fabulous Berlin, where, Kristin, the weather here is wonderful, is it not?
Speaker B:It is a gorgeous sunny day today.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:This is like picture perfect weather.
Speaker A:I don't think I've ever seen better weather in my life.
Speaker A:But anyway, weather aside, weather aside, we're coming to you from the Vuzion podcast studio.
Speaker A:Thanks to them for making our coverage possible.
Speaker A:And I mentioned her already, but Kristen Wolfe, the chief strategy and Growth Officer at Ulta Beauty, is here to join me.
Speaker A:Kristen, how are you doing today?
Speaker B:I'm doing fantastic, thank you.
Speaker A:You just flew in yesterday.
Speaker B:I did, yeah.
Speaker A:How's the jet lag?
Speaker B:You know, I went to bed early, got up early, and I'm over it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Ready to go.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it sounded like you're a coffee drinker.
Speaker A:So you had a couple cappuccinos.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:That helped as well.
Speaker A:Yeah, A couple of cappuccinos to get the day started.
Speaker A:All right, well, let's get.
Speaker A:Let's.
Speaker A:First time interviewing you, so I'd love to get.
Speaker A:Let the audience in on who you are.
Speaker A:So tell us about your background and also about your role at Ulta.
Speaker B:Yes, well, so my role, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Ulta, it's really a role that intersects strategy, innovation and future growth.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And you know, in my role, I'm focused on both driving growth within the core business, but also identifying the next platforms of future growth for the business as well.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:It's a new role for Ulta Beauty, at least at the executive team level.
Speaker B:I've been there for seven years.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:But this is a new role, and it really just underscores the importance that Ulta places on long term growth and long term sustainable leadership.
Speaker B:My background, I've grown up in consumer and worked at a number of consumer companies and in retail as well.
Speaker B:And really my remit in this role is corporate strategy, corporate development, AI strategy, and incubating future platforms for growth.
Speaker B:So for us, a big focus has been international expansion.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker A:Just that.
Speaker A:Just international expansion and AI, you know, like.
Speaker A:Just that.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Just, you know, walk in the park.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, go ahead.
Speaker B:It's a.
Speaker B:It's a dream role for me.
Speaker B:Honestly, I. I feel privileged that I get to do this every day and I. I'm really passionate about helping companies through transformational times, and now I get to help define the next chapter at Ulta.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it seems like Ulta's really hitting on all cylinders.
Speaker A:Like, I always joke, like, it's.
Speaker A:I'd rather work for a company where the water's going downhill than trying to continue to push it uphill from a strategy perspective.
Speaker A:So I'm guessing you would agree, right?
Speaker B:I would agree with that, yes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:The other part I took away from what you just said is like, so, you know, international expansion, regional expansion is a part of your job, but it sounds like also like the digitization and how do you grow from digital and technology and thinking about the right platform investments there is also part of the role.
Speaker B:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker B:I mean, I think technology AI really underpins everything that we do.
Speaker B:It is really just a way of approaching the business, and I think it'll become even more prominent in.
Speaker B:But it is definitely a hallmark of how we're thinking about our omnichannel strategy across all dimensions.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you guys have done some great things there in recent memory too.
Speaker A:I think in TikTok, the partnership you have there, it was just great stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, what brought you to wrc?
Speaker A:What brought you to the World Retail Congress?
Speaker B:Well, this is my first year.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And you know, I felt like it was just really important for us to participate in the global conversation.
Speaker B:You know, there.
Speaker B:This is the place right.
Speaker B:Where these leaders are getting together and talking about all of the forces of that are shaping the retail industry.
Speaker B:And, you know, at Ulta Beauty, a lot of in the beauty industry in general, you know, we're at the forefront of a lot of these consumer trends.
Speaker B:So I'm really excited to share our experiences and exchange war stories and equally hearing from my peers on how they're addressing those challenges and those forces as well.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:And you're speaking tomorrow?
Speaker B:I am.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So give our audience a little appetizer, a little moosh boost of what you plan to share on stage in regards to, you know, transformation or innovation.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I mean, we'll be talking about the changing consumer and trends that are shaping growth and transformation in the industry.
Speaker B:And really, you know, for us, growth, it's really about durable value creation and not just chasing shiny objects.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker B:Taking a disciplined approach and really balancing a focus on the near term and driving the core business while also thinking about the new platforms, what's next, and how can we extend our advantage more broadly.
Speaker B:And also, you know, with regard to transformation, especially at a time when so much is changing, I think the pace of change and disruption is faster than, you know, it's faster than it's ever been before.
Speaker B:It's really about approaching taking an agile Approach, taking a test and learn approach with discipline to really, you know, drive transformation and lead through this era.
Speaker A:Yeah, I literally just got off a panel 10 minutes ago before I met Christian.
Speaker A:And that was the key hallmark of what we were discussing too, is that actually how we run our organizations is needing to change and it's getting faster.
Speaker A:The planning cycles need to change.
Speaker A:The five year horizons on your plans are just kind of out the window now and you've got to get to a faster cycle.
Speaker A:All right, so let me put you on the spot.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where do you actually see growth coming from since that's in your title?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Oh, you know, I think there's so much exciting growth ahead.
Speaker B:I think both in the core business, where we're really, you know, we're leaning into adjacent spaces within beauty and really unlocking AI to accelerate and enable all of that.
Speaker B:But also thinking about next, what's next and platforms for future growth.
Speaker B:And there are many that we're focused on.
Speaker B:That I'm focused on international expansion, as I mentioned, is one.
Speaker B:In the last six months, we've gone from being a US only retailer to being in three regions of the world in six countries.
Speaker B:Yeah, we acquired Space NK in the UK last year and then in the fall we extended into, through partnerships into Mexico and the Middle East.
Speaker B:So that is an exciting platform that we're continuing to grow and scale and looking to continue to expand.
Speaker A:So what percentage of your job is the latter versus the former?
Speaker A:If you had to tell me, you.
Speaker B:Know, it's really 50.
Speaker B:50.
Speaker B:I mean, I have an enterprise focus.
Speaker B:I'm focused across the business and, you know, it is, you know, equal parts really continuing to build on the momentum that we have in our core business while also thinking about those platforms and what's next.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, you know, Christian, I really try to gear this podcast to, you know, people that have been in the executive chair at a retailer or aspiring to be in the executive chair so they can understand the types of decisions that come their way.
Speaker A:And so, you know, the question I want to close with is, you know, growth transformation is one thing, technology is one thing, but you also have to have the people and the processes in place to support any growth initiative that you want to undertake.
Speaker A:How do you think about that and how are you adapting in your role given everything that's going on?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, you know, as I always say, I mean, strategy without the organization behind it to execute it is really just words on a page.
Speaker B:It really doesn't mean anything.
Speaker B:It is all about people.
Speaker B:It is all about the right processes to enable that, you know, we're investing in our people, especially, you know, with.
Speaker B:With AI being such a growth accelerant, it's like throwing kerosene on a fire.
Speaker B:But really, when we think about AI, it's not about replacing people.
Speaker B:It's really about leaning into people, developing people to be able to lead in that future enabled by AI.
Speaker B:And it's really one of the things that makes us distinctive, you know, our culture and the power of our people.
Speaker B:And then from a process perspective, perspectives I mentioned, it's about agility.
Speaker B:It's about being adaptive, moving quickly, learning quickly, but also maintaining discipline and then placing your investment bets and being clear about priorities and placing the bets behind them accordingly.
Speaker A:I would imagine that AI particularly, and I'm curious what your take is here, that in a role like yours, it's placing more of a premium on understanding the process by which your organization does work so that you can then figure out where to deploy AI to improve it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:To make everyone more productive and give the consumer what they want at the end of the day.
Speaker A:Is that right?
Speaker B:Oh, I absolutely agree with that.
Speaker B:I think AI is going to be such an unlock for both efficiency and in terms of accelerating growth and better serving our guests.
Speaker B:And I think to do it well, we've really got to take a look at what's underpinning our processes and ways of working to really get the ROI from AI.
Speaker B:I'm convinced, you know, it's not just about putting tools on top of things that we do today, but really re examining how we work, because I think it's going to fundamentally shift, and we're all going to benefit from it in the end.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And there's probably even things that you think you're doing now that you maybe aren't even doing.
Speaker A:It's hard to know until you get in there and dig around, but it's great because it's putting that onus on leadership to understand that in a new way.
Speaker A:Which is great for the employees, too, at the end of the day.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Well, Kristen, thanks so much.
Speaker A:That was a blast.
Speaker A:It was fun, huh?
Speaker B:It was great.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was fun.
Speaker A:There's a live, boisterous audience here.
Speaker A:It's lunch at WRC World Retail Congress.
Speaker A:Thanks to them for allowing us to come and present all these wonderful interviews with all these great executives like Kristen Wolfe here of Ulta Beauty.
Speaker A:And thanks to Fusion for making our coverage possible.
Speaker A:And on behalf of all of us at omnitalk, as always, be careful out there.