Silverman to Resign as Shop.org Executive Director

Shop.org executive director Scott Silverman, who has led the digital retail trade group since 2001, will resign effective Aug. 13, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). He has accepted an executive-level and co-founder position with an e-commerce startup.

Shop.org, the digital division of Washington-based NRF, provides benchmarking research, events and networking communities to over 600 members. “From the earliest days, Scott recognized the potential of the Web as a platform for an integrated multi-channel customer experience and led the collaboration of our early council of retailers as we pioneered the development of this channel,” said Rich Last, chair of the Shop.org board of directors. “After serving the digital retail community for over a decade with great success, it is only fitting that Scott now have the opportunity to become a practitioner in our community and help develop one of the next emerging digital retailing models. On behalf of the board, we will all miss Scott and his contributions tremendously, but we are excited for him as he pursues this new opportunity.”

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay will collaborate with executive committee members on Shop.org’s board to select Silverman’s replacement. Members of Shop.org’s executive committee include Last, of JCP.com; Troy Brown, retail practice leader, Demandware; Patti Freeman Evans, VP, research director, Forrester Research; and Kelly Mooney, president and chief experience officer, Resource Interactive.

“With digital retail playing an ever-increasing role in our industry, NRF will continue to vigorously champion Shop.org and its member community,” said Shay. “While Scott’s departure will be felt throughout the entire organization, I have no doubt that the support and leadership from the Shop.org board of directors will lead us through this transition seamlessly.”

Silverman joined the National Retail Federation in 1999 and continued to gain increasing responsibility before being named Shop.org executive director in 2001.

During his tenure, he worked closely with the group’s board to develop and execute the organization’s strategies and key programs. Under his leadership, membership has grown to represent more than 60 percent of the top 100 retailers in the United States, and Shop.org’s Annual Summit has surpassed 2,500 attendees. Additionally, Silverman was part of the Shop.org team that coined the term “Cyber Monday.” He also created Shop.org’s Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund, which has raised $1.5 million in less than five years.

“The decision to leave Shop.org and join an Internet startup is bittersweet,” Silverman wrote in a blog post. “As anyone who leaves a great job for a new opportunity can attest, this new adventure is leaving me excited, yet anxious and nostalgic, and also hopeful.”