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What Comes After the Corporate Peak?
Inside the journeys of two global leaders who redefined their careers and why international communities are becoming the next frontier for senior professionals.
EVOLVE Commerce Club
June 22, 2025
Welcome to This Week’s dispatch
In this week’s edition:
The week ahead we have two expert sessions!
- Live session with Gustavo and I 😃What comes after the Corporate Peak?
Community Round Up
Join us in Brazil
A quick word about our Community Partner
Can Commerce Conferences be fun?
Digital 1:1 is out to prove they can. Digital 1:1 is a boutique a highly curated event that happens in the south of Europe ( Spain and Italy) in a closed ecosystem in exlcusive and gorgeous locations. Top digital industry leaders come together, not just to swap business cards, but to connect, collaborate, and innovate. With the perfect mix of amenities and a format designed for real conversations and cooperation, Digital 1:1 offers a fresh, energizing way to do business. If you’ve ever doubted that industry events could be inspiring (and, yes, genuinely enjoyable), Digital 1:1 might just change your mind.
Now onto this week’s newsletter
🗓️ The Week Ahead
How to leverage EVOLVE and thrive Carlos Monteiro & Gustavo Valle - Co-founders EVOLVE Commerce Club | Carlos Monteiro and Gustavo Valle are the co-founders of EVOLVE Commerce Club. With deep experience SaaS, business development, partnerships and global expansion, they both bring a practical knowledge on how to connect with the EVOLVE members, accelerate your time to network and become a valuable asset within the community What we will explore Expanding Your Network (Intentionally)
Using the Community Channels Smartly
Personal Positioning Inside EVOLVE
Navigating Career Transitions or Business Goals with Support
Building Long-Term Value
When: 26/06 - 1 pm CET |
Career transitions aren’t easy
But when you’re not alone, they can be transformative.
Last week we interviewed not one, but two global leaders who made bold moves after reaching the top of their corporate careers.
👩🔬 Aytun Alakus (Turkey) built a 20+ year career in consumer insights. Most recently, she led global insights at JDE Peet’s, the result of a merger between Mondelez's coffee division and Douwe Egberts. The company operates across 100+ markets, translating millions of data points into strategies that shape consumer behavior worldwide.
👗 Zoe Rowswell (UK) is a seasoned digital and e-commerce leader in fashion, having held senior roles at Topshop (Arcadia Group), Urban Outfitters, and Jimmy Choo, where she led global e-commerce and omnichannel. She spent 14 years at Arcadia, rising from Assistant Merchandiser to Head of Online Trading.
What did they both realize?
That even the most prestigious roles are transitory.
And that the real challenge is not getting to the top but deciding what comes after.
Zoe leaned into entrepreneurship.
Aytun is now focused on personal development and education.
These transitions are not outliers they are becoming the norm.
According to LinkedIn data, more than 60% of senior professionals (VP-level and above) consider a career shift every 12–18 months, especially post-pandemic.
Meanwhile, over 40% explore advisory, mentoring, or part-time leadership roles rather than full-time corporate gigs.
And here’s where community plays a role that executive coaching or isolated career planning can’t match.
Imagine This
You’re a senior leader considering your next chapter.
You’re thinking beyond job titles perhaps you’re curious about:
Working with scale-ups on your own terms
Taking a board role in a region you’ve never worked in
Becoming a mentor, educator, or investor
Redefining your career around meaning and not just milestones
Now imagine being part of a truly international group of peers leaders across 43 countries, sharing real, unfiltered insights weekly.
People who:
Refer each other for high-level roles
Co-create new ventures
Provide strategic perspective in areas like leadership, innovation, transition, personal reinvention and much more
This is what EVOLVE has become.
The Pivot
When we started EVOLVE, we thought we were building a smarter way for vendors to connect across markets.
But we soon realized the real demand was elsewhere.
Senior professionals many of them millennials and Gen X leaders started reaching out.
They said:
"I heard about your expert sessions."
"Your community feels different less noise, more signal."
"I’ve been looking for a space like this."
How We Connect
Weekly expert sessions with leaders from companies like Alibaba, Walmart, JDE Peet’s, and independent founders
In-person meetups and private dinners in cities like London, São Paulo, Copenhagen, and Dubai
A lively WhatsApp & Mightynetworks community where people help each other daily
Monthly hot-seat sessions for deep-dive support on career and life challenges
Organic intros for partnerships, jobs, mentoring, board opportunities
Whether you’re:
🧭 Still in corporate and exploring what's next
🌱 Designing a new phase of your career
🌍 An international company seeking aligned senior talent
EVOLVE is where your next chapter gets clearer.
No performance theatre. No buzzwords.
Just smart people shaping what comes next—together.
Carlos Monteiro -
Founder EVOLVE Commerce Club
What We’re Watching
Technology & Future of Work
Google Offers Voluntary Exit Packages Amid Global Job Cuts:
Google has offered voluntary exit packages to US-based staff across several divisions, signaling continued restructuring in the tech sector as companies adapt to AI and automation
Source: The Economic Times
Mercedes-Benz to Cut Workforce Costs in China by 25% by 2027:
Mercedes-Benz is reducing its workforce in China by 10–15% in several departments to lower costs, while also increasing local partnerships and production amid trade tensions
Source: Business Hub
Commerce & International Partnerships
Target Partners with ButcherBox to Expand Online Grocery Offerings:
Target has teamed up with direct-to-consumer meat seller ButcherBox, aiming to strengthen its online grocery segment and meet growing consumer demand for fresh food delivery
Source: Retail Dive
A quick word about our community partner
ARC is a phone case brand created by a group of Dutch entrepreneurs who asked a simple question: Why do phone cases have to be ugly, boring, and saltless?
The answer is, they don’t.
ARC makes minimalistic cases that actually enhance the look and feel of your phone. Clean design, strong protection, and no unnecessary branding.
They’re not just partners they’re part of this community.
And we love supporting products that reflect the same values we do: thoughtful design, long-term thinking, and doing things differently
Check it out today Arc Pulse and EVOLVE Club members have 15% off.
Some of our club members currently lead or have led world leading commerce organizations
Community Round Up
Evolve Expert Sessions
Expert Session #66 - Zoe Rowswell
In this conversation, Zoe Rowswell discusses the urgent need for the fashion industry to address its waste problem and the role of consumers, brands, and policymakers in driving change. She shares her journey through e-commerce and sustainability, highlighting the evolution of digital retail and the emergence of circular retail models. Zoe emphasizes the importance of overcoming barriers to circular retail, such as data transparency and consumer education, while providing real-world examples of successful take-back programs. The discussion concludes with a vision for the future of retail, focusing on the integration of circular practices into business models
Expert Session #65 - Aytun Alakus
In this conversation, Aytun Alakus shares her extensive experience in consumer insights and analytics, discussing the evolving role of AI in the field. She emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, personal values, and understanding cultural nuances in shaping effective consumer strategies. Aytun reflects on her career journey, the challenges she faced, and the significance of giving back to the community. The discussion also touches on the future of consumer insights, the need for rapid adaptation to market changes, and the critical role of data analytics in decision-making.
VOICES Podcast
#031 - We Can’t Stop Ever Thinking About People
Ron Thurston’s journey from retail executive to bestselling author is a story of self-discovery, emotional intelligence, and the courage to lead differently. With decades at brands like Apple, Gap, and Bonobos, Ron has seen firsthand how technology can either isolate or empower. In this episode, he shares how overcoming self-doubt and embracing vulnerability reshaped his approach—and why leading with humanity is more urgent than ever. We dive into his views on AI, team dynamics, and the importance of building human pride in a shifting job market. Ron is the author of Retail Pride and the forthcoming Human Pride: Optimizing Your Human Potential in a Digital Job Market (May 2025). He’s also the creator of the Retail in America podcast and tour, and serves on advisory boards for retail tech companies bridging human connection and digital innovation.
Featured Thought - Edilsa Bueno
This week, we’re spotlighting a sharp perspective from EVOLVE member Edilsa Bueno.
Edilsa Bueno
What Really Drives Results? People, Not Protein Foam.
In a recent post, Edilsa reflected on Starbucks’ latest moves—menu cuts, loyalty revamps, and protein-packed drinks—and asked a critical question: Are these changes grounded in what really matters?
“Data helps, but strong teams drive lasting results. Strategy doesn’t land when the frontline isn’t part of the plan.” — Edilsa Bueno
It’s a reminder that real transformation in commerce starts with people not just trends or quick fixes.
👀 Have something worth sharing?
If you’re exploring the future of commerce, procurement, AI—or just have a sharp perspective grounded in real experience—we’d like to hear from you.
Our members include senior advisors, operators, and decision-makers across 43+ markets. They come to EVOLVE not for noise, but for signal.
If you want your ideas to reach the right people, reply to this newsletter or message us directly.
We’ll guide you from there.
From the Community
Events from our partners
Forum Ecommerce Brasil
Forum E-commerce Brasil is the largest digital commerce event in LATAM over 30,000 participants across three intense days.
It brings together the entire ecosystem: brands, retailers, tech players, and investors from across Brazil and the region.
This year, EVOLVE will be there.
We’re hosting a private dinner for 40 world-class founders, investors, and senior professionals shaping the future of commerce.
We have limited sponsorship opportunities available for the dinner.
Want to be part of it?
Let’s talk
Check our program
Time to Evolve
We now have an official map of our meetups for 2025:
London.
Berlin.
Copenhagen
Madrid.
São Paulo.
Cairo.
Bucharest.
Dubai.
Riyadh.
Each one is an invitation to step outside the silo and into real conversations with senior operators shaping the future of commerce.
If you're interested in partnering with EVOLVE, sharing your events, activating our community, or co-creating something with purpose
Click below to explore how we collaborate.
No noise. Just alignment.
Keep the conversation going in our WhatsApp group and Exclusive Mighty Networks community, that’s where real connections happen.
Make sure to follow our newsletter, where we highlight what’s shaping our club. In the coming months, we’ll be announcing new partnerships, events, meetups, and the opportunities our members are creating together.
