The Middle Market Transformative CEO Features 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. President and CEO Chris McCann

CHICAGO – (May 1, 2019) – RSM US LLP (“RSM”) – the nation’s leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market – and The CEO Forum Group are pleased to announce the 11th episode of “The Middle Market Transformative CEO,” featuring guest Chris McCann, president and CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., a leading provider of gifts designed to help customers express, connect and celebrate. The episode, which aired over 25 nationally-syndicated AM radio stations on Sun., April 28, is now also available as a podcast.

Co-hosts Robert Reiss, founder and CEO of The CEO Forum Group, and RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas, speak with McCann about how the company is adjusting to the digital economy and how it embraces new technologies, the importance of fostering a culture of innovation and attracting the right talent, and how the company approaches customer service.

Some of the key topics discussed during this episode are: how 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is shifting the way it interacts with customers through a multitude of cutting-edge technologies; how the digital revolution is impacting middle market businesses; the company’s approach to branding and advertising; and how the company’s culture of innovation continues to transform the company and its digital strategy.

“Today, we think we’re in the midst of the fifth wave of change for us called ‘conversational commerce,’” said McCann, while explaining how the company has continued to leverage new technologies. “And that’s really a confluence of a couple of different technologies: big data, predictive analytics, AI and then voice, kind of coming back to telephonic, but as the interface of the future. You bring those together and you bring them onto messaging platforms and voice computing platforms.”

“We have an acronym that we use to guide the culture in our company called ELAC – Engage, Learn, Adapt and Commercialize,” continued McCann, after providing examples of how the company has implemented some of these innovative technologies. “We got involved early, we’ve been learning, we’re adapting and we’re commercializing those products. And we’re seeing strong adoption of [conversational commerce], which I think is about to really accelerate as well.”

Regarding the firm’s digital strategy, McCann explained: “We’re very fortunate that the culture of innovation we’ve built has begotten a culture of reinvention. We’re constantly reinventing our company, and that’s what we urge others to do.”

For more insights from this month’s Middle Market Transformative CEO, listen to the full episode.