Bill Kiss
Vice President, Digital and Retail Strategy and Innovation
In 2018, Bill Kiss was appointed to the position of Vice President, Digital, Social and Customer Relationship Management.
Before being appointed Vice President, Kiss was the Head of Digital, Ecommerce and Retail Strategy at Ace Hardware Corporation. Bill's accountabilities included designing and implementing an Omni-channel brand position; running the Online Business Unit; and innovating and improving the overall retail business model for the company.
Prior to Ace, Bill was Chief Marketing Officer for Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart where he oversaw the company’s marketing strategy and spend of print, broadcast and digital. Prior to that, Bill was the Chief Digital Officer for the company where he was instrumental in the company’s progress in the digital space, with Sears achieving “genius status” per Ad Week, while also delivering sustained double digit ecommerce growth. Additionally, Bill has served as Chief Marketing Officer and Online General Manager for the Craftsman Brand and Tools and Hardware business unit of Sears Holdings.
Bill started his career at the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency working in planning roles for clients such as Procter and Gamble, McDonald’s and Kraft. He then worked for Burger King where he helped develop the successful back-to-basics and breakfast marketing strategies, and then went on to Laughlin Constable’s advertising and marketing consulting group, where he led strategic brand marketing projects for multiple consumer retail and package goods brands, including Wolverine World Wide, Pizza Hut and Firestone.
Bill attended Northern Illinois University for his Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree, and Loyola University, Chicago for his post-graduate MBA work.
