“Chief Impact Officer: Real Transformation Comes from Human — Not Just Artificial — Intelligence,” published last week by 8080 Books (an imprint of Microsoft), is a leadership memoir and business strategy book written by Julie Averill. Drawing on her two decades of experience leading technological innovations across major retail brands, including serving as the global chief information officer at Lululemon and REI and as an executive at Nordstrom, Averill shares the raw, “messy” realities behind corporate and digital transformations.
The book counters the modern obsession with algorithms and AI, arguing that the definitive differentiator in any successful modernization effort is organizational culture, psychological safety and human capability rather than the technology itself.
Divided into sections covering her foundational life experiences, major career transformations, and future-looking leadership practices, the book provides a practical roadmap for leading change without absolute authority. Averill weaves personal stories from her childhood and private life, including the cost of hiding her identity as an LGBTQIA+ leader and navigating trauma, with high-stakes corporate crises such as global supply chain disruptions, a 24-hour website crash and a massive omnichannel integration.
Here, Averill shares some insights about what motivated her to write a book, and why company culture is not a “soft
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