About the Speaker
Biography
Biography of Jay Highland
As EVP, Creative at WD, Jay is both an orchestrator of teams and a catalyst for innovation. His 30 years of retail brand experience encompasses all phases of the retail strategy and design process, solving clients’ real-world business problems via big ideas in brand-right concepting, prototyping, and scaled implementation. He has collaborated with many of the world’s premier brands across North & South America, Europe & the Middle East, and Asia/Pacific, including Nike, Starbucks, The Home Depot, Target, Verizon, Whole Foods, Hershey, Walmart, and Sweetgreen. An avid world traveler and always-curious consumer, Jay connects the dots of global experience and delivers inspiration and provocation to push teams toward new ideas and innovative solutions.
Jay’s work has been recognized by numerous industry publications, including Fast Company, Design:Retail, and VMSD, and he was honored as an industry Design Influencer in 2019. He is a featured speaker with appearances at industry events such as IRDC, EuroShop, X/SPECS, Design:Retail Forum, and NRF. Jay sits on the VMSD Editorial Advisory Board.
Speaking Events: SPECS 2026, EuroShop 2026, IRDC 2025, X/SPECS 2025, SEGD 2025, RetailSpaces 2024, IRDC 2023
