Leon Nicholas works across Smurfit Westrock’s commercial organization to advance retail insights across a broad portfolio of differentiated solutions for consumer goods and retail customers since 2018. Leon’s background includes over 31 years in the consumer goods and retail industry working for Hannaford Bros, Information Resources, Veridiem, and Global Insight. He joined Kantar Retail in 2008, where he led a team of retail analysts and advisors to retailers and manufacturers, and most recently served as its Chief Insights Officer.

Leon is widely-cited in the retail trade and national news media, including TV, radio, and print. He has been a contributor to CNBC, CNN Radio, Bloomberg, The Wall St. Journal, NPR, and Washington Post; a co-author in trade publications ranging from Drug Store News, MMR, and Progressive Grocer; and a panelist in industry forums ranging from NACDS, NRF, and GlobalShop. He is a sought-after presenter at numerous industry trade conferences and customer strategic engagements.

Leon earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, summa cum laude, from Bates College.