Excellence in Leadership
Chad McIntosh, Vice President of Loss Prevention and Risk Management (Retired), Bloomingdales
“I fell in love with this industry over forty years ago working as a part-time store detective for Woodward & Lothrop while attending the University of Maryland,” said McIntosh. “As I moved up the career ladder, I worked hard to distinguish myself by learning as much as I could about the business and volunteering for assignments no one else wanted. While at Neiman Marcus, I became more aware of the value of setting up members of my team for success and giving them the tools to do the job effectively. At Home Depot, I perfected my skill of building partnerships to identify shortage exposures and reduce this profit drain. At Polo Ralph Lauren, I was able to help reshape an LP program. Then, when I moved to Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, I was able to apply all of the skills I had developed through the years to forge a progressive strategy to impact the business. I believe true leaders build upon their experiences and never stop learning.”
McIntosh feels that this mindset sets the bar for leadership. “When I think about the leaders I consider to be successful, they all have certain qualities. All have strong interpersonal skills and can relate to people at all levels of an organization. They’re comfortable speaking about their goals and priorities so that everyone understands how to contribute and their value within the organization. All are avid learners and readers, finding time for their personal development.”
He also sees this as critical to the future of the industry. “One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is the number of people I’ve mentored, helping them achieve more than they thought they could,” he said. “In today’s ever-changing retail environment, you have to think differently about problem-solving. The answers are no longer ‘under the street light’ where they can easily be seen. The competitive landscape has changed greatly. Perfect your interpersonal communication skills, distinguish yourself, and keep learning and growing daily. Raise your hand for those tough tasks and assignments. Remember, wherever you go, whatever you do, distinguish yourself. Be so good they can’t ignore you!”
Nominations Are Encouraged
The LPM team is privileged to have a front-row seat to the very best in the loss prevention industry, providing a unique opportunity to present positive, productive ways to promote loss prevention, build successful and constructive partnerships, educate and inform the LP community, and support the thought leadership that drives us forward.
The LP Magazine “Magpie” Awards are a means to celebrate industry accomplishments on an ongoing basis, recognizing the loss prevention professionals, teams, solution providers, law enforcement partners, and others that demonstrate a stellar contribution to the profession. Chad McIntosh is among our November–December 2018 recipients.
We want this to be your program. Those of you working as LP practitioners witness these exceptional performances on a regular and ongoing basis, and we strongly encourage you to provide us with nominees for each of the award categories. We encourage creative nominations and want the program to cast a positive light on the many tremendous contributions of the loss prevention community. Nominations can be submitted via email to excellence [at] LPportal.com.
Find out who else has been recognized in the November–December 2018 issue – check out “LPM “Magpie” Awards: Applauding Excellence.”