Laura Gurski

Laura Gurski is a partner in A.T. Kearney, the Global Coordinator for the Consumer Products and Retail Team, and a co-leader of the Consumer Products & Retail Practice for the Americas. She works with retailers and consumer packaged goods companies around the globe.

Laura focuses on driving profitability through growth strategy and organization transformation. A few of her representative engagements include:

• Architecture for a global operating model and organization structure to reposition a leading global retailer for the next generation of retailing
• Shopper Marketing function to bridge retail and product marketing for a leading global consumer goods company to create more innovative and integrated consumer/shopper programs
• International market portfolio strategy for a leading global retailer to determine the portfolio of countries and appropriate formats
• Market growth strategy for the flagship category for a leading global CPG company, which provided in-depth assessment of the consumer demand drivers to develop market projections for growth by category and implications on channels
• Integrated support services with the full marketing function in scope for a global CPG company resulting in greater leverage of capabilities and a 10% reduction in costs
• Developed a customized market assessment approach leveraging A.T. Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) to identify and prioritize the market entry strategy for a leading North American retailer

Laura’s previous experience includes senior marketing positions in brand management, merchant and product marketing for Sears’ Discover Card, and sales promotion and advertising for a regional food retailer.

Laura has led numerous research studies, published, and presented on a variety of topics, including “VIRC is the new BRIC – Emerging Markets for 2009 NRF,” “Growth Opportunities for Global Retailers: 2007 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI),” “How Low Should You Go?” and “Creating Win-Win Strategies for Consumer Package Goods Companies and Retailers.”

She earned her Masters of Management from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, with emphasis in strategy, finance, and international business. Laura’s international studies were in China and Hong Kong. Her Bachelor of Science is from Northern Illinois University with an emphasis on marketing and French.

Laura is a member of the Executives Club of Chicago and a member of the Women’s Leadership program.