Thomas McMillan

Biography

Thomas McMillan recently joined the Center for Retailing Studies (CRS) in October 2022 as its Director and is an Executive Professor in the Department of Marketing at Mays Business School.

Thomas brings a deep background in retail, marketing, and technology to the Mays Business School – an omnichannel executive serving consumers and business-to-business customers. Thomas was the Sr. Director/General Manager of Digital B2B Commerce (LowesForPros.com), launching an e-commerce and e-procurement enabled platform to drive B2B digital sales growth at Lowe’s Companies, Inc, a FORTUNE 50 home improvement retailer. Thomas worked for over a decade at Lowe’s in previous positions on the digital leadership team such as Onsite Marketing & Online Promotions Director for Lowes.com, growing e-commerce sales from $300 Million to over $1.5 Billion, and the corporate marketing team including Sr. Integrated Marketing Manager, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, and B2B Customer Marketing Manager. While at Lowe’s, Thomas was named twice to the “Who’s Who in Digital Shopper Marketing and E-Commerce” by the Path to Purchase Institute.

Thomas also led marketing and merchandising efforts for a start-up retail brand targeted at small businesses and consumers growing to over 20+ stores before it was acquired by a big box retailer. As Vice President of Marketing at CompuCom, he launched a retail industry solution in partnership with Apple and other mobility partner applications making it easy for retailers to empower their employees to elevate the in-store customer experience. Thomas has also worked with former NFL athletes transitioning from the league to entrepreneurship in a teaching/coaching capacity and consulted with many businesses on their marketing strategies and plans in retail, hard goods, and services.

Professor McMillan was named a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 which is the second time he earned this distinction. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Dallas/Fort Worth Retail Executives Association (DFW-REA).

Thomas is a Former Student of Texas A&M University, having earned his MBA from the Mays Business School. Married with three daughters, he joins us in College Station, TX from Charlotte, NC where he previously served as President of the Charlotte A&M Club.