Microsoft 8080 Books · Out Now

Chief Impact Officer

Real transformation comes from human, not just artificial, intelligence.

Julie Averill's Chief Impact Officer weaves a deeply personal leadership memoir with the unvarnished business reality of transforming a global company. Julie shares how a career shaped by both opportunity and unique hurdles — including being a gay woman in technology — influenced the way she led and why authenticity became her greatest strength.

While helping grow lululemon from $2B to $10B, she led a sweeping technology transformation and discovered that the hardest parts had nothing to do with systems or code. Instead, they were about trust, identity, and unlearning long-standing habits of self-editing and silence.

The book pulls back the curtain on the messy truth of leadership: building global tech teams across three continents, leading through a pandemic that shattered assumptions about work, and making very real mistakes along the way.

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Foreword by Bret Arsenault, former Chief Information Security Officer, Microsoft

Signature Keynote

Chief Impact Officer: Human Leadership in the Age of AI

AI doesn't fix your culture. It reveals it. Drawing on three decades scaling lululemon, Nordstrom, and REI, Julie shows leaders why transformation is a human problem first — and how to build the conditions that make technology actually stick. Built on three pillars.

Psychological Safety Before Scale

Teams can't move fast on a foundation of fear. Before you scale a system, you scale trust — the permission to tell the truth, flag what's broken, and try what's unproven.

Influence Over Authority

Titles move org charts; influence moves people. Leaders who drive real change build it through credibility and trust, not command — especially when the mandate is bigger than the authority.

iii

Culture as Competitive Infrastructure

Culture isn't a soft perk. It's the operating system that decides whether transformation holds. Treat it as infrastructure and it becomes your hardest-to-copy advantage.

Praise for Chief Impact Officer

What readers are saying

Foreword Author

Bret Arsenault

Former Chief Information Security Officer, Microsoft

"Julie has written the book that leaders at every level need right now. Her candor about what transformation actually looks like — the stumbles alongside the wins — makes this an essential read for the AI era."

Jamie Nordstrom

Chief Merchandising Officer, Nordstrom

"Leaders that are successful at managing this evolution in their business focus on culture first, and Julie has had an instrumental role in building winning cultures across multiple companies. There are so many great leadership lessons from those experiences, and Julie does a great job of telling an inspiring story that is relevant to anyone who wants to build a winning culture."

Kathryn Henry

Independent Director, lululemon · Author, A Dime to Say I Love You

"In Julie's story, I saw my own: the power that came when I finally brought my full self into the room. Her book makes clear that even in the age of AI, high performance and trust only emerge when leaders stop hiding and start leading from their whole selves."

Venki Krishnababu

CTO Dutch Bros · ex-CTO Premera · ex-CTO lululemon

"This book is the leadership dopamine we all need in the AI era. Julie's authentic reflections provide a precise blueprint for people-first transformation. By drawing on her legacy of building an inclusive, people-powered enterprise during lululemon's mega-transformation, she proves that culture is the new currency."

Mike Richardson

Former CIO, Nordstrom

"This book provides a comprehensive roadmap from a seasoned industry leader who fully understands how to make this mandate for sustainable excellence in an ever-changing world a reality."

From readers

What readers are saying on Amazon

★★★★★ Verified five-star reviews from early readers.

★★★★★

A book that should be on every CXO's desk

"What resonates most are the three ideas Julie shares: psychological safety before scale, influence over authority, and culture as competitive infrastructure. This is exactly how to lead through change."

Nandeep N.

Verified reader · Amazon

★★★★★

Give this to your manager

"Averill takes a radical swing at leadership, enabling a more personable, relatable, and attainable management style. The result? An environment where mutual success becomes the norm and trust becomes the culture itself."

David

Verified reader · Amazon

★★★★★

A definite must-read

"Unparalleled thoughtfulness on leveraging technology as an accelerant, not as the strategy. The spotlight on interlocking culture and psychological safety to drive value makes it particularly groundbreaking."

Brian H.

Verified reader · Amazon

★★★★★

The biggest competitive advantage is still human leadership

"Julie makes a compelling case that real organizational change depends more on people, culture, and trust than on technology alone. The kind of leadership book you'll reference long after you finish it."

James D.

Verified reader · Amazon

★★★★★

Storytelling at its finest

"Julie has an amazing storytelling quality. Her vulnerability and real-life examples keep readers engaged because of how relatable she makes it all feel. Run, don't walk, to get your copy."

Brandi G.

Verified reader · Amazon

★★★★★

A timely reminder that people come first

"Thoughtful, practical, and refreshingly honest, blending personal stories with lessons that feel relevant whether you're leading a team, an organization, or simply navigating change."

Fiona D.

Verified reader · Amazon