Renée Sunde

President & CEO

The Retail Industry is experiencing significant changes – a renaissance of sorts. Retail is not going away but reinventing itself with new technologies and new consumer demands.

Renée’s vision as the new President/CEO is to position WR as the premier retail association in Washington and advocate for the well-being of the industry which will ultimately benefit members, legislators and retail around our state.

Renée has over 30-years of experience leading teams.  She has had several positions of leadership throughout the Thurston County region.  She served on the Thurston County Board of Regents, Thurston County Regional Planning Council’s Transportation Policy Board and the Thurston County Economic Development Council.  She played a key role in the development and launch of the region’s Center for Business & Innovation.

Prior to joining Washington Retail as President/CEO in late 2017, Renée was the Economic Development Director for the City of Olympia.

Every position has pointed her in the direction of Washington Retail as each included retail emphasis and community renewal locally and statewide.

Please welcome Renée.