WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation has appointed a retail technology veteran to serve as its VP retail technologies.

Effective July 2, Tom Litchford will lead and manage NRF's Association for Retail Technology Standards and the exclusive, invite-only CIO Council. He will be responsible for developing and enhancing strategic programs, activities and relationships with retail and technology communities both domestically and internationally.

Litchford comes to NRF from Microsoft, where he directed the planning, development and execution of strategic partnerships in the retail and hospitality industries. In addition to serving in various roles at Microsoft, Litchford also was director of business impact modeling for NCR's retail solutions group, where his team worked with retailers to help them understand the business impact of implementing various technologies.

Litchford — who will step into his new role as ARTS longstanding executive director Richard Mader will retire — will report to Vicki Cantrell, SVP of NRF's communities and executive director of Shop.org.