Judging Panel

Simon has 10 years of experience working across FMCG, retail and media; most recently with one of the largest media organisations in the world, Comcast NBC Universal.

Simon has been the commercial lead for a multi-channel UK e-commerce retailer, an international direct-to-consumer (D2C) & e-commerce business, global media rights licensing, and a UK business development retail organisation.  He has managed multi-disciplinary teams in large, complex organisations and has been at the forefront of innovation and organisational change.

Currently, Simon helps lead the Commerce practice at frog, a part of Capgemini Invent. The Commerce team help organisations operationalise and optimise our client’s customer touchpoints and functions, through leading class technology and new ways of working.

Helen has more than 15 years of eCommerce experience and is Founder and CEO of Dotty Fish. Under Helen’s dynamic leadership Dotty Fish has grown into a market leading eCommerce baby shoe company.

She has developed a vast wealth of experience with cross border trade and Marketplace selling and was a finalist for the NatWest Everywomen Awards in 2020 recognising female entrepreneurs.

The company continues to successfully expand into new markets, with a strong focus on customer retention and sustainability. As Helen always says, “you can never have too many shoes!”

Paul is the Managing Partner for Econsultancy – a world class, learning platform that helps leading global organisations achieve Ecommerce & digital marketing excellence. In this multi-faceted role, he is accountable for developing and nurturing senior client relationships, generating new business and meeting global revenue and profitability targets for the largest Enterprise clients.

Paul is also the Managing Partner for Xeim Engage which is the umbrella commercial organisation that integrates the Xeim portfolio of brands including Marketing Week, Mini MBA in Marketing, Influencer Intelligence and the Festival of Marketing. His role is to understand senior clients high level L&D needs and design integrated solutions that draw on the multiple talents of the Xeim network.

Prior to this role Paul worked for Brand Learning Accenture helping leading clients accelerate Marketing performance. As well as 11 years in consultancy, Paul draw’s on over 20 years’ experience growing international brands as a senior operational marketer with Diageo and Nestle in the UK, South Africa, Singapore and Middle East, North Africa.

In 2020 Paul was recognised as one of the top 100 most influential, pioneering and ground-breaking people in the digital/tech industry by the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA). Paul is also a member of the Econsultancy Digital Advisory Board – a leading thinktank for global Digital Leaders.

Debbie pioneers transformational business growth through people-first, technology solutions.

 Debbie established Social Commerce+, an innovative new practice designed to help brands accelerate purchase and business growth by connecting commerce to social.  Key clients are Diageo and Microsoft Store.

 Last year, Debbie launched Global Gen Z research across 5 cities in markets that have some of the fastest growing economies and highest Gen Z populations, giving clients an insight into how this powerful demographic places such importance on the purpose and values of brands and its influence on their buying behavior.

 She also most recently launched The Home of Connected Brands.  Situated in the WPP Sea Containers UK campus and covering over 300m², the space helps clients reimagine what it takes to build successful brands today through best-in-class brand, customer and creative commerce experiences.

 Debbie has been named a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Top 100 Chief Digital Officer 2022 – celebrating leadership, business acumen and digital innovation; a Top Ten Inspirational Leader in 2021/ HSBC Ethnicity Awards, a Yahoo Finance/EMpower Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model in 2021 and 2020. She has led many of the DE&I initiatives resulting in VMLY&R Commerce UK being named Diversity & Inclusion Company of the Year 2021 by The Drum

Lee is leading the digital transformation at Assa Abloy group within EMEIA. AA is a Swedish conglomerate who are the Global leader in access solutions. Made up of over 190 different brands with household favorites like Yale, August and Union. Their product offerings cover locks, doors, gates, entrance automation and includes controlling identities with keys, cards, tags, mobile and bio-metric identity systems.

A veteran of retail & ecommerce with over 20+ years of leading some of the UK’s brands online. Where he has driven significant technology change and revenue growth.

Before ASSA ABLOY, Lee has held Ecommerce Director roles at Evans Cycles, Wickes and spent many years at Schuh leading their online charge.

Lee-Anne is the Marketing Director at Savile Row Company — a family-run business that provides luxury clothing and an exceptional level of customer service. It was established in 1938 by her grandfather.

Leading the brand’s growth strategy through customer acquisition, retention and experience optimisation, she manages and creates appropriate content for a variety of channels using innovative strategies that have a strong story to tell.

A passionate retail marketing specialist, Lee-Anne has 18 years’ experience delivering customer growth across retail and fashion. She previously worked at John Lewis in the marketing team, where she held various management roles across Fashion, Beauty, Brand and Electrical.

Her harmonious leadership style and excellent team building abilities have seen the Savile Row team develop and grow exponentially. She has helped introduce new perceptions of what customer service is, alongside a strong commercial focus on balancing the need for growth alongside profit.

Lee-Anne brings new ideas, while retaining all the lessons and values learnt from the previous generations: loyalty, service, value, environment, pastoral care and employee development.

Komal is an award-winning Fractional CMO and has over 20 years of experience in email, martech,and digital marketing. Previously VP Marketing at Pure360, Komal now spearheads the Go-to-Market, Retention, and Brand strategies for many B2B, eCommerce, and Travel businesses and agencies.

A passionate email marketer, Komal is also Chair of the DMA Email Council. As a key industry thought leader and events speaker, Komal is sub Editor @ The Modern Retail and writes for many other publications including Forbes. She is also the judge at many prestigious awards including the DMA Awards & eCommerce Awards.

Komal’s passion to support greater diversity in the workplace is the driving force behind her commitment to mentoring individuals in the industry, she is also Brand Ambassador for Women in Tech forum, the co-founder of Email Mentors, and a Mentor @The Girls Network. She has been nominated for many awards and was proud to win Corporate Woman of the Year ’19 at the Business Woman’s Excellence Awards and to be awarded a Top 50 CX Star accolade in 2022.

John Horsley, CEO, Demand Exchange, Director of London Research is the founder of Digital Doughnut and Digital Marketing, the fifth largest group on LinkedIn.

With over 25 years’ experience in the marketing industry, John has witnessed the industry transform from the inception of the internet to today’s bustling marketplace.

John is highly influential in the world of marketing and regularly judges both marketing and technology awards. Both the British Interactive Media Association and Drum magazine have ranked John as one of the top 100 people in the UK’s digital industry, while business magazine Fast Company listed John in their top 50 most influential people on the web.

Branwell Johnson is Director of Content at Propeller Group, an agency that provides PR, Content and Business Development for companies in retail, marketing and related technologies.

In the past 18 months he has driven content projects that have sparked business conversations for clients ranging from Japanese credit card company JCB to Google Shopping specialist Bidnamic and ‘Extended Reality’ tech company Sindy XR.

He is a frequent chair of sessions at Ecommerce Expo and Technology For Marketing.

A seasoned judge, UK eCommerce SAAS pioneer, Shiran Liyanage, has been synonymous with ‘best practice’ – generating exceptional customer loyalty and sustainable growth by joining the dots across the ecommerce stream, from pre-purchase, to final doorstep delivery and beyond.

A media spokesman and innovator since the very early days of the internet, Shiran has helped found and grow 6 tech innovators, devised and launched over 50 products, both as a serial entrepreneur (he sold his first start-up in his mid-twenties), and in senior roles at brands such as Virgin, Thompson Reuters, Reply and MetaPack. Shiran was the publisher of the UK’s bestselling Internet Shoppers’ Guides series and also instrumental in the setup of IDIS, the industry’s good practice charter for internet shopping delivery introduced by the IMRG, which was based on an award-winning initiative he launched for Virgin (and a trailblazer of today’s platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce) which helped over 12,000 businesses trade online. Shiran is also a Digital Investment Strategist for Endava plc.

Dean McElwee is the Director for Global eCommerce Collaboration at The Stanley Black & Decker Company. His remit covers Retail eCommerce, both omnichannel and marketplaces, B2B eCommerce and Direct Consumer. As an experienced commercial leader, Dean has a proven track record of designing and implementing innovative growth strategies that not only drive performance but also higher engagement and profit. He has successfully led business initiatives across Sales Leadership, Retail Consulting and eCommerce. His experience of having worked both in Africa and Europe and across multiple regions gives him a unique insight into working with countries in various stages of business development.

Before joining The Stanley Black & Decker Company, Dean held roles at The Kelloggs Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Mastercard Advisors and Nestle. He has blended his strong commercial background with a keen understanding of eCommerce, Analytics and Strategy

Andy has worked at the heart of the online retail industry since 2010 – researching and producing reports on trends and developments affecting the sector. During that time, Andy has developed strong knowledge in multiple areas of online retail, with particular expertise in Black Friday. Andy is also a frequent conference speaker and media commentator.

With 20 years’ digital retail experience across a number of blue chip retailers working both client-side and supplier-side, Nadine specialises in helping brands and retailers maximise online and offline trading opportunities through cross-channel integration, effective consumer marketing and “customer keeping”.

In 2015 Nadine took up the position of e-commerce and CRM director at Moët Hennessy, bringing the worlds’ finest wines and spirits direct to consumer, before joining Hobbs as its customer director at the end of 2016.

In 2018 she became e-commerce director for Sunday Times Fast Track accredited Revolution Beauty before taking up the helm as interim digital director at fashion giant Ted Baker in 2019.

As interim chief customer officer of 20-year old luxury makeup brand ByTerry she most recently led the brand into a major digital transformation through the challenging times of a global pandemic. Nadine is now independently advising a range of retail brands and start-ups.

Martin started his career working in his late Father’s retail optical practices doing marketing and customer experience. Which is a passion he has pursued throughout his entire career.

Martin has leveraged his 40 years of experience working in consumer sectors heading up the multichannel operations of some of the world’s leading brands including Burberry, Intersport, Pentland Brands (Speedo, Berghaus), Harrods and Ted Baker to author the bestselling books 100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience, and The Power of Customer Experience.

His thought leadership has seen him create a mini MBA in customer centricity that he delivers with his partner, the Oxford College of Marketing and Oxford College of leadership and management.

Following his career in the consumer sector, Martin founded and scaled a global ecommerce and digital consultancy Practicology to 100 people with offices across the UK, EU, Middle East and Asia, and subsequently sold in 2018 to the US company, Pattern.

These days he goes by the title of the ‘Consumer Champion’ and he appears regularly on the BBC, on Sky, and Channel 5 to discuss various consumer issues relating to the retail, travel and restaurant sectors.

He is also a Non-Executive Chairman of the Scout Store, Chair of the regional advisory board for eshopworld, is a board advisor to Afterpay (Clearpay), a board advisor to Marketplacer, and is a Trustee of In Kind Direct. He is also a member of the prestigious KPMG IPSOS Retail Think Tank.

Amongst Martin’s many accolades, he has featured in various industry leader lists including Retail Week’s top 50 eTail Power List, Retail Insiders top 100 Retail Movers & Shakers and the RTIH top 100 technology influencers for a number of years consecutively.

Martin judges numerous industry awards such as the eCommerce Awards, World Retail Awards, the Customer Experience awards, the Retail Insider awards, the RTIH innovation awards and the Great British Entrepreneur awards.

Will heads up Propeller Group’s Commerce practice and is responsible for building the profile and profit of tech solutions companies across the retail technology spectrum. Will and his team are adept at blending brand building PR, targeted lead gen, Account Based Marketing tactics and content creation with creativity and storytelling to drive growth for clients like Shopware, Salsify, Global-e, Bidnamic, Perfect Corp and Maze.

Aynsley has worked in the online & digital sector for over 20 years and has worked on Hybris/SAP, Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Magento E-commerce platforms to drive online sales and improve website customer experience.

After seven years at Cox & Cox as E-commerce Director, Aynsley has joined The Pixel as Head of Growth where he will focus on E-commerce consultancy, CRO initiatives, helping retailers drive online sales and helping retailers improve CX.

Matt is Chief Marketing Officer at The Cotswold Company, a homewares retailer that designs and makes timeless products that last a lifetime.

Matt, a passionate customer and marketing expert, has 17 years of experience delivering customer growth across retail and fashion and serves as an advisory partner to multiple brands in the D2C space.

Before joining The Cotswold Company board, Matt held marketing leadership roles at made.com, Net-A-Porter and Sainsbury’s Argos.

Matt is an advocate for ISBA as Chair of the Future Operating Model group and an active mentor for emerging talent in media through Bloom and MentorForGrowth.

Tim Ryan has managed Digital for Seasalt since 2020, and, prior to that, has over 12 years in a number of roles across multiple verticals both in house and agency side. His current responsibilities includes building and driving the digital agenda for Seasalt with responsibility for digital trade, digital marketing, user experience, development and innovation, eCommerce Operations and digital analytics, all with a view to helping to drive the development new online business development opportunities and delivering a best in class omni channel customer experience.

Leading multichannel, Ecommerce and marketing professional at senior leadership level across numerous verticals. Previously CEO for WoolOvers, Omnichannel Director for Moss Bros, Marketing and Ecommerce Director for M & M Direct, Ecommerce Director for Otto Group and Shop Direct.

Named in the top 50 Ecommerce professionals, 2016 movers and shakers and winner of numerous Ecommerce and marketing awards including Drapers overall gold award.

Entropy is a hybrid business consultancy and agency specialising in eCommerce and digital media. Immediately before setting it up Alex was the Media & Marketing Services Director at Unilever. He has also worked client-side in a variety of senior digital and ecommerce leadership roles including at American Express and Kellogg’s.

Chief Commercial Officer at Vivobarefoot, Paul is digitally native with 15 years of Ecommerce and Digital experience, and is Chief Commercial Officer at Vivobarefoot.

Pauls current remit and focus is across international trade and channel optimisation, internal and customer facing technology innovation, and exploration of IR4.0 to enhance customer journey and experience.

Prior to his time at Vivo, Paul worked in the central E-commece function for Dixons Retail and Commercial Trading team for Carphone Warehouse.

Michelle is a catalyst for innovative growth. Today she is leading and integrating Commerce expertise across VMLY&R’s brand and customer experience offering.

Her leadership is transforming how the business delivers client growth through connected commerce opportunities– laser focused on behaviour change powered by new product and service offerings. The UK agency’s connected brand offering is leading the industry – with VMLY&R recently named Integrated Agency of The Year by industry influencer Campaign.

Recent UK launches include a Commercial Planning Suite, Consultancy practice, Social Commerce+ practice and an Inclusive Experience practice, all adopted across the global network.

Diageo, The Coca-Cola Company, LYCRA , The LEGO Group work with the agency at scale with briefs for innovation around new customer acquisition, looking for new ways to connect with audiences in more relevant ways.

Michelle’s passion and commitment to a diverse and equal business for everyone saw VMLY&R UK named a Top 25 Employer by Investing in Ethnicity 2022, and Diversity & Inclusion Company of the Year 2021.

Helping to shape the future of our industry, Michelle sits on the Executive Board of WACL She is a member of WPP UK’s advisory board and WPP Stella, VMLY&R COMMERCE’s global operations board, and Ecommerce Expo’s advisory board. Her views are regularly sought by the media including BBC, CNBC, Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Catalyst, The Drum, Modern Retail, The Grocer.

Direct responsibility for all aspects of the digital customer experience and driving sales digitally through all channels – eCommerce, Retail and Wholesale. Responsible for the EMEA E-Commerce business unit P&L.

Providing strategy and direction for developing and implementing omni-channel initiatives, striving to create seamless cross-channel experiences for consumers within EMEA utilising CRM tools and digital products.