Speakers

Speakers include:

• Jen Stewart, Senior Manager, HR Operations, Global, Jimmy Choo

Jen is an HR leader with 10+ years’ experience in the luxury fashion and retail space. Her approach focuses on creating sustainable, scalable solutions that support both immediate business needs and long-term organisational growth. She is committed to driving operational excellence through continuous improvement, consistency in process and a passion for implementing ways of working that enable company goals. Previously holding positions at companies including PVH, River Island, and Kurt Geiger, Jen specialises in designing and implementing strategic HR operational initiatives that deliver measurable business impact.

• Romain Roulleau, Digital and Ecommerce Director, Kingfisher

As Group Digital and Ecommerce Director at Kingfisher, Romain is responsible for leading all marketplace, retail media, ecommerce and innovation activity within the group and its banner brands. Prior to his current role, Romain spent five years as Chief Marketing, Digital and Customer Officer at Castorama, one of the leading home improvement retailers in France, driving the brand’s digital strategy and ecommerce growth. He has also previously held a number of senior digital and ecommerce roles within the travel industry globally, over the course of more than a decade, including as Senior Vice President Digital and ecommerce at AccorHotels, one of the world's largest hotel groups.

• Gillian Connor, Director of Marketing Operations, Seasalt

From Waitrose to M&S and Boden to Seasalt Cornwall, Gillian’s career journey has centred on iconic British retail brands that share a passion for focusing on customers to create value and drive profitable business growth. Designing and developing differentiated experiences, campaigns, content and communities through a blend of data science and creativity to influence how customers feel and behave. 

• David Titman, Marketing Director, Who Gives A Crap

David Titman is the Marketing Director at Who Gives A Crap. He first joined the company in 2022 and has supported the business with marketing across the entire consumer journey. Recently, he’s supported the business with its first listing in 247 Tesco stores and online. He is an experienced marketer in the FMCG category, previously working at McVitie’s and Unilever. 

• Sathya Nandakumar, Chief Technology Officer, Holland & Barrett

Sathya Nandakumar is the chief technology officer at Holland & Barrett with a remit to lead the tech transformation of the business, taking them from a well-known 150-year-old retailer to a global health and wellness business with tech and data at the heart of everything they do. With over two decades of experience driving strategic digital transformation and fostering innovation within complex organisational landscapes, Sathya has a proven track record of building scalable, future-ready digital solutions and empowering high-performing engineering teams. Her expertise spans omni-channel strategy, multi-channel transformation, and the strategic leveraging of both in-house capabilities and external partnerships to deliver significant business value. 

Throughout her career, Sathya has been instrumental in leading turnaround initiatives, and she is recognised for her ability to manage diverse stakeholder environments and drive substantial digital growth. Her leadership philosophy emphasises a human-centered approach, focusing on nurturing talent and creating environments where continuous improvement and empowerment thrive. This commitment to people and purpose was notably recognised when she was a finalist for the Tech Transformation Lead of the Year by the Women in IT Awards in 2018, and she has also been nominated twice 2024 and 2025 in the SheCanCode Female chief technology officer of the year. 

She brings her technical acumen, collaborative spirit, and values-led approach to governance in her current role, aiming to contribute to purpose-driven missions and ensure digital platforms are accessible, empowering, and fit for the growth of Holland and Barrett. 

• Tamara Rajah, MBE, Chief Executive, Wellness Solutions, and Chief Transformation Officer, Holland & Barrett

Tamara is the chief executive of Holland & Barrett Wellness Solutions, which includes the development of H&B&Me, a personal digital wellness companion that will help people build the most important healthy habits to optimise their day-to-day wellness and prevent longer-term ill health. She is also the chief transformation officer, leading the transformation of the Holland & Barrett Group towards an ambitious vision of adding quality years to life for millions of people globally, and runs the Science, Strategy, Transformation, ESG and Corporate Affairs teams. 

Tamara previously ran Live Better With, a consumer healthcare platform that improved the quality of life for millions of people living with chronic health conditions. Prior to that she was a partner at McKinsey, where she spent over a decade in the healthcare practice in the UK and US.  

Tamara currently holds non-executive director roles at the world’s largest building society, Nationwide, and at Parkrun Global, the world’s largest (and simplest) health and wellbeing movement. 

Tamara is widely recognised, having received multiple highly regarded accolades, not least an MBE for services to Technology and Entrepreneurship in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours. She was also recognised by Management Today’s ‘35 under 35’, The Wharton School’s ‘40 under 40’, The Sunday Times’ Maserati 100, BusinessInsider UK’s Tech 100 and Computer Weekly’s Top 50 Influential Women in Tech. 

• Vidya Laxman, Technology Director, Tesco

Vidya Laxman is a prominent figure in the technology sector, currently serving as the director of Tesco Technology for Retail and Store Platform across UK, Central Europe and Republic of Ireland.  

Vidya's career path is marked by significant achievements and leadership roles. Vidya's career further progressed when she became the chief operating officer at ThoughtWorks Studios from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, she joined Tesco Technology, where she has held various roles, including head of retail and store platform for all channels and global IT transformation leader.  

In her current role as the director of Tesco Technology, Vidya is responsible for overseeing the technology operations across Tesco's retail and store platforms. She plays a crucial role in strategic planning, building high-performing teams, and driving innovation within the organisation. Vidya's leadership extends beyond her immediate responsibilities, as she is also the global sponsor of diversity across Tesco's operations in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, UK, and India. 

Vidya's contributions to Tesco and the broader technology industry are supported by tangible, measurable evidence. For example, under her leadership, there has been a 3% increase in the survey on "improved inclusivity/diversity" within her portfolio.  

Vidya has been a driving force in championing women in the industry through numerous impactful initiatives. She has led and sponsored Tesco's ‘Women in Technology’ pillar, spearheading key programmes like enhanced maternity and paternity policies, expanded support during maternity, and the ‘Return of Women’ programme to ease re-entry into the workforce.  

In addition to her role in corporate initiatives, Vidya actively mentors and empowers women both within and outside Tesco.  

In summary, Vidya Laxman's leadership at Tesco is characterised by her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, her strategic vision, and her dedication to empowering women in the technology industry. Her contributions have not only driven innovation and growth within Tesco but have also had a lasting impact on the broader tech community. 

• Andy Barratt, Head of Retail Media, Currys 

Andy has been a part of the Currys team since 2010, leading the development of its analytics and marketing teams. He has led the creation of Currys’ retail media offering, Currys Connected Media, over the last two years and is now building out the team to create a best-in-class proposition for brands.  

Prior to Currys, he led the online advertising team at Tesco.com and established new businesses at Amazon, including the Consumer Electronics store in 2001. 

• Nicola Harrison, Commercial Content Director, Retail Week

As commercial content director, Nicola leads Retail Week's growing content marketing business Connect. Her team produces intelligent and timely thought leadership content for a range of big clients such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft through products including comprehensive reports and live and virtual events. Nicola’s job is to ensure quality content across all of Connect’s output and to lead on product development, while ensuring Connect hits its quarterly revenue targets. She chairs panels, speaks at events and delivers client presentations. Nicola has 14 years experience as a business journalist. She has held positions including news editor and content editor at Retail Week, during which time she led the editorial team to a digital-first approach. Nicola joined the Connect team in 2017.

Muk joined The Very Group in 2019 as a lead product manager and is now head of digital product. With nearly 15 years of experience across startups and large-scale retailers, he brings deep expertise in driving digital innovation and creating seamless, customer-focused experiences. At Very, Muk leads the digital product strategy, shaping the future of online retail for over four million customers. Before this, he made a significant impact at Tesco and Pets at Home, enhancing digital experiences and delivering meaningful change for customers. Muk’s journey reflects his passion and commitment to creating experiences that truly make a difference for customers. 

Adam is the Head of Retail Media at Iceland Foods, where he leads the supermarket’s first in-house retail media team. Formerly a Category Trading Manager, Adam was promoted to spearhead Iceland’s strategic expansion into digital advertising and in-store media. Adam's role involves overseeing both physical and online advertising initiatives, ensuring that Iceland delivers a best-in-class service to its clients. His team is central to Iceland’s efforts to modernise its retail experience and compete with other major UK supermarkets in the rapidly growing retail media space. 

Alfie leads the technology, cyber security and transformation functions across the brands. 
 
He has 20 years of experience in retail and consulting, most of which has been spent driving meaningful change and transformation at retailers such as Compass Group, Tesco, Selfridges, and Charlotte Tilbury following a period at EY. Alfie is passionate about shaping the future of iconic brands and has a proven track record of leading successful transformation, particularly in enhancing digital customer experiences, building new propositions, and streamlining operations. 

AllSaints' transformation vision is focused on transforming the customer experience across all channels, unlocking the power of data and AI, driving innovation and running towards transparency, which is essentially about giving customers full visibility of every part of the business and the efforts it is making to be the most inclusive fashion brand in the world. 

Katherine is responsible for executing retail strategy, both in the UK and internationally, with a particular focus on store development. Katherine helps to oversee and drive Matalan’s culture, ensuring the business is customer-first and colleague led. She is also a member of the executive board. 

Katherine is an experienced retail leader, having spent her career in operational roles across the retail, speciality, and hospitality sectors. She is highly skilled in delivering strategic growth projects, cost efficiency plans, and accelerating people strategies, while maintaining focus on the customer experience, as is fundamental to Matalan’s current transformation programme.  

Katherine joined Matalan in July 2023 from Paperchase, where she was Global Retail Director. Prior to this, Katherine served as Chief Operating Officer at Tebay motorway services, before which she led the Operations team at Pets at Home, supporting the company and its colleagues as it transitioned from family-owned to private equity-funded, before becoming a listed business. Katherine’s other retail experience includes M&S, where she spent nearly two decades, and George at Asda, where she worked during the era of its rapid expansion with Walmart.