Speakers

Danny Emmett, Chief Executive, Cloud Nine

Danny is the CEO of Cloud Nine, a leading hair and beauty brand, known for its premium hairstyling tools. Based in Harrogate, Cloud Nine operates through direct-to-consumer ecommerce and retail partnerships across the UK, Australia, and Europe. Cloud Nine is championing the healthy hairstyling revolution and has ambitious global growth plans. 

Before joining Cloud Nine, Danny spent nearly 15 years at AO, where most recently he was Chief Operating Officer. He significantly contributed to the company's growth by enhancing customer service, achieving a net promoter score of 85 while driving cost efficiency. 

Kari Rodgers, UK Retail Director, Primark  

Over the last nine years at Primark, Kari’s role has revolved around driving strong UK store performance, starting first in the North West of England before being responsible for the entire UK business. Before this, she held senior regional and international roles at Debenhams, making up over 20 years of retail and store experience. Beyond her work, Kari lives with her husband and two daughters by the sea in North Wales where they enjoy spending time outdoors, cycling, horse riding and doing water sports. 

Kathryn Imrie, Chief Consumer Officer, Pets at Home 

Kathryn joined Pets at Home as Chief Consumer Officer following 18 years at TV and communications giant Sky. She was a key member of a team that delivered a track record of consistent growth and transformation. In her most recent former role as Chief Consumer Officer at Sky Deutschland, she helped lead the repositioning of the consumer business, implemented a data-led marketing approach and enabled the business to reach its highest-ever subscriber numbers.

At Pets at Home, Kathryn oversees the business’ consumer and omnichannel strategy through key digital, data and estate developments alongside leading the marketing, brand and communications functions. 

Andy Gale, Chief Operating Officer, Blakely 

Andy began his career by qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with top-five firm Grant Thornton. Recognising his passion for business he moved into industry shortly after qualification and has built up experience in manufacturing and retail sectors. 

Joining Blakely Clothing in 2020, Andy in tandem with the brand’s Founder, has helped take the Norfolk-based lifestyle fashion startup, to a renowned brand with a global following. During this time Andy has focused on business strategy, ecommerce, finance and customer experience. 

On target for turnover in excess of £50m in this financial year, the brand continues its significant growth trajectory in the UK and EU markets. 

Kelly Prunty, UK and Ireland Sales Director, Retail and Industrial, Genesys

Kelly Prunty, has been in the IT Industry for the last 25 years. The majority of this time has been in Dell Technologies and most recently, last two-and-a-half years in Genesys, leading the UKI Retail and Industrial Sales team.  

"What I love about the IT space is how it allows you to create a world where you drive human performance.  Technology plays a part in pretty much everything we do and being in this space where you get the opportunity to bring humans and technology together to create something that enables us to do more every day is pretty remarkable.  

"Seeing how we can be part of changing and transforming lives is what drives me every day."

Ellis Quinn, Managing Director, Victoria’s Secret 

With more than three decades of driving excellence and innovation in the retail industry, Ellis has always proven his ability to guide businesses toward their highest potential. His leadership across diverse retail environments in the UK reflects a deep understanding of customer needs and a commitment to crafting authentic, people-focused strategies.

Central to Ellis’ approach is a belief in the power of collaboration and utilising the expertise of stakeholders, an attitude that has been key to his sustained success. This collaborative spirit defines what Victoria’s Secret UK and Ireland stands for, where Ellis champions his team’s ability to bring the brand’s story and values to life. By building strong connections between the brand and its customers, his workforce ensures that Victoria’s Secret remains a globally loved leader in the lingerie industry and beyond.

Under Ellis’ leadership, Victoria’s Secret UK and Ireland is embarking on an exciting journey of evolution. It is dedicated to inspiring customers with products and experiences that celebrate women and their unique voices. Looking ahead, Ellis remains committed to driving this transformative journey, encouraging innovation and nurturing a culture of collaboration, continuous learning and shared success.

Ben Davies, Founder, Vypr

Ben is the visionary Founder of Vypr, a leading product intelligence platform revolutionising how businesses understand their target consumers through fast and cost-effective consumer insights. 

Ben's career began in the food and drink industry, where he served as a Buyer for Sainsbury's and the Co-op. His experience in these roles revealed significant gaps in the product innovation process, sparking his determination to transform the industry. This drive led Ben to establish Vypr, combining his extensive knowledge in the FMCG sector with his passion for technology to create a tool that enhances the accuracy and speed of consumer-driven product development. 

Under Ben's leadership, Vypr has become one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, with a strong presence in the European retail and grocery sectors.

Jessica Nesbitt, Vice President of Marketing, Notonthehighstreet

Jessica is an experienced leader across the customer and marketing disciplines with extensive experience in the scale-up phase of high-growth businesses and expertise across marketplaces, luxury fashion, beauty and retail. She has held roles at Debenhams and Net-a-Porter Group, and spent more than eight years as Vice President of Customer Marketing at Farfetch, where she played a pivotal role in driving customer engagement and growth.

Currently, Jessica serves as Interim Vice President of Marketing at Notonthehighstreet, where she champions innovative digital strategies. She has been instrumental in diversifying the brand’s marketing channels and evolving the brand proposition from gifting first to a lifestyle brand. 

Coco Panazza, CEO, My Wardrobe HQ

Coco brings extensive experience to her role as CEO at My Wadrobe HQ after a successful merger with Cercle, a luxury fashion rental and resale platform. With over a decade in the industry, Coco has focused on customer experience, business strategy, and growth, including B2B partnerships. 

After earning her MBA in Beijing, Coco moved to New York, where she helped emerging fashion designers enter the competitive US market. She then led the wholesale expansion of a luxury shoe brand across the EU and Asia, establishing key wholesale accounts and conducted negotiations with major department stores. 

The merger with Cercle further solidifies MWHQ's position as a leader in the fashion rental and resale market. With combined funding of $3.7m, the merged entity is poised to deliver luxury rental and resale experiences to fashion enthusiasts worldwide, under Coco's visionary leadership and focus on international expansion plans for the business. 

Hanushka Toni, Chief Executive and Founder, Sellier 

Hanushka began her career by qualifying as a solicitor at London law firm Macfarlanes. She then transitioned to the marketing sector where she advised brands on branding and strategy. She eventually became Creative Director at Relevance, a leading company in luxury brand marketing.

In 2019, Hanushka and her mother set up Sellier as a physical store for luxury super-brands after finding a gap in the market for sustainable, pre-loved designer goods. Fast-forward to today and the business has grown to include physical stores in Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Monaco, and a direct-to-consumer ecommerce site and app, setting Sellier up to make this year as successful as last. In addition, the business has recently partnered with Flannels to fulfil its vision of making luxury accessible to everyone. 

Simon Holland, Head of Technology, The Very Group 

Simon joined The Very Group in 2005 in a role overseeing the integration of the technology platforms for the Shop Direct and Littlewoods businesses. He was appointed Head of Technology for Logistics and Fulfilment in 2019. During this time, Simon has overseen the delivery of the technology that underpins the highly automated fulfilment centre Skygate, the dropship capability created by The Very Group, new technology in the two-person operations in Wrexham and the re-engineering of returns processing across the company.   

Prior to joining The Very Group, Simon worked for Sainsbury's Homebase as Operations Manager, overseeing the implementation of its first DIY website fulfilment operation. 

Suzy McClintock, VP of Grocery, Retail, Editions, Deliveroo 

With over 15 years of experience across media, consulting, and ecommerce, Suzy is Deliveroo’s VP for Grocery, Retail, its grocery dark store proposition Hop and Editions Cloud Kitchens. Her remit encompasses strategy, commercial execution and operations for these fast-growing verticals across multiple markets. Before joining Deliveroo, Suzy spent nearly five years at Amazon where she held commercial, product and strategy roles across its marketplace and grocery businesses. Her career began working in media for brands including Saatchi and Saatchi and Hat Trick Productions and this breadth of experience still informs her approach to doing business today.  

Suzy has an MA from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and an MBA from Imperial College. She is passionate about delivering innovative and customer-centric solutions that leverage technology, data, and creativity. 

Richard Lim, Chief Executive, Retail Economics 

 Richard is Chief Executive of Retail Economics, an independent economics research consultancy focused on the consumer and retail industry. He was voted as a top 10 voice on LinkedIn for sharing his insights on the retail sector, has been named a top 100 retail influencer by industry watchers and appeared in the final of The Apprentice as one of Lord Sugar’s advisors. 

Richard also sits on the strategic advisory board at the University of East Anglia’s School of Economics, ranked in the top 10 departments for economics in the UK. He has a wealth of experience in data analytics, retail insight, economics and consumer research.   

James Knowles, Head of Content Innovation, Retail Week 

James is Head of Content Innovation at Connect, Retail Week’s content marketing business. He leads the innovation strategy for the brand’s commercial content, devising new content and event products, formats and campaigns. Strategising creative solutions to meet client needs – be they brand awareness, lead generation or both – James has worked with some of the largest companies, including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and PwC. 

Leading projects from pitch to publish as project manager, James handles annual campaigns such as the flagship report Retail 2025, for which he interviews more than 40 UK CEOs every year and chairs an associated breakfast, and Retail Week’s community Clubhouses, his most recent new product launch. He personally oversees the Digital and Marketing Clubhouses. He also chairs panels, speaks at events and delivers client presentations. 

James has spent 16 years working across business trade titles, and consumer celebrity and lifestyle magazines, including Australia’s longest-running women’s and celebrity title New Idea and fashion business publication Drapers, before joining Retail Week Connect in 2017. 

Megan Dunsby, Senior Commercial Content Editor, Retail Week

Megan is Retail Week’s Senior Commercial Content Editor. A former journalist and features editor, she joined Retail Week in January 2019 to help brands leverage content to reach the people that matter in retail. Megan leads Retail Week’s flagship reports, the Retail 100 and Tech List, which recognise the most influential people in the sector and the businesses they represent. In 2018, she was named among The Drum’s 50 Under 30 Top Women in Digital. 

Jade O’Donoghue, Event Director, Retail Week 

Jade is Event Director at Retail Week and leads on the content and direction of Retail Week's flagship annual conference and awards ceremony. She has an MA and an NCTJ diploma, both in journalism, and previously worked as a writer and editor covering the education sector. 

Rebecca Taylor, Commercial Content Editor, The Grocer 

Rebecca Taylor is Commercial Content Editor at William Reed, working across publications including Retail Week and The Grocer. She is responsible for helping to grow and deliver bespoke reports and events across themes from stores and the consumer to supply chains and tech.  

Rebecca has been recognised by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) and Conference News with their respective 30 Under 30 awards and sits on the PPA’s Next Gen Board, which aims to encourage inclusivity of younger voices across the special interest media sector. 

Megan Robinson, Reporter, Retail Week 

Megan Robinson is a reporter at Retail Week. She joined in 2023 and currently covers tech, value, marketplaces and electricals. 

She was previously a junior reporter at trade publication Mobile News and has written for music, beauty and sustainability publications. 

She has a BA Hons in Journalism from Kingston University where she also worked as the arts and entertainment editor for the student newspaper.