The 2013 judging panel will include:
Christine Bardwell, Research Manager, IDC Retail Insights EMEABiography:
Christine Bardwell is IDC Retail Insights’ research manager for EMEA. In this position, she manages IDC Retail Insights' research in for the retail store, channel and consumer strategies program. She also provides consulting and advisory support to retail end-user organizations, as well as to IT vendors serving the retail industry. Bardwell has developed extensive insight into retail technologies, but specifically consumer facing technologies used by retailers, both instore and online. She is an expert in ecommerce and mcommerce markets and technologies, as well as social shopping and augmented reality. Her specialist knowledge also extends to back-end systems and an understanding of multichannel retail processes, technologies and integration. Bardwell has nearly 10 years' experience researching the technology sector in Europe. Prior to joining IDC, she worked as a senior analyst managing the retail technology research stream for Ovum, (part of the Datamonitor Group), and as a research manager for IT Europa.
Gary Lynch, Chief Executive, GS1 UKBiography:
Gary joined GS1 UK in 2002 and in 2007, the supervisory board appointed him Chief Executive. As CEO, Gary is responsible for leading the formulation and successful implementation of our strategic plan. Gary is a member of the GS1 Advisory Council, GS1 in Europe Board and a member of the GDSN Board of Governors. Before joining GS1, Gary was Avaya’s eBusiness Director, responsible for the international deployment of their CRM systems for their business partners. He has also worked in senior marketing and business development positions at UUNET (a global network provider) and eLogistics (an online logistics marketplace).
Nick Mason, Head of Project Delivery, The White CompanyBiography:
I've worked in IT for my entire 14 year career and experienced three retailers with very different approaches to software delivery. I have a passion for delivering high-quality, usable IT solutions that meet the business requirements and deliver real benefit. My IT career started in 1999 when I joined the John Lewis Partnership on their IT Graduate Scheme. This provided me with an excellent grounding in software development with regular training programmes covering soft skills, waterfall methodology, analysis techniques, software design & development and testing skills. I worked for the Waitrose side of the business for seven years. Having joined as a programmer I transferred to become a business analyst working on a three-year project to upgrade their EPOS to PCMS Vision Beanstore. This project involved three phases of analysis and software delivery to support the different Waitrose store formats: Standard, Eateries and Food & Home. After Waitrose, I relocated to the City of London as a business analyst for an Insurance Software Provider delivering to the London Insurance Market. Missing the buzz of the Retail industry I transferred back to my roots after a year to take on a business analysis role for Alliance Boots. During this role I was gained my first exposure to Dynamics NAV. My primary project was a store replenishment solution for pharmaceutical products within the Alliance Pharmacy side of the business, with an objective of reducing the store stock holding by £23m – approx. £10,000/store. In 2009 I had the good fortune to be offered a job at The White Company a week before they implemented their Dynamics ERP solution. I was the first business analyst to work for the company and during the first three years I delivered numerous projects, working with K3 and the internal development team, including: Product Costing Review, Customer De-duplication, Warehouse HHT Picking and Offers & Promotions Upgrades. During my time at The White Company I have learnt the nuts and bolts of how a multi-channel Retail business operates, from product design through customer recruitment, order placement, fulfilment and accounting. There are few parts of the business that I have not gained exposure to in my time here; it has been like an on the job MBA! In April 2012 I took on a brand new role at The White Company of Head of Project Delivery. I now have a team of 5 permanent and 5 contract BAs, PMs, and Testers working for me. We have a large project portfolio to support the company’s five year growth strategy. During the 2012/2013 financial year we delivered the biggest IT programme in The White Company’s history with 10 major projects and 25+ system enhancements. The 2013/2014 programme will be bigger still with 20 major projects on the list, including a new eCommerce Platform, HR System and Merchandise Planning System. It is a great time to be at The White Company, working with this passionate and friendly team.
Hayley Meenan-Wilkin, Head of Web Operations, Tesco.comBiography:
Hayley Meenan-Wilkin heads up the Web Operations Team for Tesco.com, a Retail Multi-Channel Professional with a broad range of experience across an impressive selection of Retail functions including, E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Multi channel Merchandise Planning, Buying, Operations, & and Supply chain management. Hayley combines this experience with extensive knowledge of world class Retail systems solutions and Industry leading best practice which spans many segments of the Retail industry such as fashion, grocery, hardware & FMCG sectors. She has worked for many major Retail brands including Next, Burton, Principles, Thresher, River Island & Tesco.
Paul Rodgers, Chairman - VendorcomBiography:
Paul is Chairman and Founder of Vendorcom, the Cards & Payments Community. Prior to setting up Vendorcom in 2003, Paul spent over 15 years in the retail and consumer products sectors with roles in buying, production control and logistics management. Subsequent consulting, marketing and business development roles with KPMG Management Consulting and Oracle Corporation, have added skills in IT implementation and project management. Paul is passionate about cards and payments, particularly promoting innovation, ensuring that thought leadership is recognised, and that all stakeholders in the industry have access to authoritative information on new developments, standards and regulation. Paul is recognised for his independence, authority and pragmatism in dealing with the wide range of issues facing the retail and payments industries and is a regular contributor to industry journals and national press on topical issues. He has chaired and spoken at many cards and payments conferences and generally facilitates knowledge sharing and resolution of challenging issues in the industry. Paul is responsible for taking Vendorcom in the direction that both members and the industry as a whole will benefit from. This requires him to be aware of all of the pressing industry issues and helping predict where the industry is, or could, be heading. Ensuring Vendorcom is recognised as the authoritative source of cards and payments information right across Europe is an ongoing part of his work.
Nadine Sharara, Head of eCommerce, Thomas PinkBiography:
With over 7 years ecommerce experience across a number of blue chip retailers working both client side and supplier side, Nadine specialises in helping retailers maximise online trading opportunities through cross-channel integration. Specialities include Internationalisation, Technology, Merchandising, CRM, Email, Mobile, Social and Digital Advertising. Nadine has held numerous positions essentially responsible for the optimization of existing business as well as future proofing and achieving significant LFL growth. She is passionate about cross-channel commerce and the financial gains it brings to businesses today and enjoys being involved with leading industry networks and staying abreast of best practice and benchmarking.