Speakers
Chairman:
Tom Fender
Development Director, TWC
Tom will once again chair #ThinkSmart, having presided over the first two events. He is Development Director for specialist data insight consultancy TWC and has a wealth of experience of leading specialist companies to sustainable growth, particularly in the wholesale and retail sectors.
As co-owner of the research firm HIM! Research and Consulting, Tom was pivotal in the growth of the firm between 1997 and 2012, before it was acquired by William Reed Business Media.
In 2013, Tom invested in start-up e-learning firm Bolt Learning and led the sales and marketing effort as investor/director before the company was bought by private equity firm Aliter Capital in early 2019.
Kristine Moore
Retail Technology Channel Manager, Henderson Technology
Kristine will be discussing the central role that technology plays for Northern Ireland-based Henderson Group, one of the only companies on earth that actually uses and develops its own solutions in its own stores.
Centred around its EDGEPoS system, Henderson Technology has developed a suite of innovative tech and data solutions which are available to the wider market including self-checkout, home delivery solutions, comprehensive loyalty schemes, food to go management solutions and advanced analytics options.
All integrate seamlessly with the core EDGEPoS system and offer retailers plug and play access to solutions that can help transform their businesses.
Colin Munro
Managing Director, Miconex
Colin has been Managing Director of Miconex for the past nine years, working with towns and cities across the UK on a wide range of projects designed to help business communities engage with local consumers.
Over the past four years he has worked to develop with Mastercard prepay programmes, developing town and city gift cards as a new product for place managers and successfully delivering programmes with over 30 UK towns/cities. There have now been over £1m of cards sold across the live programmes.
Colin has also led the development of ‘Mi‘ Rewards, the UK’s first card-linked Smart City loyalty programme.
“Towns and cities can learn a lot from succesful pure-play online retailers, we need to become obsessed about data, understanding our customers and personalisation.”
Gordon Neil
Strategy and Marketing Director, McCurrach
Gordon has been helping brands build and implement the right strategy to sell more in field sales and marketing for over 20 years.
He will talk about MyStore+, an innovative new app launched in partnership with News UK, that aims to bring brands and local retailers closer together than ever before to deliver business growth for all.
MyStore+ enables retailers to access category advice to help them stock the right products and planogram their space to maximise sales. Retailers can also then access exclusive offers and rewards from brands for executing activity in their store and for sharing that insight with brands.
David Morgan
Consultant,WiseShelf
David has over 37 years’ experience, across 30 countries, in the retail and consumer goods markets.
He has been involved with a wide range of solutions including shopper engagement, electronic shelf displays and digital coupons.
David will talk about WiseShelf’s smart shelving that uses light sensor technology to improve stock availability, replenishment efficiency and planogram accuracy.
Asim Sarwar
Executive Chairman, United Wholesale Scotland
Asim will discuss UWS’s ground-breaking new programme of technology and innovation-driven activity currently taking place in both the wholesaler’s flagship depot and with its retailers. The depot is being transformed with the installation of digital shelf edge technology and enormous digital signage that will help improve both the customer experience and the efficiency of the business. Under discussion will also be new initiatives set to enhance the performance of UWS’s retail partners including a comprehensive plug-and-play home delivery service.
Blake Gladman
Strategy & Insight Director – KAM Media
A regular speaker at SLR events, Blake will bring KAM Media’s uniquely creative approach to the world of technology, data and innovation. KAM Media specialise in tailored, targeted research with a particular focus on convenience retailing and Blake’s entertaining insight and analysis is always worth hearing.
Steve Lintott
Head of Field Sales – JUUL Labs
From a standing start in 2015, just four years ago, JUUL Labs has grown faster than almost any business in history and is now one of the world’s largest tech companies with a valuation of around $15bn.
Steve will be discussing the primary role that technology plays in JUUL’s business and will talk about its latest hi-tech developments including C1, a world-first mobile app-driven solution that allows users to monitor their consumption and allows them to lock their JUUL device to prevent anyone but the owner using it.
Host: Antony Begley
Publishing Director, SLR
Antony will deliver the introduction and welcome to this month’s #ThinkSmart3 event. He is Managing Director of SLR publisher 55 North and has over 25 years’ experience in the publishing, media and events industry and over 20 years’ experience in the local retailing sector, including five years as a retailer. 55 North publishes a range of multi-award winning magazines and also produces a number of major magazines under contract for some of the largest businesses in the UK food and drink sector.