We’re still finalising our agenda and list of speakers for our 2023 event, make sure you check back here and register your interest to be kept abreast of our agenda developments.

RWB 2023 SPEAKERS

Daniel Finley

Chief Executive Officer
Debenhams

Dan joined Debenhams as Chief Executive Officer in January 2022 to digitally transform the iconic British heritage brand.
Prior to joining Debenhams, Dan spent a decade as Group Multi Channel Director at JD Sports Fashion Plc.
He delivered unprecedented multi channel growth as JD established itself at the pinnacle of the sports fashion industry, becoming a global multi channel leader and entering the FTSE 100.

    Andrew Goodacre

    CEO
    Bira

    BIRA CEO Andrew Goodacre has devoted his career to strengthening Britain’s high streets and the communities they support.
    Since taking over BIRA’s leadership in 2018, Andrew has expanded membership by nearly a third, by ensuring the needs of independent retailers are heard by government decision makers.
    Andrew has appeared before numerous parliamentary select committees to present evidence on a range of high street concerns – from the impact of the pandemic to supply chain inflation. His representations were pivotal in paving the way for the 2019 Retail Rates Discount, which greatly reduced the tax burden on smaller retailers.

      David Friedrichs

      Co-Founder and Co-CEO
      Cerqular

      David Friedrichs is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Cerqular. Cerqular is the greener, fairer and humanity-centric Goliath marketplace alternative to conventional platforms. David and his Co-Founder Janine Aeroporos founded Cerqular to connect future-focus supply and demand, on a single platform. Cerqular makes sustainable, innovative, and circular the new shopping norm by giving everyday businesses and consumers the chance to buy and sell the values that define them.

      Cerqular brings emerging, technology, gender neutral, sustainable, circular, natural and ultimately all future-focus brands to life by seamlessly connecting them with like-minded consumers who have, until now, been struggling to find brands that organically adapt to their identity, values and lifestyle.

      Available in the US, UK and launching now across Asia Pacific. Cerqular is the reset.

        Emma Jones

        Lead - Strategic Partnerships and Alliances
        Department for Business and Trade

        Emma has worked for the Department for Business & Trade for over 4.5 years, initially as International Trade Advisor and now in HQs Digital Commerce and Retail Team as Lead for Strategic Partnerships & Alliances. Emma’s background is marketing and ecommerce on the client and agency side, which is when she first started her passion for SEO over 10 years ago. As a self-proclaimed digital nerd, Emma now leads several initiatives for the teams including B2B ecommerce and digital strategy for the EU. With 20 years overseas, Emma also has first-hand experience and understanding of different cultural markets having lived in Dubai and France.

          Josh Gardner

          CEO and Co-Founder
          Kung Fu Data

          CEO and Co-Founder of Kung Fu Data, an ecommerce partner whose sole mission is to help brands thrive in China’s online marketplaces. He leads from deep in the trenches and operates a portfolio of successful flagship stores on Tmall and JD. Josh has helped hundreds of brand owners with China ecommerce launches and is a recognized expert in market entry, brand control and performance management. From strategy and structure to activation and optimisation, he teaches the fine points of what it takes to win in China’s fast moving ecommerce space.

            Robert Turner

            Partner
            Bird & Bird

            Robert Turner is a Partner in Bird & Bird’s Commercial Group and Co-Head of the International Business-to-Consumer Group. He supports clients on complex, cross-border commercial transactions, with particular expertise advising sports and consumer brand clients.
            Rob advises consumer brands in a variety of sectors when they sell to, or otherwise interact with, consumers. He advises on the international expansion of consumer products, including drafting consumer terms that comply with consumer laws in multiple international markets, designing customer journeys and reviewing and advising on marketing materials and prize promotions.

              Zoe Feller

              Partner
              Bird & Bird

              Zoe Feller is a Partner in Bird & Bird’s Tax Group, specialising in corporate, asset finance and structured finance transactions. She has particular strength in advising on the tax aspects of international matters, often coordinating teams across multiple jurisdictions. She works with clients setting up in the UK and EU, working with colleagues across Bird & Bird’s network to help clients identify the unique challenges that each jurisdiction presents and putting in place the most effective business model to ensure their brand will thrive.

                Alan Small

                Head of EMEA Business Development & Partnerships
                Wish

                Alan Small has over 10 years of experience in ecommerce, having launched his own online stores and a leading EU marketplace for students. Alan joined Wish in July 2020 to head up their EMEA Business Development & Partnership team, responsible for the growth and success of US, EMEA & LATAM merchants on Wish.

                  Thomas Panton

                  CEO
                  Canopey

                  Thomas is the founder and CEO of Canopey - the home for buying better. As a second time founder and ex-Greenpeace employee he brings a decade of experience in the climate consumer sector looking at ways to remove the barriers for individuals to make sustainable choices. During his MSc in Climate Change at the University of East Anglia, he has worked alongside some of the world’s most renowned climate scientists and he works closely with the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to advise businesses across the region on how to hit their Net Zero targets.
                  As a long time mental health advocate, and recent Muslim revert, Thomas has spent much of his time offering his own experience, knowledge, and empathy to others who are on similar journeys or experiencing similar pressures and stressors. He has spoken as part of groups to advise on high pressure roles and the impact on one’s mental health and well-being.

                    Nick Wilsher

                    Director
                    NRW Ventures

                    Nick spent 6 years at Deloitte running the Marketplace and Platforms Venture Studio. He has identified and tested B2B, B2C and Talent marketplace concepts for both Deloitte and clients alike.

                    Nick now works with ambitious leads who are developing the next stage of their business, focussing on innovation as the key to growth. This includes work on new marketplace ventures.

                      Francisco Campos

                      Chief Operations Officer
                      Onport | FARFETCH Group

                      Francisco has spent the last 6 years building, managing and optimising marketplaces, including: The Sea Collective, Overcube and The Farfetch Group. As the COO of Onport, Francisco has spent the last 2 years helping multi vendor marketplaces scale. When he’s not busy with Onport, you can find him skateboarding and surfing around Porto, Portugal.

                        Dex van Hofwegen

                        Director of Sales EMEA
                        ChannelEngine

                        Dex van Hofwegen has a background in (business) economics. He is currently in charge of the EMEA New Business team of ChannelEngine, where we help brands, distributors and retailers connect global e-commerce from Leiden (NL), Dubai (UAE) and Berlin (DE). Before that, Dex has held multiple sales and e-commerce roles in both start-ups and enterprises.

                          Al Gerrie

                          CEO and Co-Founder
                          ZigZag Global

                          Al Gerrie has over 20 years retail, logistics and ecommerce experience as a consultant to major brands and is former Head of Multichannel at OFFICE, Mountain Warehouse, and We Are Pentagon. Al was a very early pioneer in the mobile shopping space, launching one of the first PayPal mobile shopping experiences as early as 2007 (pre-smartphone). He is an expert in international delivery and returns, technical integrations, as well as building ecommerce fulfilment and warehousing solutions with 3rd Party logistics providers.

                            Pete Harris

                            CEO
                            Warehow

                            Pete has over 30 years’ experience with Argos and Sainsburys with in depth knowledge across retail, ecommerce and fulfilment. Pete has a successful track record of finding innovative and effective solutions and taking these from concept to BAU at pace. Amongst other ventures he scoped, set up and then led Argos’ clearance stores and wider clearance operations; the Argos store on eBay (taking this to the first $100m equivalent turnover eBay store in Europe) and home delivery solutions for Argos in the ROI. Pete is the CEO and operational lead for Warehow.

                              Graham Broughton

                              CEO
                              Autofixa

                              Drawing on his 10+ years in the ecommerce and automotive industry working with the largest OEM and Aftermarket Brands in Europe, initially as Sales Director of a multi-million aftermarket online car parts business and then as the Managing Director of marketplace specialists, We Are Pentagon, Graham is an ecommerce thought leader with a proven track record to deliver marketplace success and innovation. A member of the Deloitte Ventures Marketplace Leaders Community, Graham is well-connected within the marketplaces space, and acutely aware of its challenges and opportunities. As the CEO of Autofixa, Graham is currently on a mission to help automotive brands capitalise on the nascent digitalisation of their industry.

                                Danail Deltchev

                                Technology Director
                                Hemi Connect

                                Danail studied Computer Science and Management in New Bulgarian University. Has been in every aspect of the ecommerce journey with We Are Pentagon Group and has been connected with the shaping of the Hemi technology since its creation in 2015. Currently responsible for managing Hemi's overall operations. This includes setting the overall vision and path for the platform, driving profitability, managing company organizational structure and strategy

                                  Zornitsa Dobreva

                                  Marketplace Strategic Partnerships
                                  Arcade Retail

                                  Zornitsa has more than 10 years of experience in the ecommerce industry. She has held various positions within Arcade Retail, instrumental to the successful launch of brands and retailers on international marketplaces – from the initial steps of opening the accounts, through making sure that all operational issues of logistics, duties, localisation, etc are sorted out to the successful trading of the products on the marketplaces. In her current position, Zornitsa’s focus is on enabling new cross-border opportunities and building strong relationships with the international marketplaces.