RWRC has revealed its annual index of the global leaders powering retail innovation. Spanning all sectors – from start-ups and disruptors to investors and established brands – view the list here now.
As retailers battle to deliver an online Christmas and optimise their digital strategies, there has never been a more pressing time to uncover the individuals changing the way the industry thinks, operates and sells.
To help businesses learn from the individuals powering innovation and transforming digital commerce, RWRC has published the Tech 100 2020 – its annual index of the most innovative global technology leaders influencing retail today.
From the brains behind emerging brands giving established retailers a run for their money, to the investors fuelling this new era and the collaborators partnering for success, this year’s Tech 100 highlights the changing face of the industry.
Produced in association with ChannelAdvisor, DataRobot and Salesforce, the digital report showcases the people retailers should be working with, taking inspiration from and even investing in.
Who are the Tech 100?
The index is split into five groups:
- Collaborators
- Start-ups and disruptors
- Retailers and brands
- Investors
- Tech titans
It features 74 new faces including those that often go under the radar but who are steadily shaking up the industry.
Highlighting the breadth of retail tech innovation taking place worldwide, leaders featured in this year’s Tech 100 come from countries including America, the UK, Ireland, India, China, the Netherlands and more.
The list is not limited to recognising those with tech job titles either. While it features CTOs and CDOs, there are several chief executives, heads of and chairs, which shows that the onus of influencing tech change in retail no longer sits solely with tech and IT bods.
There are also more women featured in the list than in 2019 with 25 female tech leaders represented, a 25% uplift on last year.
These female retail tech innovators include disruptors such as Cult Beauty co-CEO and co-founder Alexia Inge and Elvie founder and CEO Tania Boler, retailers such as Pret a Manger chief technology and transformation officer Sarah Venning, and tech titans such as Pinterest’s retail vertical strategy lead Amy Vener, to name a few.
However, while female representation is up on 2019, the fact that only a quarter of people on the list are women is a depressing reality for the diversity of retail tech. More stark still is the fact that there is not one black retail tech leader on the list.
While this holds up a mirror to the industry, it also sends a message that more needs to be done by those in positions of influence to make the retail tech scene more diverse and to avoid the risk of group-think and limiting creativity.
The Tech 100 in numbers
How is the Tech 100 index decided?
The Tech 100 has been compiled by Retail Week’s team of journalists, supported by recommendations and nominations from industry experts.
These experts include Maya Knights, Natalie Berg, World Retail Congress, Springwise, Green Park, IBM, Co:Cubed and Daniel Pitchford.
To feature in the Tech 100, leaders must:
- Have achieved demonstrable success driving technology and innovation in their fields, particularly in the past 12 months
- Be powering transformation in retail, either as part of the industry or as a collaborator or investor
- Have stepped up retail technology and innovation during the pandemic and/or displayed an innovative mindset to navigate through the crisis
Download the Tech 100 for free here to meet the faces of retail’s digital future.
You will also:
- Find out who the new wave of start-ups and disruptors shaking up the industry are
- Discover the technologies and digital innovations coming to the fore across robotics, AI, logistics, payments, marketing and more
- Uncover future-thinking companies you could be partnering with to help transform your business
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