Leadership
Leadership across retail, change and entrepreneurship
My career connects commercial work in established retailers, sourcing and production change, acquisition integration and founding digital businesses. Today, I lead retail and technology at Kindling.
Commercial choices, people and change.
My commercial foundation includes category management and sourcing at Walmart, alongside broader experience in merchandising and supplier partnerships. My work also includes joint business planning with suppliers and delivering training for associates and suppliers in Retail Link and decision-support tools.
I developed a long-term sourcing and production strategy with cross-functional teams in North America and Europe, covering food-production facilities, automated lines and distribution. The plan received executive approval. My production-automation experience also includes bakery production lines that were implemented and reduced labour hours.
At Walmart Chile, I supported post-acquisition integration by helping align associates and suppliers with Walmart International standards. Separately, I supported work connected with Walmart’s South Africa acquisition alongside legal, finance and operations teams.
I founded Sleep Science and Lizard Emotion, with businesses spanning ecommerce operations and mobile products. Founding a business puts product, customer and execution choices close together. It adds a different perspective to my experience in established retailers.
At Kindling, I lead retail and technology in regulated cannabis retail. During substantial growth, I have worked with the team to develop purchasing, digital retail, training and store-opening capabilities. I also led the development of store-specific replenishment tools, with people reviewing recommendations before submission.
Give people context, trust and a chance to grow.
People need to understand the commercial priorities and the decisions they are trusted to make. I value clear expectations, open communication and the willingness to raise a problem early. Accountability is more useful when people can explain their reasoning and learn from the result.
Developing people means giving them harder decisions, useful feedback and room to build their careers. A considered decision can still lead to an imperfect result. Leaders need to distinguish that from carelessness if they want people to keep using their judgment.
The same principle applies to technology. Involve the people whose work will change, explain the purpose and give them a way to question the system. A tool should help the team decide well, with authority that matches the responsibility they retain.
Board perspective
I would bring a practical view of whether a business can deliver its strategy: the commercial choices behind growth, the strength of its people and the value of its technology investments.
What must be true for the growth plan to work, and how will the board know if those assumptions change? That connects commercial ambition with the resources required, the risks management sees and the evidence used to assess progress.