Shop Direct Hires First Data Science Head

Online retailer Shop Direct has appointed Gael Decoudu as its first Head of Data Science and Digital Analytics, in charge of a team of twenty and responsible for using data analytics to personalise the customer journey.

Shop Direct was formed in 2005 through the merger of Littlewoods and Shop Direct, and its brands now include Very.co.uk, VeryExclusive.co.uk and Littlewoods.com. Decoudu (pictured) joins the Liverpool-based firm from printing franchise Vistaprint, where as Director, Global Data Science, he led a team from the company's office in Barcelona. Prior to this, he held senior statistics roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Capital One.

Commenting on the appointment, Group Deputy CEO Gareth Jones, who is responsible for the group's customer intelligence, commented: 'Using data to understand our customer and our business is one of the most critical success factors for Shop Direct today and in the future, and we want to develop insight from data analysis to create a more personalised experience at every stage of the customer journey. That's what Gael's team will be focused on and we intend to continue investing in our data assets, as well as new ways to analyse it and unearth insight'.

Web site: www.shopdirect.com .