60 seconds with with… Jeannette Copeland, Ann Summers
We had the pleasure of chatting to Jeannette Copeland, Technology Director at Ann Summers ahead of her appearance as a speaker at Retail CIO Connect 2022. Read on to discover her top challenges and priorities in the coming year.
What do you feel are the key challenges your company faces in 2022?
Acquiring the right talent is going to be key for all businesses throughout 2022, but particularly those businesses who are looking to accelerate their growth as we are. Whilst this is a key challenge in technology roles, there are other functional areas where this is a challenge too. Furthermore, supply chain continues to be a challenge as delays, cost increases, and world events continue to impact product and technology supplies.
How do you think the pandemic has changed customers’ digital expectations?
As we know the pandemic really forced consumers online and many people’s shopping habits have changed forevermore. Digital partnerships & innovations, particularly around final-mile solutions have meant that customers demand for increased choice, greater flexibility, and speed of service are driving retailer strategies to meet their needs. This drives out the best of the best approach and makes the demands higher than ever before.
What are your top 3 areas of focus in 2022 and why?
- Onboarding diverse talent to support growth projects and focussing on meaningful career development.
- Focussing on the Technology operating model that supports colleagues, customers, and a nimble approach to delivery.
- Governance and accountability for cross functional projects.
What are you most looking forward to at Retail CIO Connect?
I am so looking forward to networking with peer’s face to face after such a long time being at home and looking at a screen, I think the atmosphere will be awesome! It is also a fantastic chance to learn from peers and vendors about technology opportunities for growth.
You can hear directly from Jeannette in her session at Retail CIO Connect 2022:
INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION: Bridging skillset gaps: How can you successfully attract and retain the talent you need to deliver on your digital transformation goals?
- What part can you play in creating a diverse, people focused culture to attract a diverse range of applicants?
- How can you work with HR and leadership teams to design flexible working models that overcome the traditional limits of local/regional talent scarcity?
- How can you promote digital investments in areas such as a AI and automation in your business to create a reputation of being a forward thinking, digitally-friendly place to work?
- How can you support those struggling with business strategy to help team members pull together and approach challenges with more resilience?
- Where can the balance be found in management approaches between democracy of too many voices and dictatorship styles of old?
Panellists include:
Jeanette Copeland, Head of Technology, Ann Summers
Chris Poel, Head of Development, River Island
Sarah Edwards, Operations & Head of Strategy, Aspiga & Peachaus
Ian Stacey, IT Director, Waterstones
To find out more, view the full agenda here.