Etail receives the recognition it deserves

Ecommerce has undoubtedly emerged as a driving force behind not just the retail industry, but the economy as a whole.

With this in mind, we at Retail Week decided that in addition to our main Power List, we should also celebrate those people who make the most difference to the ecommerce channel. This ranking of the 50 most influential people shows not only the rising importance of ecommerce and multichannel directors within their respective companies, but the mark that etailers have made on the wider industry.

The top spot this year goes to Asos chief executive Nick Robertson, whose fashion etail business has emerged as the one that many others measure themselves by.

It is interesting how many of the names on the list are on their second, third or even fourth ecommerce or multichannel roles. The movement of names such as Robin Terrell, David Walmsley and Jonathon Brown is becoming as big a deal as when executives in positions such as trading or finance director move between retailers. 

We have included several chief executives of multichannel retailers, where we feel that they are playing a pivotal role in their organisation’s ecommerce strategy. Competitors to Waitrose’s Mark Price and Mothercare’s Ben Gordon are watching what they are doing online closely.

And then there is the tale of Schuh’s Colin Temple, the chief executive who was dispatching web orders himself in the early days of the retailer’s launch online after he underestimated just how willing customers would be to buy shoes online. Like many other retailers from a bricks-and-mortar background, he is now a convert to ecommerce.

Once we sat down to discuss who should be included and how powerful they are, we came up with a huge number of names. So, in addition to the top 50, we have also included 10 rising stars.

As with our main Retail Week Power List, we know our choices are likely to generate some debate, and we welcome feedback on anyone missing from this list that you think deserves a place.