Celebrating 20 years: Retail 100 reveals 2025’s most influential leaders

Retail Week’s annual celebration of the industry’s most influential 100 leaders has landed, marking the report’s 20th year.  

Names on the list, produced in partnership with BigCommerce and Marigold, include B&Q’s Graham Bell, Sephora’s Sarah Boyd, Adanola’s Niran Chana and Aldi’s Giles Hurley. 

• Take me to the Retail 100

Determined by a panel of esteemed journalists and retail analysts, the Retail 100 celebrates the individuals who are shaping the sector, transforming retail models, driving change and speaking out on behalf of the industry.  

There are 34 new entries on this year’s list, compared to 30 last year, with the number of entrants holding onto their spot testament to strategic progress and an appetite for consistency at the top. 

The list comprises tactical transformers (Strategists), retail model revolutionaries (Disruptors), customer and colleague crusaders (People Champions), ESG and sustainability advocates (Sustainability Activists), and CX strategies trailblazers (Experience Innovators). 

In numbers

Balanced yet bold strategies 

While there had been a 16% surge in Retail 100 leaders joining the Strategists category last year, we celebrate 52 Strategists in 2025, up by just 2% from 2024 (51). 

This year’s Strategists stand out for their proficiency at balancing the bold with the measured, saving costs, while making savvy, growth-driving investments. 

Across the profiles, profitable progress permeates, as well as shared frustrations around new government policies and associated rising costs, with the Strategists using their influence to speak out against Budget decisions that will add further unwelcome costs and pressures. 

New entries to the list include Nike president and chief executive Elliott Hill, who was parachuted back in to turn around the fortunes of the struggling sportswear brand. It’s a similar story for Asda executive chairman Allan Leighton who, 20 years after having left the grocer, has been brought back to revive the beleaguered business where he’s targeting prices, availability, and product ranges amid an ongoing restructure. 

While some Strategists made the grade for their transformation prowess, others are acclaimed ecommerce elevators, tech innovators, or are back in expansionist mode. Among those, Waitrose executive director James Bailey is ramping up investment in store makeovers and openings, having thrown open the doors to the upmarket grocer’s first new convenience store in six years. 

In fact, growing physical footprint is a priority across the Retail 100 categories. Disruptor founders of premium sportswear brand Castore, Philip and Tom Beahon, have been laser-focused on getting their brick-and-mortar store strategy right with a raft of UK store openings.