Tech List 2024: The definitive index of the world’s top 50 digital retail leaders

Retail Week’s annual showcase of the most influential people driving ecommerce and in-store tech innovations is back. 

The Tech List, established in 2019, recognises the names behind global retailers, brands, suppliers, tech titans, start-ups and disruptors heading up digitally transformative solutions for the industry. 

This includes advancements in supply chain automation and fulfilment, improvements to personalisation and CX, digitally enabled stores, AI-powered transformation, crime-tackling tech and many more inspirational initiatives. 

With 53 individuals recognised from 50 businesses, The Tech List has cherrypicked the leaders that businesses should learn from and work with – not only those from the UK but from the US, India, Europe and China, too. 

The index was decided by Retail Week’s team of esteemed journalists and industry analysts based on strategic insights, industry impact, financials, column inches and global reach, and collated by January 26, 2024.  

Retailers and brands dominate 

More than half of The Tech List (27) are individuals behind retailers and brands; these are the people the industry should be looking to. 

This includes Boots chief digital officer Paula Bobbett, EE/BT retail director Asif Aziz, Walmart executive vice-president for supply chain operations David Guggina, Sephora president for Asia Alia Gogi and Tesco chief technology officer Guus Dekkers.  

At Walmart, for instance, former Amazon operations executive Guggina is playing a significant role in upholding the US grocer’s reputation at the forefront of supply chain tech.  

While automation is a central focus, Guggina is also spearheading the adoption of drone delivery. Walmart has stolen a march on Amazon by establishing rapid delivery partnerships with autonomous delivery start-ups DroneUp, Flytrex, Wing and Zipline.

The retailer had made more than 20,000 drone deliveries by the end of 2023. In January, Walmart revealed it would make drone delivery accessible for up to 1.8 million households in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the largest drone delivery expansion of any US retailer.    

Over at Sephora, Gogi has been building tech-driven stores of the future. She was responsible for leading the development of the retailer’s concept store in Shanghai, which opened in June and she says highlights Sephora’s “obsession for experiential retail.”

The store boasts AI-generated makeup recommendations, skincare analysis and RFID sensors that can tell consumers about products and enable them to access reviews. It also houses a Beauty Live studio hosting exclusive events and masterclasses.