Meet the 2025 Speakers

Darren Sanderson-Williams has been General Manager with Specsavers since March 2024. He was previously the Global Head of Leasing for Impress where he led site selection, negotiation and legals to lease in all seven markets. Darren is the Founder of Williams Harding Consulting working with start-ups, expanding and distressed businesses, primarily in retail and hospitality, but also outside of these sectors. In addition, he is Non-Executive Chairman of men’s skincare company Scrubd and a Trustee at Action 4 Youth. Darren has formerly held senior roles in several retail and hospitality businesses, including Hotel Chocolat and Unilever. He currently holds two ambassadorial roles, including Schools Role Model for Stonewall, and fundraising and awareness for Target Ovarian Cancer. Williams Harding also partners with a Bulgarian dog rescue centre.

Rowland Gee is CEO of The Shoklite Company, a revolutionary new urban cycling/scootering apparel and Director of AromaChimie, a company who supply nutrition for the farming, poultry and livestock industry. He was until recently the Chairman of The Board at Cell Workout Athleisure for the past four years. He is an experienced retail manager with over 35 years of public company experience in the retail, marketing and design sector – he was CEO of Moss Bros Group from 1989-2002 and helped develop Hugo Boss retail operations in the UK to 17 stores. With two co-authors, Rowland wrote The Retail Start Up Book published by KoganPage, which was released in 2019 and is specifically targeted at the retail start up community. He has also founded Grey4Gold.com (G4G) and has recently completed a contract to mentor retail businesses in Wales, and with Cherwell District Council, Shropshire Councils on re-invigorating town centres and on the restoration of the UK high streets

Sharaz Khan is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience across sales, operations, finance, and customer service in diverse roles and industries. Currently serving as Retail Operations Manager at New and Lingwood, he oversees logistics, store processes, and customer service strategies, driving operational efficiency and enhancing customer experiences across international locations. His prior roles include Store Manager at Reiss, Menswear Department Manager at Selfridges, and extensive tenure at Harvey Nichols, where he excelled in operational, financial, and departmental leadership roles.

Bunty Stokes was until recently the Managing Director of Pampeano – inspired by the rich heritage of unrivalled horsemanship and traditional leather work – Pampeano began by sourcing the finest leather polo equipment from local artisans before working closely with them to develop refined leather pieces that were unique, and inspired by the landscape and cherished artisanal techniques. She was prviously Consulting Managing Director at Asquith, eco activewear clothes for yoga. She was Managing Director of Sunuva from 2015-2020. Over the five years that Bunty was there, the company looked to leveraging the sales opportunity in ecommerce – not just in wholesale but to grow and develop the team around that, and scale up for future growth. Prior to that, she ran the UK business at Vente-Privee from 2009-2011, after which she set up her own consultancy firm and worked with companies including eBay and Cocosa. Bunty was previously Sales & Merchandising Director for Brandalley.co.uk from 2007- 2009 and also worked for TKMaxx owners TJX for five years from 2002- 2007, as a Senior Buyer and later as a Divisional Merchandise Manager.

Penny Grovea is the current CEO at Ashleigh & Burwood, the home fragrance specialists. As the former Managing Director of Rituals, she orchestrated the brand’s remarkable growth in the UK & Ireland, expanding its retail presence from 9 to 80 stand alone stores and forging strategic partnerships to amplify brand visibility. Her visionary and personal approach to team development and fostering an entrepreneurial culture led to Rituals’ emergence as a premier well-being brand through innovative marketing campaigns and exceptional customer service initiatives. With a proven track record of driving accelerated growth and profitability, Penny’s strategic acumen and passion for mentorship continue to make her a driving force in the industry as a Non-Executive Director and Board Member of NBCC. Prior to her tenure at Rituals, Penny held prominent positions at luxury retailers including Folli Follie, Selfridges, and Harrods, further solidifying her expertise in premium brand management and retail strategy.

Deborah Ormondroyd is Head of Retail for a Bird & Blend Tea – a business committed to putting people first – which is why she is so passionate about her current role. Deb has always been a people focussed retailer, for over 30 years working across many categories from couture to wine. Previous to her current role, she was a Divisional Director for Majestic Wine, helping her team navigate a tricky few years, whilst trading through lockdown. Before that she was the HR lead across Europe for Cath Kidston. Leading through people is why Deb continues to love retail and to see how it evolves in the future – she has knowledge of leading teams in different countries and how to navigate everything that it throws at you!

Raishma Islam has created over 2,000 couture and bridal gowns since 1998. In 2013, with the help from the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme-qualifying investment, she entered the ready-to-wear business, creating a range for the premium high street.

Tara Carlile-Swift is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Freckleface Home Fragrance, alongside her son Noah – the duo started the business from the kitchen table in 2017, when Noah was just 14. They have seen phenomenal growth since their humble beginnings and currently have five home fragrance retail stores, a coffee shop, online store and are stocked by over 850 garden centres/gift shops in the UK. Freckleface celebrated a fantastic year in 2023 – as well as seeing over 50% increase in sales across the business, they won Gift of the Year for their pick + mix wax melts, won Family Business of the Year at the Lincolnshire Business Awards and also became the licensee of home fragrance products for the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society, launching two ranges; heritage and botanics. As a business, this year the focus is on building the brand to be more recognisable on the high street and growing their high street customer base, to convert them to online or trade customers.

Luke Phillips started the role of IT Director at nail care brand Townhouse in June 2023, after serving as Programme Director Studio Retail since 2020. He was previously Head of IT at Kurt Geiger and IT Director at Crew Clothing Company. Luke is passionate about developing high performing IT organisations to meet the needs of growing consumer facing businesses.

James Rutter has been the Chief Creative Officer at COOK for the last six years, he was previously their Brand & Strategy Director for 14 years. Establised in 1997, COOK Trading produce award-winning, frozen meals and puddings, with values baked into everything they do.

Sanish Mondkar is the founder and CEO of Legion. He has over 20 years of leadership experience in products, technology, and cloud operations. Before founding Legion, Sanish was the EVP and Chief Product Officer at SAP with responsibility for all procurement and business network areas, representing over $1B of annual revenue.  Prior to SAP, Sanish was Chief Product Officer and EVP at Ariba, where he was responsible for the creation of several market-leading enterprise products, including the Ariba Network from the ground up, which is the largest business network in the procurement space. Sanish holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from Pune University and a Masters of Computer Science from Cornell University.