Judges
Vicki Cantrell
Co-Founder of VIP Awards
Vicki Cantrell is a retail strategist, community builder, former COO and CIO in the retail industry, and is recognized for relationship building and accelerated growth.
She most recently served as Retail Transformation Officer for Aptos, Inc., developing customer experience and relationship based go-to-market strategies.
Before Aptos, Cantrell was NRF’s SVP, Communities and Executive Director, Shop.org, providing strategic direction and management of Shop.org, CIO Council, Digital Council, CMO Council, ARTS and Loss Prevention Council.
Prior to NRF, Cantrell served as the Chief Operating Officer of Tory Burch, and has also worked as CIO of Giorgio Armani Corporation and held senior level positions with Gucci Group, Party City and JCPenney.
Cantrell is an active member of the Retail Orphan Initiative, is on the Advisory Board of sparks & honey, and a board member of Tandy Leather Company.
Richard Umbers
CEO & Board Director
Richard is an experienced CEO and Board member, across the Retail and Logistics sectors, with particular expertise in eCommerce, digital and in leading major change initiatives.
He was until recently based in Germany as a senior executive in supermarket retailer Kaufland's International division, and prior to that held the role of CEO and MD at Australian department store chain Myer.
Richard was previously the CEO of international express logistics provider StarTrack and the Executive GM for Parcel and Express Services at Australia Post.
He previously also held other MD and GM positions in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailing with roles at Woolworths both in Australia and New Zealand, and at Aldi in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Richard has a Masters degree in Finance from Leicester University (UK), and a Bachelors degree in Geology and Geography from Exeter University (UK).
Julie Mathers
Chief Experience Officer (CEO) & Founder
Julie Mathers is the CEO and Founder of Flora and Fauna, the world’s largest 100% vegan store. Flora & Fauna is focused on driving change and empowering customers. Julie is passionate about using her skills and platform for purpose.
Julie founded Flora & Fauna 5 years ago with a clear vision to be the most responsible retailer possible with the best customer service. Flora & Fauna was named Best Small Online Retailer at the 2018 ORIAs and won Telstra Small Business of the Year for NSW 2018. Flora & Fauna is also a proud BCorp. Flora & Fauna is 100% carbon offset, has saved over 30 tonnes of plastic from hitting landfill by shipping orders plastic-free, offers a recycling scheme and supports charity partners such as Where Pigs Fly.
Prior to founding Flora & Fauna, Julie has worked in the UK, Europe, Asia and now Australia for the last ten years. She has worked in consulting, private equity and with many retailers, including senior leadership roles in Woolworths, Coles and APG & Co.
Nicole Leinbach Reyhle
Founder & Publisher of RetailMinded.com
Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the Founder and Publisher of RetailMinded.com, a well-respected industry publication that has been recognized worldwide for its leading retail
insight.
Reyhle is a frequent guest and contributor to various media outlets that include The Today Show, Forbes and countless B2B publications. Additionally, Reyhle has been the Spokesperson for American Express’s Small Business Saturday since 2014 and is the Author of the book “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business” from McGraw-Hill.
Reyhle writes regularly and is recognized as a Top 10 out of 100 worldwide retail thought leaders from Vend and is a retail “futurist” for IBM. Reyhle is also the Co-Founder of the Independent Retailer Conference.
Rob Godwin
Director & Head of Operations, Lovehoney
Rob is an experienced award winning eCommerce Director with a history of creating and establishing market leading companies. With 15 years experience in B2C and B2C companies, Rob has a highly successful achievements in running international business’.
Leadership and delivering significance growth and profitability are his main strengths.
Strong business development professional skilled in implementing major marketing plans expanding sales channels, operations and systems management, with extensive experience in providing advice and guidance to leading brands.
Rachel Tigel
Senior eCommerce Manager, Forever New Clothing
From cosmetics to fashion Rachel has always enjoyed using the amalgamation of data and technology to create unique experiences for her customers. Owner of analytics, trade and strategic roadmap, Rachel seeks to create data driven cultures within broader marketing and eCommerce teams. (She’s evidently also a bit of a nerd)
Rachel started her career monetizing content on social channels and social paid media. Then turned her attention to the customer journey as a whole, redesigning and re-architecting the entire online customer journey at every state of the customer journey. Leading to exponential growth year on year with every transformation.
Rachel is a glutton for punishment and has just completed her 4th website build, with an equally passionate group of customer lovers at Forever New. Rachel loves the ability to drive customer innovation through a considered tech stack and plans to continue pioneering for years to come.
Brian Walker
CEO, Retail Doctor Group
As the principal and founder of Retail Doctor Group® in the Australasian and Asian market place, Brian brings considerable senior experience gained in the specialty retail, franchising and shopping centre sectors through line management, consulting, advisory and board roles.
He has successfully led change teams in multi channel retail arenas and has been instrumental in the development and implementation of many notable, integrated retail channel strategy projects including, Optus, Hutchison Telecommunication, Global Brands Group, National Australia Bank and a host of other well recognised retail, franchise retail and service organisations both nationally and internationally. Brian has also successfully advised and operated on boards and associations in retail strategy and deployment.
Jen Geale
Co-founder & General Manager, MTB Direct
Jen Geale is co-founder and General Manager of MTB Direct, Australia’s largest retailer of parts, clothing and accessories for mountain biking. The business has been consistently recognised for its rapid and sustained growth, as well as successful marketing and customer service initiatives, through programs such as the Telstra Business Awards, Deloitte Tech Fast 50 and AFR Fast 100.
Jen was recognised as one of the Top 50 People in E-commerce in Australia in 2018 and 2019, and regularly shares insights from her experiences in keynotes, panels and workshops around Australia and the USA. The online business is entirely remote, with Jen based on the Gold Coast and all customer service, marketing, administrative and tech team members working from home across Australia and the world.
Jen currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of Retail ROI Australia, an organisation enabling the Australian retail community to support the work of various grassroots organisations improving the lives of children and orphans around the world.
Patrick Rechsteiner
Consultant & Chairman of ARA Digital Committee
Patrick Rechsteiner is a transformative e-commerce leader having worked with many of Australia's most loved footwear & apparel brands including Superdry, Shoes & Sox, Clarks, Hush Puppies, Myer, Fashion BNKR, C/MEO Collective, Keepsake, Finders Keepers, Elka Collective & more.
Patrick specialises in Digital Strategy, Transformation & E-commerce Acceleration drawing from a multi-faceted background that includes corporate finance, merchandise planning, project management & brand management in addition to his digital skillset. He currently chairs the Australian Retailers Association Digital Committee and works as a Strategic Advisor to a number of retail and technology businesses.