// Shop Direct hires Andy Burton as new chief technology officer
// His previous role was CTO at Sky Betting and Gaming
// Shop Direct also announced two new technology directors to support Burton
Shop Direct has appointed former Sky Betting and Gaming chief technology officer Andy Burton to its executive board in a similar role.
Burton will take on the role of Shop Direct’s group chief technology officer and will join the business in May.
He will report to the Shop Direct group chief executive Henry Birch.
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Burton will move to the online retail company from online gaming firm The Stars Group, where he became a director following its merger with Sky Betting and Gaming in 2018.
Over a nine-year period at Sky Betting and Gaming in roles including technology chief and technology director, Burton transformed the firm’s technology team, growing headcount 40-fold to 700 and helping it become the UK’s largest online gaming operator by number of customers.
He also established the business’ in-house development capabilities and introduced new ways of working, including agile engineering and lean product development.
Burton also shaped a team capable of releasing code hundreds of times per week to improve the customer experience.
In his new role at Shop Direct, he will lead the retailer’s 275- strong technology team as it continues to transform its technology and platforms.
As part of its ongoing investment in technology, parent company of Littlewoods and Very has also promoted former head of IT architecture and engineering Karl Wintrell to the position of technology director.
He will be responsible for data science and strategy, and tech engineering and architecture.
Wintrell has been with Shop Direct for almost six years, and played a central role in defining its technology plans and delivering IT change to support its ongoing digital transformation.
Meanwhile, interim chief technology officer JM Domaingue will also take up the role of technology director, leading technology operations including information security.
Wintrell and Domaingue will report to Burton, and jointly oversee the technology team prior to his arrival this spring.
“Technology underpins everything we do at Shop Direct,” Birch said.
“It helps us deliver the online experience and end-to-end journey that keeps our customers coming back to Very and Littlewoods time and time again.
“It was always our ambition to appoint a heavy-hitting chief technology officer to our board and Andy certainly fits the bill.”
Burton’s appointment to Shop Direct’s executive board follows the recent promotion of Sarah Willett to the position of group people director and the arrival of Tommy Jordan as financial services chief.
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