As Director of Retail Strategy at ThoughtWorks Europe, Ruth Harrison is a leading retail business consultant with over 25 years’ international market and all-channel experience. Possessing strong experience in the EMEA territories spanning blue-chip organisations and the luxury sector, she has held senior executive operational and commercial roles within the consumer goods and services sector. Tenures include roles with John Lewis Partnership and House of Fraser, and most recently Selfridges Group and within the Health & Beauty sector at Elizabeth Arden, Body Shop and Estée Lauder Companies including International assignments in the Middle East, where she was responsible for expanding leading beauty brands across the MENA region. She was appointed General Manager of ELC-owned luxury lifestyle brand Jo Malone, overseeing significant growth in revenue and profit at the company.

Ruth was nominated for an industry achievers award by Cosmetics Executive Women (CEW) in 2008 for her contribution to the cosmetics industry. She is a European Advisory Board Member of Chief Marketing Officer Council Europe, regularly contributing to research, informing market leading industry publications on digital consumer trends, business transformation including scale and growth implementation strategies.

Ruth holds an MBA in International Retailing from Stirling University, completing her dissertation on behalf of MyTravel Airways: this extensive consumer research programme reviewed the inflight consumer behaviour and customer retail proposition.