Datitude has announced the appointment of David French as a strategic advisor. He brings more than 30 years’ experience in finance and corporate advisory roles, working with businesses across various sectors and growth stages.
His work with Datitude will form part of a portfolio of independent advisory positions, alongside his current role as Director, Growth Capital at Santander UK Corporate Banking.
Datitude’s platform enables retailers to connect, integrate and unify data from across the business, creating AI ready, data foundations that support better decisions, stronger operational visibility and more connected customer experiences.
Sarah Hughes, Co-founder and Director at Datitude, says: “We’ve built Datitude around solving some of the toughest data challenges in retail; an opportunity that is only growing as AI raises the stakes for data consistency, trust and accessibility. 2025 was our strongest year to date and there’s huge momentum across the business. Retailers are under increasing pressure to get more value from their data and we’re in a fantastic position to support them.”
“Bringing David onboard gives us access to valuable strategic insight and experience as we continue to grow. Most importantly, this comes from a position of strength: a brilliant team, deep expertise, strong technology, and a growing client base. It's an exciting future ahead.”
French comments: “Datitude has built something genuinely compelling in a market that’s becoming increasingly important. What stands out to me is the combination of deep technical expertise and a very practical understanding of the challenges retailers are facing. As AI continues to reshape the retail landscape, trusted and connected data foundations are becoming more critical. Datitude is exceptionally well placed to help retailers navigate that shift and I’m looking forward to supporting Sarah, Gavin, and the wider management team, as they continue to build on their success.”
Gavin Wilkinson, Co-founder and Director at Datitude, says: “As a business, we’ve always believed in surrounding ourselves with great people, different perspectives and honest advice. David brings a huge amount of commercial and strategic experience, but also the external perspective that’s incredibly valuable when you’re growing quickly in a fast moving market. This is about continuing to evolve in the right way, building on the strong foundations already in place and making sure we stay focused on creating the most value for clients.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
