CX analytics platform Uncrowd adds Simon Hay to advisory board

Simon Hay, former global CEO at dunnhumby, has been appointed to Uncrowd’s advisory board.

He spent 25 years at dunnhumby, joining as its first full time employee in 1991 and culminating in his appointment as global CEO in March 2011.

Among his notable milestones at the company, Hay was instrumental in establishing the Tesco Clubcard, which is now held by more than 20 million British households.

He also spent 10 years in the United States helping The Kroger Company double their revenue. Under his leadership, dunnhumby grew to a global firm operating in 85 countries.

Hay says: “From the moment I heard co-founders Richard Hammond and Rocky Howard share their methodology for capturing brands’ Relative Attractiveness, I knew Uncrowd wasn’t like the other same-same customer experience analytics platforms.”

“At its core, it is a disruptor, dismantler and challenger of the status quo, which is made possible by its formidable platform, powerful data and passionate team. I believe the company will forever change the way retailers and brands understand and manage their customer experience strategies and activations.”

“I’m especially keen to build deeper relationships with Uncrowd's existing and target customers across the United Kingdom and the United States and look forward to breaking the customer experience glass ceiling together.”

“The moment Simon repeated back to us elements of our friction versus reward and relative attraction methodology, I knew we’d won him over,” says Richard Hammond, CEO and Co-Founder at Uncrowd

“Securing an industry powerhouse like Simon Hay proves we’re onto something special. This is not your typical vanity board member hire that you see a lot of startups make.”

“We’re already champing at the bit for Simon to join us in this advisory role, where he’ll spend time with our teams and our customers to better understand the challenges brands and retailers face amidst these uncertain times.”

“His analytical mind, combined with his understanding of the retail industry and shopper behaviours, will not only allow us to innovate and scale our own business, but will also help our customers tap into the power of Relative Attractiveness to improve their differentiation, compete better and drive multiple growth levers.

Hay joins Martin Ward, former head of CX innovation and solution engineering at Oracle EMEA, on the advisory board.

Previously, John Phillips, UK CTO at Havas, was a member until he joined the company as full time CTO in December 2021.

The company plans to add two additional executives to the advisory board over the next year.