Former J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs exec and South Street Advisers founder Jason English joins Wisdom Analytics

Jason English, whose CV includes stints at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, has joined the board of directors at Wisdom Analytics, a specialist in AI powered solutions for the CPG industry.

“Jason has been a guiding light to CEOs and CFOs in maximising valuations. His unique ability to translate advanced analytics into actionable business outcomes will significantly enhance our ability to deliver exceptional value to our clients.” says Bart Flaherty, Wisdom Analytics CEO and Co-founder.

"Those of you who have followed my research over the years know that I rarely find a reason to get excited about opportunities for growth in the CPG industry," says English.

"Revenue growth in the industry has slowed and the outlook for next year suggests slower for longer should be expected, as evidenced by the message being delivered by CPG companies this past earnings season and at a recent Morgan Stanley conference.”

“But despite this backdrop I am becoming increasingly optimistic that new growth opportunities are emerging, even in some of the most mature categories. A key enabler, I believe, will be new advances in revenue growth management (RGM); especially in trade-promotion-optimisation (TPO)."

"I detailed the opportunity for more efficient TPO in a 2015 research report (“Trade Budgets at a Tipping Point”) where I highlighted the massive inefficiencies that exist between the gross and net sales lines. Many others had previously, or have since, made similar empirically backed arguments. But while there is understanding of the opportunity little progress has been made and many who have attempted to enact change have been dealt setbacks."

"Progress on this front will require finesse and more sophisticated analytics. And that brings me to Wisdom Analytics - the company is a SaaS business that has been leveraging artificial intelligence to optimise demand planning within the CPG industry."

He adds: "Wisdom Analytics has recently begun to evolve its capabilities and leverage its mastery of interpreting demand signals to reverse engineer the demand creation inputs to solve for desired outcomes.”

“Its platform can now be used to optimize price and promotion plans to goal seek for volume, price realisation, market share, margin or some combination of the above. Said differently, Wisdom Analytics is on the forefront of the next generation of RGM and TPO and its AI platform is already delivering price and trade planning at scale."

"I believe Wisdom Analytics’ use case and potential value-unlock for CPG manufacturers and retailers is huge. In my prior life as a research analyst I would watch the change from the sidelines. Now I have the opportunity to pivot from spectator to actor and am looking forward to helping take Wisdom Analytics to the next level."

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI was a key focus area at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, Scala, CADS, 3D Cloud, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last month’s gathering.