Former Amazon Director of Technology and Operations Fergal Gara takes on COO position at Fruugo

UK-based online marketplace platform, Fruugo, has announced the appointment of Fergal Gara as its new Chief Operations Officer (COO).

Gara previously served as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at CMS Distribution, a specialist distributor, where he led commercial strategy and operations across the UK, Europe and USA.

Prior to that, he held several roles at Amazon, including Director of Technology and Operations at Amazon Fashion, where he led internal transformation programmes, implementation of new automation and business intelligence tools and delivery of operational improvement programmes.

He also served as director for IT, office products and UK pricing, leading high growth categories at a key time in Amazon’s development.

He has held roles at Sony Computer Entertainment UK, as Vice President and Managing Director (UK & Ireland), where he led the launch of PlayStation 4 (PS4) in the region, and Asda Stores as Trading Director for Asda Direct and various other commercial roles. 

"Fergal has extensive board level experience with some of the biggest names in the retail sector," says Dominic Allonby, Executive Chairman and Co-founder at Fruugo.

“His appointment to our executive team is a pivotal moment in our history. The company has gone from strength to strength, and with his experience gained at Amazon, Sony and Asda, we can trust him to guide us and implement Fruugo’s strategic vision for 2024 and beyond.”

"It’s a really exciting time to be joining Fruugo given its growth trajectory," says Gara.

“The leadership team is ambitious, and we already have many strategic projects underway. I look forward to helping Fruugo expand in several key markets and working closely with retailers to help them achieve their sales goals and drive cross-border trade which is vital to the wider economy."

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Online marketplaces are a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.