CTO Bart Mudde opts to depart Rituals and start new gig as a freelance consultant

Bart Mudde has left beauty chain Rituals, where he spent the past ten years, most recently serving as CTO.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After almost ten awesome years at Rituals, I closed that chapter with a brilliant farewell party in October last year. I had the honour of being CTO for the past four years and being part of the executive leadership team.”

He added: “Looking back, I feel lucky and grateful. Grateful for the trust, the freedom and the chance to support this crazy fast growing company. Lucky for being part of the adventure. Rituals is a truly unique and special company with a great culture. It will always have a special place in my heart.”

“I wish everyone at Rituals all the best for what’s next. And especially the Tech & Data department: I’m proud of what we achieved together in the past decade, I’ll follow you guys from the sidelines as you continue growing. After a proper ten week break, I’m starting a new chapter as a freelance consultant. Really excited to get going again.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Technology and data will be key focus areas at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They 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 Thursday, 15th October.

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.