Shaun Byrnes exits Asda and joins Senior Service Delivery Manager at furniture retailer DFS

Shaun Byrnes is gearing up to start a new role as Senior Service Delivery Manager at DFS.

He is joining from Asda, where he spent the past three and a half years, serving as Technology Service Manager - Commercial, Supply and Data.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Excited to be moving onto the next chapter. Thanks for all the messages of support over the last couple of weeks. Big LinkedIn love right there.”

Mark Simpson

Mark Simpson has joined supply chain technology specialist Kallikor as a Strategic Advisor.

Simpson is CEO at Simpson Retail Advisory and also spent almost 20 years at Asda, holding such roles as Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Kallikor is a supply chain experimentation platform that helps leaders safely explore and choose between futures - before capital, contracts, or credibility are locked in.”

He added: “It was just what I needed when I was the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Asda, the ability to accurately 'predict' the future across your whole network, make strategic changes, and then see the impact immediately. Ultimately making decisions with evidence, not assumptions. With all the uncertainty currently across worldwide supply chains, imagine how vital this capability is today!”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Supply chain technology 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.