Pets at Home veteran Kieren Bowles takes on in-store technology team role at Selfridges

Kieren Bowles has left Pets at Home, where he spent the past 20 years, most recently serving as Project Manager, and joined Selfridges, focusing on the retailer’s in-store technology.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After 19 years at Pets At Home, from starting cleaning out rabbits to leading a number of teams and helping deliver large scale business wide projects, I am moving on.”

“A huge thank you to everyone who has helped me get to where I am over the years, with special thanks to Kate Wignall (Head of IT Support) for challenging me and giving me the opportunity to spread my wings and learn different roles, Jon Cockle (former Director of Technology & Data Projects) who taught me so much about leadership in a short space of time, and most importantly Jess Bell (former Head of Portfolio Delivery) for always having faith in me, mentoring me for years and believing in me enough to convince me to believe in myself.”

He concluded: “Thank you to everyone who I've had the privilege to lead and watch grow, and for those who have helped me grow. As one door closes, another opens and I'm really excited (after a small break!) to be joining the IT function looking after the in store technology teams at Selfridges.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

In-store 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.