Retail industry veteran Stefan Wenzel takes on Strategic Advisor position at ShopAgentic startup

Earlier this year, we reported that Alexander Ringsdorff and Kai-Thomas Krause were launching an agentic commerce system startup called ShopAgentic. And now we can reveal that Stefan Wenzel is joining as a strategic advisor.

In a LinkedIn post, Ringsdorff said: “Stefan and I first worked together in 2009 when we developed McLaren's e-commerce business. Even back then, it was clear that he had a keen sense of where digital commerce was heading.”

“Since then, Stefan has been at the forefront of e-commerce and digital transformation as an operator, executive and advisor. He has held leadership roles including CEO and Managing Director at eBay, Brands4Friends, Otto Netherlands, and Tom Tailor. Earlier in his career, he led e-commerce and direct-to-consumer initiatives at McLaren and Mexx. This has given him a comprehensive understanding of commerce across industries, business models, and stages.”

He added: “More recently, Stefan has turned his focus to the next wave of innovation in commerce. In his latest book, Agentic Commerce: How AI Agents are Reshaping Commerce and Shifting Decision Power, he explains how AI agents will fundamentally change the way products are discovered, evaluated and purchased, and what this will mean for the companies involved.”

Ringsdorff concluded: “What I particularly value about Stefan is his ability to connect these structural shifts with real business impact. He understands how commerce evolves, not just from a technological perspective, but also from the standpoints of brands, customers, and organisations.”

“At ShopAgentic, we are building on this very inflection point: the shift from interface-driven commerce to agent driven systems. Having someone on board who has shaped the industry and is mapping out the future is a real advantage. Welcome aboard, Stefan. I'm looking forward to building together again.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI 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.