Walgreens Boots Alliance veteran and data science and analytics expert Simon Prinn announces exit

Simon Prinn has announced his departure from Walgreens Boots Alliance where he spent the past 28 years, most recently serving as Director of Data Science and Analytics.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After 28 fantastic years at Boots, I’ve decided to take the plunge and move on. It’s impossible to properly summarise what all of those years in one organisation mean. I’m hugely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had over that time, and especially for the many managers, mentors and coaches who encouraged me to keep reaching further.”

He added: “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of the early wave of analysts using loyalty card and other data to improve customer outcomes - not just in the UK, but across the many markets where Boots operated globally during that period. When I joined, I could never have imagined that analytics and data would become such central topics, or that the work my teams contributed would at times be recognised not only internally, but also across the industry and national media.”

“My greatest satisfaction, by far, has come from building teams and helping people grow. In the early days, we were too small to warrant an official name, so we called ourselves “Team Awesome”. What started as a small group of six with a pioneering spirit gradually became a culture - one that we spread as widely as possible across the business. It’s a culture that has endured through huge change and continues to deliver. I’ll continue developing and sharing my experience in analytics, data transformation, team development and coaching. I’ve already had some fantastic conversations over the past few weeks, and I’m looking forward to sharing more about what comes next. If you’d like to chat more about this, please get in touch.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Data science and analytics 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.