Former Reward, Prezzee and Mastercard executive Jamie Samaha takes on CEO role at dunnhumby
dunnhumby, a customer data science specialist owned by Tesco, reports that Jamie Samaha has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective from 20th July. He succeeds Josh Bottomley, who has decided to step down after three years.
Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, says: “Josh has played a pivotal role in growing dunnhumby during a period of rapid technological change, as the intelligence layer connecting retailers, brands and consumers. He has strengthened partnerships and expanded our impact worldwide, grown Tesco Media into an award winning media business and laid the foundations for long-term, scalable technology innovation. Josh leaves the business well positioned for the future and I’d like to thank him for his significant contribution.
Bottomley says: “I’ve hugely valued my time at dunnhumby and am immensely proud of what the team has achieved over the past three years in creating value for leading retail and brand partners globally. We’ve built strong foundations for the future, and as the business enters its next phase of growth, I look forward to seeing dunnhumby go from strength to strength.”
Samaha joins dunnhumby from Reward, a company focused on commerce media, customer engagement, and data insights, where he served as CEO. Prior to that, he led Australian FinTech business, Prezzee, to scale in the UK and US and also built a career at Mastercard as Executive VP of Consumer Engagement Services.
Murphy says: “We are delighted to welcome Jamie as the new CEO of dunnhumby. His strong track record of commercial execution combined with his experience at the intersection of data, loyalty, media and customer engagement makes him ideally placed to build on the progress of recent years and scale dunnhumby’s impact for retailers and brands globally.”
Samaha says: “dunnhumby has an exceptional heritage, outstanding talent and deep partnerships with many of the world’s leading retailers and brands. Retail and consumer markets are evolving rapidly, and few companies are better placed than dunnhumby to help clients navigate that change and unlock growth. I’m excited to join the team and build on the strong momentum as we shape the next chapter of dunnhumby’s growth together.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Data science 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.
