Jack O’Connell appointed CEO as supply chain technology firm Kallikor sets up advisory board
Kallikor reports that Jonathan Barrett, who has led the supply chain technology firm since founding it in 2024, is moving into an advisory role. Co-Founder Jack O’Connell has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Barrett will remain closely involved with the business as a founding member of Kallikor’s new advisory board, while O’Connell assumes day-to-day leadership of the company.
Barrett says: “We founded Kallikor on a simple belief: that the hardest part of any major supply chain decision is finding the confidence to commit to it, and that organisations should be able to test those decisions before they invest. Over the past two years, we’ve turned that belief into a business with customers who rely on our platform and a product that delivers on that vision. I’m incredibly proud of what the team has built together. Jack has been at the heart of Kallikor from the very beginning and is exceptionally well placed to lead the company through its next stage. I’m looking forward to continuing to support the business, our customers and our team through the advisory board.”
O’Connell comments: “I want to thank Jonathan for his leadership since day one and everything he’s done to build Kallikor. From the beginning, he’s been relentless in turning an ambitious idea into a business with outstanding customers, an exceptional team and technology that’s making a real difference. We’re building on those foundations at an exciting time for Kallikor. Organisations are under increasing pressure to make major supply chain decisions with greater confidence, and we’re seeing strong demand for what we do. I’m looking forward to leading the next stage of our growth, and it’s great that Jonathan will continue to play an important role through the advisory board.”
In addition to Barrett, the founding advisory board comprises: Ross Eggleton, former Group Director: Logistics, Supply Chain & Technology at Morrisons, Martin Bailie, former CEO at Tesco/Tata India, Chief Operating Officer at Lidl UK and Ireland, and Primark Group board executive; Mark Simpson, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Asda.
Morrisons
Last year, Morrisons announced a partnership with Kallikor.
Using the AI powered Adaption platform, the UK grocery retailer is creating a digital twin of its end-to-end supply chain, a fully interactive model that mirrors the complexity, scale, and pace of its national network. This provides a design space where its teams can experiment, test, and optimise decisions with speed and precision, from warehouse operations to network wide flows.
As the partnership scales, it will operate with a living digital model fully integrated into its day-to-day operations, enabling continuous optimisation and proactive adaptation to market shifts.
Eggleton said: “Partnering with Kallikor will help us make better decisions faster. By using AI to bring the real and synthetic worlds together, we can design and evaluate changes across our entire supply chain. That means we can move quickly, solve the right problems, and ensure that every supply chain decision supports the bigger picture, delivering greater value and availability for customers while improving our efficiency and resilience.”
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.
