Alberto Carlos Benigno named x-hoppers CEO as retail comms firm announces Ace Hardware partnership
Alberto Carlos Benigno has taken on the role of CEO at retail communication specialist x-hoppers. He joined the company in 2025 as Chief Revenue Officer and his CV also includes a stint at x-hoppers owner Wildix and Gartner.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “What better way to mark one of the most significant milestones of my professional life than at the signing of an equally significant strategic partnership: with Ace Hardware, the world's largest hardware cooperative, here in Orlando, Florida, at one of their events.”
He added: “x-hoppers is increasingly becoming the go to solution for retailers worldwide looking to lift productivity through communication technology that makes the entire associate and customer journey frictionless. The data backs it up. I'm incredibly proud of the entire x-hoppers team, who has built this company into a genuine authority in retail technology, and grateful to the Wildix board and the wider company for the opportunity and the trust they place in us every day. Here's to many more milestones ahead: bringing retail to the next level.”
So hot right now
x-hoppers is included in RTIH’s first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List. Launching in August, this sees us bringing you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, drew up a list of 150 companies that had consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc).
Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, Dr. Astha Purohit, Director of Product Management, Customer Data and Identity, Walmart, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, provided feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are also best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
The judges used the following framework when making their picks:
1. Retailer problem fit - how meaningful, strategic, and widely felt the retailer pain being addressed is.
2. Production traction in retail (2025–2026) - real named retailer deployments, pilots.
3. Innovation and defensibility - genuine technical novelty paired with a defensible competitive position.
And there was also a public vote, with thousands of members of our community of retail tech enthusiasts getting involved. Thanks to all those who took part! Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we then drew up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100.
So, without further ado, here are the 100 hottest global retail technology ventures right now. Drum roll, please…
