EMEA – Coffeehouse chain Starbucks has appointed former Sainsbury Chief Technology Officer (CTO) John Elliot as Vice President, in charge of technology for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
According to the chain, Elliot will be responsible for forming and implementing the chain’s technology strategy across the 42 EMEA markets.
These responsibilities will stretch from in-store digital services, the Rewards loyalty app, mobile ordering, and delivery.
Elliot’s appointment was announced barely two weeks after he officially announced his departure from the UK supermarket chain.
He is credited with ‘radically transforming both customer and channel experience in the supermarket chain through modernizing its technology infrastructure.
Elliot’s achievements in the supermarket chain include the ‘Next Level’ strategy, a five-year strategic partnership with Microsoft to leverage its AI and machine learning capabilities in the supermarket chain’s customer and operational databases.
He is also credited with overseeing Sainsbury’s strategic partnership with Amazon’s AWS, SAP, and Accenture to leverage cloud computing technology to consolidate legacy systems.
Elliot joined the UK supermarket chain in September 2017 as Director of Technology- Food Commercial & Supply Chain, after a three-year stint as Program Director at Oracle, the IT consultancy firm.
His career in IT began in 2002 at Accenture, the consultancy firm before joining UK supermarket chain Morrisons in 2011 where he served as Head of Applications and Development.
Starbucks EMEA welcomed the appointment, hailing Elliot’s experience and track record in food retail.
Duncan Moir, Starbucks EMEA’s President, said, “John joins Starbucks at a time when we are building on our strong growth in the region. His impressive track record, particularly his experience in consumer-facing food retailing, will help support our strategy.”
“This will see us drive further investment in technology that enhances the partner and customer experience, improve our supply chain, and evolve our app and mobile ordering platform.”
The coffeehouse chain first entered the European market in 1998, with its first store in the UK. The chain entered the Middle East a year later with its first outlet in Kuwait. Starbucks EMEA currently operates 5,000 stores across 31 European and 11 MENA countries.
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