About Shalon
A strategy and business change leader with over 25 years of experience orchestrating and delivering large scale digital transformation programmes for blue-chip consumer centric organisations in the UK and Internationally. Adept at bridging the gap between c-suite & senior stakeholders and hands-on execution.
My expertise lies in solving problems and designing future-proofed business solutions, leading multi-million £ programmes and delivering long term growth with profitable outcomes, focusing in Consumer, Retail, FMCG, Insurance sectors. My functional expertise is in digital transformation strategy, business architecture & analysis, business process modelling (BPM), business case development, roadmaps & transition planning, this is coupled with exceptional budget and programme management skills.
I have a proved track record for developing data driven growth strategies for eCommerce, acquisition & retention marketing, brand & customer loyalty program design and machine learning enabled personalisation. This is supported with direct experience and solid knowledge of the martech landscape. I am passionate about fostering an open and collaborative working culture to deliver shared business goals and add value.
- Relaunched The Nectar Loyalty Program, following Sainsbury revising spend to points allocation, injecting the program with new digital capabilities, drive customer engagement, enhance CX, increase spend, and minimise future revenue loss, estimated ~ 40%.
- Launched the Adidas “Affinity” Loyalty Program to drive long term sales, increase brand affinity and to recapture the #2 global sports brand position from Under Armour.
- Drove a 63% revenue increase, generating $977M AR at PartyGaming and led a team of 80+ members across four global locations, culminating in an $8.4B FTSE100 IPO.
English
Native or bilingual
Can work on-site
Manchester (up to 50km)
Experience
- Independant ConsultancyDirector, Digital Strategy & Retail Transformation | Program ManagementDIGITAL AND ITDecember 2025 - Today (6 months)Manchester, United KingdomA strategically minded eCommerce and CRM consultant with over 24+ years’ experience in digital transformation and customer loyalty programmes in consumer, retail, and FMGC sectors in the UK and Internationally,Core Competencies:Strategy: Digital Transformation | eCommerce Business Models | GTM Strategy | P&L Ownership | Finance / Revenue Modelling | Loyalty Program Design.eCommerce & Martech: Martech Platforms | CXO & UX Design| Conversion, CRO & Funnel Analysis| CRM Framework Design| Customer Retention: Loyalty Management Implementation | Machine Learning Personalisation | PESO Marketing Mix | Advance Data Analytics.Product & Portfolio Management: Channel & Platform Development |Project & Change Management | Stakeholder Management | Transition Planning | Product Management | Vendor & Partnership Management | Operational Excellence - Continuous Improvement | Governance, Compliance & Best Practice.Delivery Methodologies: Agile | Scrum | Dynamic Systems Development Method | Continuous Integration | Waterfall (Prince2) | DevOps, Risk Management | Change Management | Business Process Reengineering.
- Foriah Consulting,Founder, Digital Transformation DirectorE-COMMERCEMarch 2020 - November 2025 (5 years and 8 months)Greater Manchester, UKSpearheaded digital transformation initiatives, developing and executing GTM strategies that unlocked untapped B2C & D2C eCommerce potential for clients including Cosatto, Crep Protect, Upbeat Drinks.
- Consolidated sales and distribution channels for Cosatto, shifting to D2C retail model & GTM Strategy, resulting in doubling revenue from direct sales.
- Launched Cosatto’s first structured CLM-driven CRM program, segmenting consumers into life stage (CLM) cohorts with customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) groups, driving ~11% revenue uplift in the first six months.
- Planned media program, executed PESO strategies across platforms, leading to a 5-15% increase in monthly sales across all clients within three months by optimising PPC campaigns.
- Spearheaded the development of a funnel analysis framework to optimise marketing strategies, within owned channels, demonstrably increasing conversion rates (CVR) from 2.8% to 3.5% on owned channels and 10-18% on Amazon market place.
- Ensured all digital transformation initiatives complied with GDPR regulations, implementing privacy protocols and data protection measures to safeguard customer data and maintain legal compliance.
- Emnos Analytics GmbHInterim Management - Head of Product Management & Retail TransformationRETAIL (LARGE RETAILERS)January 2017 - December 2018 (1 year and 11 months)Munich, Germany
- Accelerated the rapid development of an AI Powered B2B Retail Offer Management Platform, leveraging machine learning algorithms to analyse shopper, CRM/loyalty card, category, and inventory management data to deliver personalised & mass market promotions.
- Designed a unifying offer creation process for supermarkets and FMCG suppliers, establishing tracking, and performance metrics; streamlining the process and increasing ~25-35% efficiencies.
- Defined the strategic direction incorporating user stories and UX principles, created wireframes, collaborated with the professional services team for rapid validation and queuing up for sprint development.
- Directed engineering teams through agile scrum-based sprints and DSDM framework, using MoSCoW prioritisation to accelerate project timelines, achieving a 20% faster time-into-UAT, while managing an eight-person team.
- Integrated AI/ML Python libraries, RESTful APIs architecture on SAS platform, improving data processing and performance plus seamless integration with external systems, such as Ecrebo (e.g., Carrefour ePOS).
- Positioned platform to directly compete with industry leader Catalina, enabling major retailers (Carrefour, & others) and FMCG giants (Nestlé, & others) to execute targeted promotions.
Recommendations
Be the first to recommend Shalon
Help this freelancer shine by sharing your experience working together.
These freelancer profiles also match your criteria
Agatha Frydrych
Backend Java Software Engineer
4.7
(3)
2
Baptiste Duhen
Fullstack developer
4.6
(4)
5
Amed Hamou
Senior Lead Developer
4
(2)
7
Audrey Champion
Web developer
4.3
(3)
4
Education
- Master of Science - MicropalaeotologyUniversity College London1998Master of Science
- Bachelor of Science - GeologyUniversity of Leicester1996Bachelor of Science
Certifications
- Finance for Non-Financial ManagersCharted Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)2008
- Advance Negotiation MasterclassCharted Institute of Marketing (CIM)2006