New Gymshark CTO Douglas will be responsible for laying the foundations of the Enterprise and Digital architecture, to enable the company’s continued international growth, as well as overseeing the company’s technology team.
Douglas joins the fitness community and apparel brand following a four-year tenure as CTO of Tory Burch LLC, where he was responsible for all aspects of technology, including large enterprise and digital transformations.
Previously, he was CTO at MCM Fashion Group, based in Hong Kong, and prior to this spent nine years as CTO at Burberry.
At Burberry, Douglas played a key role in driving the brand’s digital experiences and directing multiple SAP transformations.
The arrival of Douglas is the latest in a recent spate of appointments to Gymshark’s board, closely following the hiring of Danielle Petesic as chief product officer.
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“As soon I started talking to Ben (Francis) and Steve (Hewitt), it was evident they saw the key role that tech will play in the next chapter of Gymshark’s story,” said new Gymshark chief technology officer, Douglas.
“It’s no secret that Gymshark is expanding incredibly quickly, so is going to need the Enterprise and Digital foundations in place to be able to both cope and scale with this.
“The energy, passion and desire that oozes from this brand is extraordinary. When you combine that with the emphasis these guys place on tech, it’s fair to say I’m beyond excited to get started.”
Steve Hewitt, CEO of Gymshark, commented: “We talk about Gymshark as a tech company just as much as we do as a retail company. It’s a brand born out of tech, so we are as obsessed about building our credentials in this sector as we are in building our conditioning community.
“Not only will investment here mean we are offering a world class proposition to all our customers around the globe but will also go a long way to ensuring we keep and evolve the culture we are so proud of at Gymshark.
“John’s record for digital transformation at Tory Burch, MCM and not least Burberry speaks for itself. We’ve landed one of the best CTOs, not just in retail, but in all business, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to our leadership team as we continue our strong growth.”
Founded by Ben Francis in 2012, Gymshark now functions in over 180 countries, employs over 700 people, and turned over $380 million in 2020.
In August 2020, it became just the second British company to achieve “unicorn” status (a valuation of over $1 billion) without previous support from external investors.
