Former Ted Baker exec joins Secret Sales as CTO

Off-price marketplace Secret Sales has announced Leon Shepherd as its new chief technology officer, an appointment that comes as the company prepares to up its technology investments.

Shepherd joins the firm from Ted Baker, where he held the position of chief information officer and digital strategy director.

Prior to that, he has also worked at the likes of Jack Wills, Fat Face and Marks & Spencer, as well as serving for over nine years at Vodafone.

At Secret Sales, Shepherd will be tasked with enhancing the company’s integrated technology stack to deliver a “seamless next-generation marketplace platform”.

Among the enhancements, Secret Sales is particularly interested in making the most of its forecasting tools, which it said helps brands to accelerate the sales and margins from their seasonal surplus stock.

Shepherd will also lead the implementation of the company’s new website using Progressive Web App (PWA) technologies, which allows for both online and offline navigation and a faster experience.

His appointment comes at a time when Secret Sales has continued to see significant growth, with the company most recently entering two new territories and snapping up two 10 million dollar funding rounds.

Now, the platform said it has set its sights on 12 new European territories, alongside plans to further scale its tech offerings.

In a release, Chris Griffin, CEO, Secret Sales said: “Technology is at the heart of what we do and plays a critical role in driving efficiencies and profitability for brands and retailers on our marketplace.

“So, we’re really pleased to have Leon here, taking the next step in his career with us, and accelerating our technology investment.”