John Vary

Innovation manager, John Lewis

A thought leader in the field of retail disruption and tech-enabled innovation, John heads up the IT innovation team at John Lewis. He is responsible for the UK department store’s in-house skunkworks, named ‘Room Y’, where he oversees the creation and developments of special projects geared around multisensory experiences. Collaborative by nature, this role sees him working across different areas and functions of the business to provoke discussion and encourage new ways of thinking. John is also responsible for the design and development of JLAB, John Lewis’ technology accelerator, which has helped build and define numerous early stage start-ups. He joinedJohn Lewis from Burberry, where he held the position of innovation architect.