Tech for Fashion brings together digital pioneers, innovators, and creatives in fashion & lifestyle retail

Martin Barthel is a member of BCG X, BCG’s tech build and design business unit, where he leads the growth, ventures, and design teams in Paris with a mission to invent, build, and scale digital-centric businesses, products, and services.

Martin is a core member of CX for Growth, a BCG X domain dedicated to creating world-class end-to-end customer journeys to boost top-line growth. He is also a core member of BCG's Consumer, and Marketing, Sales & Pricing practices and leads the Fashion & Luxury sector within BCG X in Europe. Martin brings more than 20 years of experience in building and scaling consumer-centric business models, both in high-tech and luxury goods companies. He has worked across Europe (Germany, UK, France) and in the US (Silicon Valley).

Martin rejoined BCG in June 2022, after having worked as a project leader for BCG for more than 15 years. In the interim, he worked in senior management positions at eBay in Europe. At Facebook-Meta, he was the global strategy lead for Facebook's ecommerce and retail advertising business, and he led Facebook-Meta’s commerce activities in the US. He was an advisor to German Accelerator Tech in the Silicon Valley, and just prior to rejoining BCG, he held the position of Vice President of Global Digital Business at Gucci.

Adam is a results-driven technology executive with 15+ years of experience architecting and scaling digital ecosystems for global brands. As Global Director of Experience Engineering at VF Corporation, he leads enterprise tech strategy for brands like The North Face, Vans, and Timberland, driving innovation through MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture.

With a strong background in digital transformation and eCommerce, Adam translates complex technical challenges into tangible business outcomes. At V Shred, he previously led technology efforts supporting $250M+ in revenue and engineered high-availability systems for high-traffic environments.

Adam builds and mentors globally distributed engineering teams, fostering cultures of technical excellence, user-centricity, and continuous learning. He’s passionate about the future of digital experience across retail, SaaS, healthcare, and renewable energy, and believes in the power of technology to create a lasting competitive advantage.

Maria is a product leader at de Bijenkorf, driving the strategy across the retailer's website, app, and digital ecosystem.

Her journey with de Bijenkorf began seven years ago with the successful implementation of a new CRM system and the creation of a unified customer view. She also led the launch and ongoing evolution of the loyalty program, enabling business teams to enhance and re-imagine the retailer’s membership experience continuously.

Today, Maria oversees the entire digital product landscape, strategically managing and enhancing the full customer journey from initial engagement through to post-purchase experience. Her holistic approach makes her a trusted expert in digital innovation and customer-centric product development in the premium retail world.

Alvise is a Manager in the Corporate Development team at Vinted, focusing on M&A and venture investments. He joined Vinted in 2023 after working two years in investment management (Cambridge Associates, APG Asset Management) and four years in banking (ING). He's originally Italian but has been living in Amsterdam since 2020. He's married and father of one, and in his hobbies include cooking, fitness, gardening and professionally compete in sleep tracking. Alvise will share insights on the role that M&A plays within Vinted, focusing on how the team interacts with the other parts of the organisation and approaches growth in a rapidly evolving retail context.

Michael has been in Product Management for 16 years in industries from entertainment, to hospitality, to sporting good. He’s currently the Senior Director of Global eCommerce focusing on helping customers across 65+ countries find, love, and commit to sports. His career has covered products with 30 daily users and with 33 million daily users. He’s worked in organizations that range from the cutting edge of Product creation, to organizations that can barely spell the words. From these experiences he holds the deep belief that building products is one of the most meaningful professions that one can hold, and we shouldn’t excuse lazy practitioners. Originally from the United States he has lived in 4 other countries and is currently based in Amsterdam. 

Ellis Jones is a seasoned editor and content strategist with over 15 years of experience shaping editorial direction and developing cross-platform storytelling. She was the first female editor-in-chief of VICE Magazine, where she led the creation of award-nominated editorial packages and helped evolve the brand’s voice and visual identity during a time of major cultural change. Most recently, she led content and programming at Zalando, Europe’s leading fashion e-commerce platform. There, she built a cross-functional team and, working in collaboration with Highsnobiety’s agency arm, directed Zalando’s editorial strategy, combining fashion, inspirational storytelling, technology, and commerce in innovative ways. She now works as an independent consultant and is passionate about bringing a future-facing perspective, grounded in deep editorial craft, to the creation of meaningful, high-quality culture and style content.

With over a decade in ecommerce and marketplace business, Kimmo is currently responsible for digital growth at H&M, including new online market expansion, marketplaces, and partner business models. Passionate for both tech and fashion, his previous jobs have included expanding and developing the marketplace Afound as well as launching brands on hm.com.

Anastazja Kolcowa is a digital experience leader with a track record driving customer-centric innovation in e-commerce. As the Head of Digital Experience Europe at Birkenstock, she shapes experience on Birkenstock Digital channels through content, product, and seamless user journeys. Previously, she led global digital campaigns, launched & elevated membership proposition and drove CRM development. Passionate about impact, she mentors and advises startups in the lifestyle x tech space.

Thamar Swart is the Global Director of Digital Retail & Wholesales Experience Design at adidas. With a strong background in Interaction & User Experience Design, Thamar leads a talented team to create innovative digital tools that enhance retail operations and customer experiences. She has a passion for design thinking, talent development, and solving complex user problems through intuitive applications. Thamar will be discussing the future of in-store experience during Tech for Fashion.

Costas Syrmos is a brand and marketing leader with extensive experience across various industries and iconic global brands. Currently serving as a Global Marketing Director at The LEGO Group, he leads teams in crafting impactful campaigns that resonate with audiences worldwide.

Costas brings a strong track record of senior marketing leadership from previous roles at Samsung, Microsoft, and Nokia, where he played a pivotal role in driving brand growth, product launches, and integrated marketing strategies across international markets.

Previously, he was the General Manager for VIRTUE, the creative agency by VICE, where he oversaw operations in Southeast Europe. With a background in brand strategy and product marketing, his passion lies in driving marketing transformation and meaningful disruption, helping brands, teams, and organizations stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape.

Arti Zeighami has recently joined Boston Consulting Group as Partner and Director at BCG GAMMA. He is a Senior Advisor on AI @ Scale and member of the BCG Gamma Global Leadership Team. Prior to this, Arti was the Chief Data & Analytics Officer of H&M Group where he has since 2016 spearheaded the AI, Data & Digital transformation efforts of the giant retailer, working directly with the group CEO.

He has successfully turned the giant from laggard to leader by unlocking the power within the organization and turning it to a massive force behind the transformation including enabling people, processes and products as well as creating organizational structures and operating model.

Arti’s work entailed into establishing capabilities around AI & Advanced Analytics as well as Data which rendered to an organization on 500+ people serving and delivering tangible financial as well as business and sustainability values for the entire group.

Benjamin Gallais is the Sr. Lead Digital Transformation & Product Management at On Running