Matchesfashion.com names new tech chief

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 9, 2017

Matchesfashion.com has announced that Usama Dar has been appointed to the role of chief technology officer, effective this month.

Tech plays a vital role at Matchesfashion, the luxury shopping destination that went from being a 100% brick-and-mortar retailer to a strong online heavyweight in the space of five years.

Its tech investment so far has paid off, with smartphone-generated sales rising by 605% over a 24-month period and 45% of sales are now generated via mobile phone. The recently launched app has been downloaded 125,000 times in only five months.

To take it to the next level, the company said Dar has extensive experience developing and delivering technology innovation, having worked over 20 years in the field in both Europe and the US for companies including Huawei, Sony and Yahoo. Most recently he held the role of CTO at Westwing, a Rocket Internet Company.

“For us it is vital that we have the best technology, and the best digital innovators and engineers who are thinking ahead for our business. Usama’s role is an important one if we are to continue to lead the way in innovation as we always have done,” said company CEO Ulric Jerome.

Further to the appointment of Usama Dar, Matchesfashion announced that Heidi Coppin will be joining the business this month as chief HR officer.

She joins from Notonthehighstreet.com where she was People Director. She previously held the role of Global VP of Human Resources at Net-A-Porter.com, and senior roles at ASOS.com, Unilever, Warner Music, and Anheuser-Busch.