• Assi Gol appointed Shop Direct’s first customer intelligence director
  • Gol will replace former customer director Dene Jones in his new role
  • Shop Direct said the hire will further drive its use of data and personalisation

Shop Direct has hired its first customer intelligence director to improve personalisation across its online fascias.

The etailer has appointed Assi Gol, who will join the business in September after eight years at global management consultancy McKinsey & Co.

Gol’s role will replace the customer director job previously held by Dene Jones, who, as revealed by Retail Week, left Shop Direct in April.

Gol will oversee Shop Direct’s data science and data strategy teams and be responsible for “even further strengthening and accelerating the development of Shop Direct’s data-fuelled approach to ecommerce” across its Very, Littlewoods and VeryExclusive brands.

In his new role, Gol will report to the online retailer’s group strategy and customer director Sasha Berson, who will also join Shop Direct in September from online marketplace Groupon.

Shop Direct chief executive Alex Baldock said: “Our rich customer data is the core of our business. Assi will help us take our data science and analytics to the next level, and give customers the unique experiences we know they love.”

Gol’s appointment follows deputy chief executive Gareth Jones’ departure from Shop Direct earlier this month.