Sainsbury's has created the new role of chief data officer to install a data-driven retail environment.
The grocer has hired Andrew Day from News UK, who will be responsible for data management across the business.
Joining Sainsbury's at the end of August, Day will develop the grocer's information management strategy at a central level, as well as ensuring the business uses data at the heart of the Sainsbury's strategy to deliver improvements for customers.
As a divisional director Day will report to the interim CFO at Sainsbury's and will be based at the store support centre in Holborn, London. He will also lead the corporate data team of around 50 employees, which includes Sainsbury’s existing business intelligence team as well as the data science and data quality management teams.
Ed Barker, interim CFO at Sainsbury's, said: "I am delighted to welcome Andrew to Sainsbury’s. Creating his role reflects the value we place on our insights in an increasingly fast-paced and digital world. We are sure that Andrew’s expertise will enable us to be more effective with our information and support the delivery of our strategy."
Previously, Day was chief data officer and business intelligence director at News UK. And before that he worked for ten years at Telefonica where his exiting role was business intelligence director. Day has also held senior CRM and business intelligence roles at Orange and Sky.
Day commented: "Sainsbury’s is a fantastic British retailer built on a strong heritage with values all its colleagues can be proud of. It’s an exciting time to be joining the company and I am pleased to be bringing my skills to such a forward-thinking and digitally-minded organisation. Customers are at the heart of everything Sainsbury’s does and I look forward to leading a team that ensures data insights are a key part of how we innovate to serve them best."