Retail media and marketplaces often sit between eCommerce, media and commercial teams. How do you define their strategic role clearly enough that the whole business agrees on what they're there to deliver?

Three points here. A) Having one holistic retail media strategy & approach (no matter the channel) is crucial in a first step, B) having a clear definition of what retail media actually means (for us: monetizing customer touchpoints along their journey & creating retail media packages for stronger impact) and C) shifting from selling placements to solving supplier business objectives.

Budget conversations are difficult when returns land in different parts of the business. How can teams build a case and set expectations that leadership genuinely buys into?

Indeed. The key here is to put together some kind of reporting that shows the correct allocation of expenses & income, even if both parameters sit in a different space within the P&L.

What does good performance measurement look like here, and how do you unify data across channels enough to optimise with confidence while protecting margin and customer experience?

Data & holistic in-time measurement will be the future gold of retail media. I would in general always prioritize actionable insights over perfect channel attribution. It is still tricky to have a holistic performance measurement across offline and online channels within the retail media space. We're taking it step by step here, not having the perfect performance setup yet to be realistic.

What operating models or ways of working have you seen genuinely break down silos between eCommerce, media and commercial teams — and what usually gets in the way?

Shared objectives, one commercial calendar across departments, clear ownership, and then simply talking to each other.

You're also joining our Dragons' Den session. When you're assessing a new technology, what makes you sit up and pay attention, and what are the immediate red flags?

It solves a real business problem / has a clear commercial impact, supports automation or personalization at scale, strong integration within existing ecosystems. Red flags for me: technology-focus first (vs solution), super complex implementation.

Plenty of promising retail tech never makes it past the pilot stage. What separates the innovations that scale from the ones that quietly disappear?

The tech doesn't solve an immediate business problem or in case of retail media a need of a supplier. Further it is crucial to define upfront "how success looks like" to have executive support.

What are you most looking forward to about joining eTail Germany Connect with other eCommerce and digital leaders - including taking a seat as one of our dragons?

Connecting with peers and learning from each other how to face concrete transformation challenges, seeing practical examples. As a dragon, I'm curious to discover ideas that genuinely answer a consumer or business need – not necessarily the flashiest innovations.

How valuable do you think eTail Germany Connect is in helping brands share practical lessons and spot the innovations worth investing in?

Looking across industries and dive into real-world cases are incredibly valuable, it exposes me to ideas that I might not have thought of or connects dots.