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As the deputy global editor for WIRED magazine and a widely respected strategic forecaster, Greg Williams has exclusive lines of communication to the innovators, thinkers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are changing the world and draws upon his conversations with them to publish insightful and influential pieces on innovation, technology, and the ideas that are reshaping our world in real time. 

Debbie is a passionate retailer with over 50 years’ experience working in the retail sector. She is a firm believer in co-operative ethics and values and was appointed as Chief Executive of Central Co-op in April 2019, one of the largest co-operatives in the UK. Debbie is also a Board member of the British Retail Consortium, Vice-President of Euro Coops and a member of the advisory panel at Diversity in Retail and Pennies micro-donation charity.

Prior to taking on the role at Central Co-op, Debbie was the UK Managing Director at SPAR. She has also worked at The Co-operative Group, Marks and Spencer and W H Smith.

Debbie is a great advocate in all aspects of inclusion. She is also a champion of sustainability and a pioneer for Fairtrade. Debbie has developed higher standards of animal welfare in the food industry and has implemented improvements in diet and health including food pack nutritional information. She was heavily involved in recent campaigning resulting in a change to the law to better protect retail workers and instigated the launch of a Co-operative International Development Fund to help move global communities out of poverty.

Debbie is a mother, grandmother, partner, daughter, sister and auntie who has run a few marathons and for the last nine years, taken part in charity bike rides in support of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an industry recognised charity in support of landmine detection and removal in communities affected by war.

Debbie was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for her outstanding contribution to business by the University of Birmingham in July 2022.

Katie Secretan has over 20 years in commercial and trading experience, leading large teams to successfully transform businesses.

Katie joined Nisa as Retail & Sales Director in January 2024 to bring strategic leadership and retail transformation to the independent retail and wholesale business for Coop.  

With a wide range of expertise across wholesale and franchise, including senior leadership roles at Post Office and Costa Coffee, Katie excels in shaping commercial strategies, driving sales growth and enhancing both retailer and corporate partner engagement. Her expertise in navigating complex B2B environments and delivering sustainable growth make her a valuable addition to the ACS Board.

Passionate about championing independent retailers, Katie looks forward to contributing her strategic vision to support the sector’s future success.

Over 19 years of experience working at both One Stop and Tesco Express, Tim has built a wealth of knowledge of the convenience market, from working in stores and head office functions. Specialising in change management and transformation projects, Tim is A customer focused professional.

James has been a leader at Morrisons for 11 year and most recently the Group Trading Director, before which James ran the Online, Wholesale and Convenience businesses and the 19 Manufacturing businesses that Morrisons operate, as well as roles as the Group Financial Controller and Supermarkets Finance Director. Growing partnerships between Morrisons and other businesses that enable joint growth is something that James is especially keen on.

Prior to joining Morrisons James had 9 years at Tesco in a number of senior Finance roles, most recently 2 years as the Finance Director Tesco Asia based in Hong Kong and covering the 6 Asian markets that Tesco operated in. 

James trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte in London. 

James lives in North Yorkshire and is widowed with three young children. James' wife Philippa died very suddenly in 2022 aged 42 from BloodCancer. he is a keen cyclist and fundraiser for BloodCancer UK, raising over £300k in the last three years and this year is cycling a vintage Tandem bike from Yorkshire to London and then running the London Marathon!

Simon has worked in Food retail for all of his career, running Stores, Areas, Regions and Divisions in retail as well as experience in senior Commercial, customer experience and program management roles.

Daniel brings over 20 years of extensive experience in steering UK symbol groups, during which he has held a variety of leadership roles and has been responsible for overseeing the operations of two prominent UK brands, Budgens and Cost Cutters.

His professional journey has allowed him to develop a deep expertise in areas such as concept development, the establishment of robust franchise partnerships, and the execution of rapid growth programs. In addition to these strategic initiatives, he has also managed several critical business functions—including sales, property management, supply chain coordination, store development, and space planning—ensuring operational excellence across the board.

Currently, Daniel works as a key member of the executive team at Metro AG, a globally recognized wholesale food retailer. Metro AG is renowned for its significant market presence, with earnings exceeding €30 million and operations spanning more than 33 countries, supported by a workforce of over 85,000 employees.

In his role as Senior Vice President of the Convenience team, Daniel is charged with leading the development and implementation of innovative convenience franchise strategies across 9 countries. In this capacity, he effectively oversees a rapidly expanding network of over 7,000 stores, driving the company’s growth and ensuring that its franchise model remains competitive and well-positioned for future success.