James Hardy
Head, Global Retail & Market Development at Flutterwave
- Former Head of Europe for Alibaba, authority on retail globalisation, ecommerce and online growth strategies.
Full Profile
James Hardy: Expert in Retail Globalisation and Digital Growth
James Hardy is an authority on retail globalisation, ecommerce and online growth strategies, and works with brands to future-proof their online expansion across diverse trading platforms (from Amazon and Alibaba to boutique marketplaces and own-brand sites).
Currently Head of Global Retail & Market Development at Flutterwave, Africa’s largest Fintech, James previously served as Head of Europe, Middle-East and Africa for Alibaba and co-founded the UKs largest China-ecommerce exporter – an award winning, high growth platform operating across Europe to help brands build market share in mainland China.
James has worked on international ecommerce strategies for multiple public and private companies, identifying how brands can maximise their value to external, private, and public markets. He explores what the largest global conglomerates can learn from startup methodology, and what smaller companies can learn from brands such as Alibaba about scaling their business.
James’s is a regular contributor to the press and media, appearing in The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, The Journal du Net and on the BBC and China Daily News.
Talks
Why is innovation so difficult to achieve within corporate environments and what are the models where it succeeds? How do larger companies bring an innovative and a startup mindset to move fast and take risks, into an existing structured environment? The primary challenges revolve around blending elements of the existing historically successful business model, with a renewed urgency and adaptability. James gives advice from direct experience of working in both highly innovative startups and also large corporates which have succeeded in maintaining a culture of innovation and speed.
Many businesses talk about being data-driven, but very few are. Why is this? The challenge is that most businesses either under-utilise data, or create excessive complexity trying to fit every aspect of their business model into a data point. The key is to ensure a balance between quantitative data and qualitative analysis, and merge both so each enhances the other. A further challenge is that data can come from internal and external sources. Which is more relevant? How much weight should be given to each? James gives advice from direct experience in different industries on how to use data for insights, for automation and for competitive advantage.
James discusses the radically different approaches of these two behemoths and what can be learned from each. Amazon is focused on its customers but not its suppliers, and owns most of its own capabilities. Alibaba operates a Consumer to Business (C2B) model focused on all parties within its ecosystem and has multiple business partnerships in all business segments it operates. James pulls the primary learnings from each and predicts how they will fare when they compete head-to-head in different markets.
James explains how the Alibaba and other ecosystems operate and why they have been so successful. He focuses on how Alibaba has been able to move so fast, and disrupt so many industries, even those outside of its historical core areas. He discusses the company structure, culture and approach to business value and relationships that has allowed it to become such a powerful force within China, and increasingly across the globe.
James explains what business ecosystems are, giving examples from multiple verticals to illustrate the speed and success derived from such an approach. He explains why they are the future of business, and then ties this into a unified theory of business and an operating model for all businesses.