2025 Speakers

Al Ko

Al Ko serves as Chief Executive Officer at Auctane, the leading global delivery experience company that operates trusted brands such as ShipStation, Stamps.com, ShipEngine, Metapack, and Endicia. Ko joined Auctane from Early Warning Services (EWS), where he served as CEO. During his four-year tenure leading EWS, best known for the Zelle® payments network, he oversaw 20x growth in financial institutions and 5x growth in volume, while building a strong culture of employee engagement.Prior to his time at EWS, Ko spent more than 13 years at Intuit, where he served in various executive leadership roles, including Chief Transformation Officer, General Manager of Mint, and Head of Product for QuickBooks, where he was instrumental in its global expansion. Ko holds a B.A. in History and International Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the boards of Elation Health and LPL Financial.

www.auctane.com

Richard Lim

Richard is Chief Executive Officer of Retail Economics, an independent economics research consultancy focused on the consumer and retail industry. He was voted as a Top Ten Voice on Linkedin for sharing his insights on the retail industry, has been names a top retail influencer by ReThink Retail, a top 100 retail influencer by Retail Tech Innovation Hub and also appeared in the final of The Apprentice as one of Lord Sugars advisors.

Richard has a wealth of experience in data analytics, retail insight, economics and consumer research. He also sits on the Strategic Advisory Board at the University of East Anglia’s School of Economics, ranked in the top 10 departments in Economics in the UK.

www.retaileconomics.co.uk

Debra Searle

Debra Searle MVO MBE is a professional adventurer and serial entrepreneur. Her expeditions have taken her across the Atlantic, around Antarctica, up to the Arctic Circle and everywhere in between. She has also launched five companies, is a published author, has presented over 40 programme for the BBC and is a trusted corporate speaker. The movie of Debra’s story of rowing solo across the Atlantic after her husband was rescued is currently in development in Hollywood.

https://www.debrasearle.com/

Jo Causon

Jo Causon is CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, the UK’s independent professional customer service body, helping organisations across all sectors improve their performance by enhancing their customer experience.

Jo joined The Institute as Chief Executive in 2009. Since then, she has driven membership growth and established the UK Customer Satisfaction Index as the country’s most trusted indicator of consumer satisfaction.

www.instituteofcustomerservice.com

Katie Searles

Katie is Editor of DeliveryX and Internet Retailing. A B2B journalist who has covered topics including ecommerce, marketplaces, the last-mile, urban logistics, zero-emission trends and technology, as well as robotic innovations. 

Katie has also worked as a broadcast journalist for radio stations covering the east coast of Scotland and BBC London. Additionally, she has chaired both in-person and virtual conferences.

www.internetretailing.net

Neil Haydock

Neil has worked at Auctane for three years as Postal and Government Relations Director. Before that he spent ten years at Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd and five years working in the Charity sector for Mind and The Prince’s Trust.

http://auctane.com

Gary Winter

Gary Winter is a parcels industry veteran with over 20 years’ experience in mail and e-commerce home delivery. He has been working for some of the key carriers (Royal Mail, Parcelforce, UK Mail) and major industry suppliers (Pitney Bowes, Unipart).

Gary has held roles in Product Management, Business Development and senior leadership, as Sales & Marketing Director at Hermes. Prior to joining Parcel Pending by Quadient, Gary was Parcel Services Director and ran the Collect+ network of over 7,000 PUDO locations for PayPoint. His role at Parcel Pending by Quadient is to drive the Parcel Locker strategy worldwide and help grow their presence in the Parcel Locker market.

https://www.parcelpending.com/

Emma Clarke

Emma joined Metapack five years ago and she is responsible for defining and delivering our strategy and products to enhance Sellers’ consumer delivery experience. Working alongside the world’s largest Sellers, Emma is building out market leading tracking, notifications and returns products designed to improve customer experience and loyalty. Emma has over 17 years’ experience in product and innovation, with the last 12 years working in ecommerce, fulfilment and logistics.

https://www.metapack.com/

Matthew Mitchell

Matthew leads FedEx’s European E-Commerce Sales Vertical, guiding global and regional teams to deliver tailored solutions for top Fashion, Luxury, Retail, and E-commerce brands. He closely collaborates with Product Marketing to shape services that meet the evolving demands of e-commerce. With two decades of experience, Matthew’s deep industry knowledge and forward-thinking approach drive customer success across international markets.

www.fedex.com

Niall Boyle

Niall joined Auctane in June 2023 to lead the business development activities in Europe.

Niall has a passion for eCommerce and technology and has extensive experience within the eCommerce and carrier logistics industries, having previously held management positions at Groupon and most recently Amazon within the Amazon Shipping Division. Prior to joining Amazon, Niall co-founded and successfully exited a Carrier Aggregation and Delivery
Management business with operations across Southern Africa, Australia & New Zealand

www.auctane.com

Beth Chapman

Beth Chapman, Managing Director of Starlinks Global, brings nearly 30 years of experience in the post and parcel industries, with previous roles at Royal Mail and P2P. Under her leadership, Starlinks Global achieved multimillion-pound revenue in its first year, serving clients like The Hut Group, Beauty Bay, and River Island. Beth is celebrated for her visionary strategies, inclusive workplace culture, and customer-centric philosophy. Starlinks Global’s commitment to innovation and excellence has positioned it as a notable industry disruptor, helping e-commerce brands and retailers deliver their products to all global markets, even the countries and regions which are typically complex to reach!

www.starlinks-global.com

Neil Kuschel

After a 20-year career with DHL, Neil joined the cross-border e-commerce enabler, Global-e, as European CEO, taking them through a successful Nasdaq IPO.

He benefits from considerable expertise in e-commerce retail technology and has a proven track record in leadership, business development and capital markets experience. Neil plays a crucial role in driving the InPost strategy and further disrupting the UK out-of-home e-commerce logistics market.

https://inpost.co.uk/

Mike Dubovick

Michael Dubovick is the Head of Partnerships for Amazon Shipping, responsible for developing and managing strategic relationships with software and logistics partners globally. Michael has held various roles within Amazon, including within the global M&A team, and as Head of Business Development for Amazon Halo. Prior to joining Amazon, Michael worked in technology related investing and investment banking roles.

https://shipping.amazon.com/

Mike Hancox

Mike Hancox joined Yodel in 2019 as CEO, having held previous positions at retailers including Ideal Shopping Direct and Shop Direct. Mike has over 35 years’ experience in leadership roles alongside multiple non-executive director & board roles across retail, logistics and broadcast media industries.

Mike has overseen a transformation in prospects for the business, driving the expansion of Yodel’s client base and operations and leading it to its first year of profitability in 2021. Alongside the wider executive team, Mike has developed Yodel’s services to establish the delivery network as the specialist carrier of fresh food, pet food and flowers and a leading carrier in the C2C market.

https://www.yodel.co.uk/

John Douglas

John Douglas leads FedEx’s strategic channel and technology partnerships across Europe with the mission to ensure shippers and recipients have access to the full range of FedEx capabilities through their preferred channels, marketplaces, and business software. His professional experience spans over 20 years including a decade at FedEx with strategy, product and program leadership across B2B and e-commerce marketing, commercial, digital and automation.

www.fedex.com

Ben Gilkes

Ben Gilkes is a Logistics professional bringing 25 years of international business expertise in supply chain across multiple markets including the UK, EU, US and South America. Over the last 3 and a half years he has worked with Auctane’s major carrier partners to strengthen partnerships in different markets.

www.auctane.com