Harrods appoints Amanda Hill as marketing and customer chief

She will be charged with leading brand strategy, marketing, communications, visual merchandising, CRM, customer service, digital, personal shopping and media campaigns and operations.

Harrods claims the appointment marks one of the most substantial strategy pivots in its 180-year history as it looks to embrace digital as well as creative marketing for the store.

Hill joins from A&E Networks in New York, where she served as chief marketing officer. She has also served as chief brands officer for BBC Worldwide.

In addition to the appointment, Harrods has also restructured its senior brand and digital teams to accommodate the CM&CO role. The new communications director is Sarah Myler, who joins the business from Freuds. The new head of digital marketing is Sandra Truesdalem, and heading up online content is Jodie Blackbrough. Alexander Wells-Greco leads visual merchandising, also serving as the creative visual director.

Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, said: “We are delighted to welcome Amanda to Harrods, to take on this strategically important new role for the business. As we increasingly focus our business towards delivering unparalleled customer experience, Amanda’s vision as CM&CO will be integral towards building our strategy going forward.

"Her experience and valuable insight into today’s modern consumer will help us build on Harrods strong brand identity amongst our global customer base”.

On her appointment, Hill said: “Harrods is a brand steeped in 180 years of history, and in a culture of providing the best customer service and experience. The modern luxury customer is changing at a rapid pace and at Harrods there is a constant focus on remaining one step ahead of what our customers expect."