About GDS Retail Summit
The GDS Retail Summit is a two-day industry event, taking place on Monday, September 22 to Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s sure to be a highlight in any ecommerce calendar, bringing together senior retail leaders, executives, and solution providers to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the retail sector.
Focused on the future of retail innovation, the summit will cover key themes including AI in retail, digital transformation, customer experience, omnichannel strategy, and supply chain optimization. Attendees will benefit from curated keynotes, peer-to-peer discussions, and networking opportunities that drive meaningful business outcomes.
Who’s attending?
Tom McKenna, Co-Founder and CEO @ Ocula
Tom has spent his career developing cutting edge data & analytics capabilities for several of the world’s largest companies while working for the likes of Deloitte, dunnhumby and Bain & Company.
As Co-Founder and CEO at Ocula, he’s helping level the AI playing field for eCommerce clients like Boots, Coty & AO, using agentic AI copywriting to drives tangible results. Ocula’s AI copywriter creates brand-aligned, search-optimised product descriptions – at speed, at scale, and with zero IT involvement. Whether you’re launching new SKUs or optimising your long tail, Ocula’s AI copywriter is always on, proactively writing copy that helps maximise traffic and revenue, whilst boosting team efficiency by over 90%.
Aimee Taylor, Senior Account Executive @ Ocula
With a background in national account management at Coty, Aimee specialised in flagship and department store channels, working with renowned retailers like John Lewis, Frasers, Flannels, Fenwick, Harvey Nichols, and their eCommerce platforms. Her experience on the retail and brand side gave her invaluable insights into how retail solutions should perform for their partners. She’s seen firsthand how the right technology can drive efficiencies and optimise outcomes. Now at Ocula, she focuses on demand generation and business development, helping match retailers and brands with our solution, guiding them through the Ocula journey as their main point of contact, and unlocking opportunities to optimise their success in the ever-evolving retail landscape.
Oscar Lacey, Account Executive @ Ocula
With 10 years in D2C SaaS sales, Oscar has spent the bulk of his career partnering with eCommerce brands to do one thing: drive results. From ROAS to repeat purchase rate, loyalty to lifetime value, he's helped brands optimise the metrics that actually matter — and cut through the noise of tools that promise the world but deliver little.
Having worked with names like Victoria Beckham Beauty and plenty of the digital-first disruptors you haven’t heard of yet, Oscar brings a practical, commercial lens to the chaos of modern eCommerce. He’s sat on more Zooms about retention strategy than he'd care to admit, and has seen firsthand what works (and what definitely doesn’t) when it comes to scaling online.