Tech start-up Pricesearcher has announced a big scalp in the hiring of former Amazon UK head of pricing Weldon W. Whitener.
The move signifies a clear statement of intent from shopping search engine Pricesearcher who, with this addition, brings on board one of the world’s foremost experts within retail pricing.
Whitener will lead on managing and utilising the huge amounts of data Pricesearcher is collecting as it aims to complete its UK index by its Q1 2019 launch.
His experience with large data sets was put to work in the retail sector after being headhunted from The Boston Consulting Group to work as senior product manager for Amazon, eventually becoming the head of pricing.
Whitener will be based at the team’s HQ in Farringdon London and will work closely with Pricesearcher’s founder and CEO, Samuel Dean.
The hire comes before October, just in time for the run up to the retail sector’s busiest time of the year.
“My time in the corporate sphere has been enlightening and rewarding in equal measure,” said Whitener.
“But I have always harboured an entrepreneurial streak. I wanted to wait for the right opportunity.
“After meeting with Sam, it was clear that there was a unique chance within Pricesearcher to build something unlike anything elsewhere in the market. To actually change the game.
“My experience will add value for both retailers and customers that visit Pricesearcher. Sam and the team are taking their commitment to understanding how best we can serve both sides of the sector seriously.
“For the consumer, we have a shared belief in the accessibility of data, and the responsibility to use this data to remove the barriers of entry for a consumer.
“Retail is the last sector to use an efficient price aggregator. If you look everywhere else – aviation, insurance, food, banking – consumers have all benefited from the democratising power of big data.
“For the retailer, my hire is equally important. When I arrived at the business, Sam and the team had already successfully indexed 1.3bn prices. My job is now to derive actionable insight from this massive data set and enable retailers to make more informed pricing decisions.”
Applying a data science perspective to this mountain of pricing data has allowed the company to understand exactly what the retailer ultimately wants, and how it can offer them a pricing strategy to achieve it says Whitener.
“The potential of this business is massive, as is my ambition to take this opportunity and run with it,” said Whitener.
“My personal aim is to make this the best in class team in eCommerce search, providing an unrivalled shopping experience to customers wherever they are in the world.”
Samuel Dean, CEO & founder of Pricesearcher, added: “In the age of information, data is everything. Recruiting someone of Weldon’s experience and calibre is invaluable. Very few people in the world understand pricing as well as him.
“Weldon’s knowledge of big data within the retail sector has already enabled us to make substantial advancements in our product offering.
“The bridge of understanding he offers has closed the gap between data and the entire pricing strategy piece for the B2B market, allowing both to gain from the other.”