Shaun Perkinson has joined Gymshark as its new Chief Technology Officer. He was previously CTO at Al Waha Travel Retail and his CV also includes a stint at Boden (in the same role).

In a LinkedIn post, Ben Francis, CEO and Founder at Gymshark, said: “Shaun brings more than 20 years of experience building products and leading technology teams, but what really stood out to me was his combination of technical expertise, commercial instinct and collaborative approach.”

He added: “Technology will continue to play a pivotal role in helping us create better experiences for our community and supporting the next stage of our growth. Shaun joins us at an exciting time and I'm confident we'll do great things together. Welcome to the team!”

General Atlantic

Francis is reportedly in talks to buy back a portion of the stake in Gymshark he sold to private equity as the 34-year-old looks to increase his control of the exercise clothing brand.

Francis, who started the business sewing his own gym clothes in his parents’ garage in 2012, sold a 21% stake to the US private equity firm General Atlantic in 2020. The deal, which left Francis retaining a 70% stake, turned Gymshark into a unicorn company with a £1.25 billion valuation.

He is now holding talks with General Atlantic about the potential valuation and size of the stake he wants to buy back, but is not looking to acquire the entire 21%, according to the Financial Times.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

The work of CTOs will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.