The Adili Team
Adam Smith - Co-Founder and CEO
Adam has worked in the retail sector for the last 14 years, latterly as Director of Operations and Internet Trading for sit-up Ltd, a £250m turnover direct response TV and eCommerce business, and previously at Dixons Stores Group for over 10 years in a wide variety of roles from Customer Services Director to eCommerce Development Director. Adam has specialised in eCommerce for the last seven years.
Previously Adam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Arthur Andersen working in the Corporate Finance Department. He also qualified as a Treasurer and has a degree in Monetary Economics from the London School of Economics.
Adam has experience of setting up supply chains from the Far East and Indian sub-continent, and, stimulated by this experience, has in recent years further developed his interest in development economics. He has significant personal empathy with the ethical values that Adili.com will represent.
Quentin Griffiths - Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director
Quentin is a serial entrepreneur and now a leading figure in UK online retail. He co-founded ASOS PLC and EBTM PLC and is a non-executive director and founding investor in several other online businesses including ADILI.com
Quentin's background is in marketing. He started his career at Shandwick PR pioneering product placement in the UK for clients such as Ford and Coca-Cola. After a short stint at the advertising agency TBWA, he set up his first business, Entertainment Marketing (now part of ASOS PLC). In 2000 he turned his marketing expertise to retailing and set up his first online shop selling celebrity inspired fashion - ASOS.com.
Christopher Powles - Co-Founder and Finance Director
Christopher combines considerable experience of the financial side of smaller companies with a long standing interest in the environment and the developing world.
In 1997 Christopher founded Pi Capital which ran a leading UK private investor club for business angels wishing to invest in early stage unquoted companies. He was Managing Director at Pi until negotiating its sale in 2002. In his time there Pi invested £27.6 million in 24 transactions across 14 companies and built an investor club of 125 multi-millionaires. 2 companies he has invested in have floated on AIM and one on NASDAQ.
Before founding Pi, Christopher worked for Elderstreet Investments and the Bank of Scotland's structured finance division. In addition to Adili, Christopher currently is a non-executive director of the fully listed company Litho Supplies plc. He qualified as a chartered accountant in what is now PWC's smaller company division and is an Oxford zoology graduate.
Christopher was born in Africa and has been deeply involved in conservation and ethical projects for a number of years, currently including various humanitarian and wildlife conservation activities in Rwanda.
Sim Scavazza - Creative Director
Sim has spent 18 years in fashion buying for some of the UK's most well known clothing retailers. She joined Arcadia in 2000, as Head of Buying for Miss Selfridge, where she then progressed to Brand Director. In November 2005 she was voted by Drapers Record as one of the most influential people in UK fashion retailing.
Before joining Arcadia, Sim was Head of Buying at Bay Trading and Senior Buyer at NEXT, having started her career with French Connection and River Island.
Sim left Arcadia in 2006, to pursue interests that reflect her personal ethical values. These activities relate not only to fashion, but also include the Chairmanship of the charity, Mentor UK, which works towards the prevention of drug abuse in young adults.
Mark Swire - Finance Manager and Company Secretary
Mark is a qualified Chartered Accountant having worked at Audit Manager level for KPMG and also in a Group Accountant role for the UK operations of Ceridian, a major US listed corporation. Mark also manages Merchandise Planning for the Adili.
Clare Lissaman - Ethical Supply Chain Consultant
Clare Lissaman is a consultant on ethical and fair trade. She was formerly the UK director for RUGMARK - the certification, labelling and development initiative working to end exploited child labour in south Asia's rug industry. Clare now works with a number of clients, both corporate and NGO, developing and implementing strategic ethical trading programmes; delivering training on social accountability and social auditing, and conducting research.
Clare read Oriental Studies (Chinese) at Oxford and previously worked in Hong Kong and China first with a Belgian trading company, then moving to the aid and development agency Crossroads International. She also ran the Hong Kong Asian Conservation Awareness Programme.
A trained social and environmental auditor, Clare has a breadth of knowledge and experience in the challenges of building up sustainable supply chains and a passion and belief that trade can, and should, benefit rather than exploit poor communities.
Simone Ruffin - Head of PR & Marketing
Simone has considerable PR, Marketing and Sales experience both in the UK and internationally (US and New Zealand). Prior to Adili, as an Account Manager at Brower Lewis PRCo in London, one of the leading Fashion PR Agencies in the UK, Simone has handled a number of 'blue chip' and emerging brands, both in the mainstream and Ethical fashion sectors.
Simone can be contacted through pr@adili.com or marketing@adili.com
Eleanor Freret - Buyer
Eleanor has a number of years' experience in the fashion sector, most recently progressing through the New Look Buying Team taking an increasing interest in the area of CSR in the supply chain. Since graduating with a degree in Fashion and Textile Management from Nottingham, Eleanor has developed her interests in environmental and Fair Trade issues.
The Buying team can be contacted through buying@adili.com
Neil Thompson - Operations Manager
Neil has had varied experience in Logistics and Manufacturing, including 17 years at Hall & Woodhouse, one of the largest regional brewery companies, and brings strong operational and IT knowledge to the company.
Neil can be contacted through operations@adili.com
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Adam has worked in the retail sector for the last 14 years, latterly as Director of Operations and Internet Trading for sit-up Ltd, a £250m turnover direct response TV and eCommerce business, and previously at Dixons Stores Group for over 10 years in a wide variety of roles from Customer Services Director to eCommerce Development Director. Adam has specialised in eCommerce for the last seven years.
Previously Adam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Arthur Andersen working in the Corporate Finance Department. He also qualified as a Treasurer and has a degree in Monetary Economics from the London School of Economics.
Adam has experience of setting up supply chains from the Far East and Indian sub-continent, and, stimulated by this experience, has in recent years further developed his interest in development economics. He has significant personal empathy with the ethical values that Adili.com will represent.
Quentin Griffiths - Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director
Quentin is a serial entrepreneur and now a leading figure in UK online retail. He co-founded ASOS PLC and EBTM PLC and is a non-executive director and founding investor in several other online businesses including ADILI.com
Quentin's background is in marketing. He started his career at Shandwick PR pioneering product placement in the UK for clients such as Ford and Coca-Cola. After a short stint at the advertising agency TBWA, he set up his first business, Entertainment Marketing (now part of ASOS PLC). In 2000 he turned his marketing expertise to retailing and set up his first online shop selling celebrity inspired fashion - ASOS.com.
Christopher Powles - Co-Founder and Finance Director
Christopher combines considerable experience of the financial side of smaller companies with a long standing interest in the environment and the developing world.
In 1997 Christopher founded Pi Capital which ran a leading UK private investor club for business angels wishing to invest in early stage unquoted companies. He was Managing Director at Pi until negotiating its sale in 2002. In his time there Pi invested £27.6 million in 24 transactions across 14 companies and built an investor club of 125 multi-millionaires. 2 companies he has invested in have floated on AIM and one on NASDAQ.
Before founding Pi, Christopher worked for Elderstreet Investments and the Bank of Scotland's structured finance division. In addition to Adili, Christopher currently is a non-executive director of the fully listed company Litho Supplies plc. He qualified as a chartered accountant in what is now PWC's smaller company division and is an Oxford zoology graduate.
Christopher was born in Africa and has been deeply involved in conservation and ethical projects for a number of years, currently including various humanitarian and wildlife conservation activities in Rwanda.
Sim Scavazza - Creative Director
Sim has spent 18 years in fashion buying for some of the UK's most well known clothing retailers. She joined Arcadia in 2000, as Head of Buying for Miss Selfridge, where she then progressed to Brand Director. In November 2005 she was voted by Drapers Record as one of the most influential people in UK fashion retailing.
Before joining Arcadia, Sim was Head of Buying at Bay Trading and Senior Buyer at NEXT, having started her career with French Connection and River Island.
Sim left Arcadia in 2006, to pursue interests that reflect her personal ethical values. These activities relate not only to fashion, but also include the Chairmanship of the charity, Mentor UK, which works towards the prevention of drug abuse in young adults.
Mark Swire - Finance Manager and Company Secretary
Mark is a qualified Chartered Accountant having worked at Audit Manager level for KPMG and also in a Group Accountant role for the UK operations of Ceridian, a major US listed corporation. Mark also manages Merchandise Planning for the Adili.
Clare Lissaman - Ethical Supply Chain Consultant
Clare Lissaman is a consultant on ethical and fair trade. She was formerly the UK director for RUGMARK - the certification, labelling and development initiative working to end exploited child labour in south Asia's rug industry. Clare now works with a number of clients, both corporate and NGO, developing and implementing strategic ethical trading programmes; delivering training on social accountability and social auditing, and conducting research.
Clare read Oriental Studies (Chinese) at Oxford and previously worked in Hong Kong and China first with a Belgian trading company, then moving to the aid and development agency Crossroads International. She also ran the Hong Kong Asian Conservation Awareness Programme.
A trained social and environmental auditor, Clare has a breadth of knowledge and experience in the challenges of building up sustainable supply chains and a passion and belief that trade can, and should, benefit rather than exploit poor communities.
Simone Ruffin - Head of PR & Marketing
Simone has considerable PR, Marketing and Sales experience both in the UK and internationally (US and New Zealand). Prior to Adili, as an Account Manager at Brower Lewis PRCo in London, one of the leading Fashion PR Agencies in the UK, Simone has handled a number of 'blue chip' and emerging brands, both in the mainstream and Ethical fashion sectors.
Simone can be contacted through pr@adili.com or marketing@adili.com
Eleanor Freret - Buyer
Eleanor has a number of years' experience in the fashion sector, most recently progressing through the New Look Buying Team taking an increasing interest in the area of CSR in the supply chain. Since graduating with a degree in Fashion and Textile Management from Nottingham, Eleanor has developed her interests in environmental and Fair Trade issues.
The Buying team can be contacted through buying@adili.com
Neil Thompson - Operations Manager
Neil has had varied experience in Logistics and Manufacturing, including 17 years at Hall & Woodhouse, one of the largest regional brewery companies, and brings strong operational and IT knowledge to the company.
Neil can be contacted through operations@adili.com
More Information