We managed two searches simultaneously for the Director of Shows, Commercial and Innovation to appoint newly created roles within her team - Head of Gardens Retail  and the Head of Ecommerce & Licensing

Since their formation in 1804, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has grown into the UK’s leading gardening charity, touching the lives of millions of people. They are continually evolving and in the last decade alone, they have taken on the largest hands-on project the RHS has ever tackled by opening the new RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, and invested in the science that underpins all of their work by building RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science. They are committed to being net positive for nature and people by 2030 and to become truly inclusive to reflect all the communities of the UK. They have five RHS gardens across the UK, including the world renowned Wisley, that welcome a combined three million visitors each year, who enjoy over 34,000 different cultivated plants. Events such as the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, other national shows, schools and community work, and partnerships such as Britain in Bloom, all spread the shared joy of gardening to wide-reaching audiences.

We were appointed by the Director of Shows, Commercial and Innovation to support with the restructuring of her department and appoint two key roles into her team.

• The Head of Gardens Retail required a expert store retailer who was able to advance their product range, develop the team and deliver commercial growth across the retail operation within the five RHS gardens. We conducted a search that identified senior retailers from different specialisms, including, fashion, food, outdoors and attractions. The successful candidate was Barbara King, who had the perfect blend of experience, having worked for iconic retailers such as Selfridges and Marks & Spencer, as well as specialist garden centre operators Wyevale and British Garden Centres.
• The Head of Ecommerce & Licensing search was to identify a digital retail expert who could develop and execute the RHS E-Commerce strategy as well as develop their licencing partnerships in order to drive revenue growth, enhance the customer experience and greatly expand the breadth of their customer reach.  The successful candidate was Reena Joshi who had developed the ecommerce proposition from scratch at the London Transport Museum, as well as previously working for leading media businesses, including the Telegraph Media Group and Which?