VoCoVo appoints new CFO and CTO to drive AI-enabled Connected Retail innovation and growth

VoCoVo, the retail communications specialist, has strengthened its leadership team with the appointments of Emma Hillyard as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Paul Birkin as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to support the organisation’s next phase of growth.

As CFO, Hillyard will lead the company’s financial strategy, focused on protecting and increasing business value, while enabling scalable and sustainable growth and ensuring teams have the tools, data and expertise to support decision-making. Bringing significant experience leading finance functions and organisational transformation, Hillyard has worked across both the private and not-for-profit sectors, including retail, with previous CFO roles at Waterstones, Blackwells and Alzheimer’s Society.

Hillyard says, “VoCoVo has achieved strong growth already, and my role is to help make sure we navigate this next period and build on the growth already seen. For me, that means giving teams the insight and support they need to make informed decisions and creating the right environment for people to do their best work. I’ve always been very people-centric and believe culture is critical to making meaningful change stick. That was a big part of what attracted me to VoCoVo. Its people and culture are a real superpower, and I’m excited to build on that.”

Birkin joins VoCoVo as CTO, responsible for the company’s product strategy and execution, technology engineering and innovation. He will focus on accelerating product strategy and ensuring the company’s technology delivers measurable value for customers and the organisation, while continuing to bring together AI, data and voice to unlock new opportunities for the connected store.

Birkin brings extensive experience working at major global organisations and high-growth businesses to accelerate innovation, build high-performing teams and maximise the value of technology. He has held C-suite positions at CBRE, Experian, Capita, Logica and Cisco.

Birkin says, “I’ve spent much of my career leading large-scale transformations where technology can make a visible difference. That’s what makes VoCoVo so exciting – there’s already a strong technology foundation and a true ambition to keep innovating. As retail becomes increasingly intelligent, AI has the potential to create huge business value. My focus is on turning that potential into tangible value for our customers and pushing what the connected store can deliver.”