A career built across product, sourcing and manufacturing.

Over more than three decades, my career has taken me from British textile design and manufacturing to Asia Pacific, global sourcing and senior retail and commercial leadership.

I've worked on both sides of the retailer and supplier relationship, building teams, functions and businesses across different markets and product categories.

The common thread has always been product: understanding what the customer wants, building the right capability behind it and connecting sourcing decisions to wider commercial performance.

2026 -Present | Bhartiya International

Regional Director

I joined Bhartiya International to establish and scale its UK commercial presence, bringing a retailer-led understanding of product, sourcing and commercial strategy into an international manufacturing business.

My role connects UK market and customer insight with Bhartiya's international product, sourcing and manufacturing capability.

12 WEEKS - Identified, secured and established Bhartiya's new UK office and commercial base.

24 WEEKS - Built the UK proposition and onboarded two new retail customers.

My focus is now on building the team, developing strategic customer relationships and creating sustainable growth by aligning product and sourcing capability with retailers' wider commercial priorities.

2021-2026 | John Lewis & Partners

Partner & Head of Sourcing, Clothing & Home

I joined John Lewis to build its global sourcing capability across Fashion and Home.

Starting with two people working on individual sourcing projects, I established and led a new UK sourcing organisation and helped move sourcing from a series of projects towards a strategic business capability.

£408m - Own-brand cost of goods within sourcing remit.

12 - New UK sourcing team built from concept to delivery.

£20m - Commercial value delivered through sourcing transformation.

My remit brought together product, margin, speed, resilience, sustainability and long-term sourcing strategy.

I developed nearshore sourcing capability, introduced leaner ways of working to improve speed and agility, and worked closely with Ethics & Sustainability leadership to embed responsible sourcing within the wider strategy.

The role required balancing commercial opportunity with an increasingly volatile global environment, considering cost, speed, resilience, sustainability and risk together rather than in isolation.

I worked regularly with executive and senior leadership teams, translating sourcing, product and commercial performance into strategic business decisions.

1999-2020 | Next

21 years across global product, sourcing and design leadership

My career at Next developed across Asia and the UK and ultimately connected me with eight sourcing offices globally.

Across those 21 years, I worked across virtually every product area, including womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear and homeware. My responsibilities evolved from fabric strategy into product development, design, sourcing and broader commercial leadership.

1999-2001 | Global Fabric Sourcing | Asia

I began by developing global fabric sourcing strategy, working internationally with mills across Asia and beyond.

I rationalised the mill base and introduced a red, amber and green framework for managing performance and risk, creating greater visibility around quality, compliance, sustainability and capability.

The framework remains in use today.

2001-2004 | Product & Sourcing Leadership | Hong Kong

I moved to Hong Kong to establish and lead product development within the Next sourcing operation.

Beginning in childrenswear and subsequently broadening my product experience, I built and led a business worth approximately US$150m annually, with 12 direct reports and 130 local staff across sourcing, technical and product development.

The focus was product as much as sourcing: improving development, quality, margin and speed to market while building strong supplier relationships and developing the local team.

2004-2020 | Head of Global Sourcing & Design | UK & Asia

Returning to the UK, I was one of three people who established Next Sourcing UK.

Working closely with buying, design and technology teams, we identified commercial opportunities within the ranges and developed product to grow the sourcing business.

I subsequently led global sourcing and design across multiple categories, with responsibility spanning product development, design, sourcing strategy, supplier relationships, commercial performance, critical path and team development.

By the end of my time at Next, my role connected me with eight sourcing offices globally.

Those 21 years gave me an unusually broad understanding of how product, design, buying, technical, sourcing and manufacturing need to work together to deliver commercial results.

1994-1999 | Design, technical & manufacturing foundations

Murmar Phipps

Head of Design & Commercial Liaison, Europe | 1994-1998

My career began in a British textile business supplying footwear, accessories and performance clothing.

I built and developed the design team while working closely with commercial leadership to identify trends, product opportunities and routes to growth.

It was an early introduction to something that has remained important throughout my career: creative product needs commercial understanding behind it.

Courtaulds Clothing, Sri Lanka

Supply Chain & Technical Manager | 1998-1999

I was headhunted to relocate to Sri Lanka as part of the migration of manufacturing from the UK into Asia Pacific.

Working on a greenfield manufacturing operation producing for Marks & Spencer, I helped establish the supply chain and technical capability, developed quality systems and recruited and trained the local team.

It was my first significant international leadership role and the beginning of a career that would become increasingly global.

Education and Continuing Development

Cranfield University-Non-Executive Director Programme, 2026

University of Cambridge-Sustainable Supply Chain Management, 2021

The University of Manchester-MSc Textile Technology, Colour Forecasting, 1993

University of Leeds -BSc Textile Design, 1992

Continuing to broaden the lens

Alongside my executive career, I continue to develop my perspective on governance, sustainability and the future of product-led businesses.

Recent study in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at the University of Cambridge and the Non-Executive Director Programme at Cranfield University reflects that continued interest in how businesses can combine commercial performance with responsible, long-term decision-making.