Meet the people who are happy to help you

David Symonds

Business Development Director

David joined First Friday in 2024 as Business Development Director, having previously delivered growth and client success with several leading consulting and technology companies. He has enjoyed working with many of the market leaders in retail and CPG both in the UK and internationally. Each client always brings the welcome opportunity to learn something new.

Robin Turner

Managing Director and Founder

Robin is the Founder and Managing Director of First Friday, and was previously IT Director at the Arcadia Group. With over 30 years’ experience working with some of the world’s biggest brands, he enjoys building strong client relationships and supporting organisations to succeed.

Gita North

Partner - Change Management & Consulting

Business Partner Gita has an accounting background and is an experienced retail professional with both executive and non-executive director-level experience. She has been involved in large transformation projects in many leading UK and international retailers.

Jumoke Adegbaju

Training Consultant

Jumoke has a background in merchandising and planning and experience of working with both luxury and high-street retailers. She is also an advocate for mental health at work, is a mental health first-aider, and volunteers for the mental health charity, Mind.

Clare Barton

Commercial, Transformation and Training Consultant

Following a long career in merchandising for George at Asda (which saw her progress to director level), Clare became a consultant in 2016 and now combines her broad merchandising experience with knowledge from a master’s degree in Business Psychology.

Natalie Bartz

Training Consultant

Natalie is a certified Agile project manager and retail store operations specialist with over 20 years’ experience of area and store leadership in the UK and Australia.

Lesley Clayton

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Lesley provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Lorna Corbyn

Transformation & Business Change Consultant

Lorna has extensive experience on numerous projects across multiple regions – UK, Europe, Americas. Her understanding of end-to-end business solutions that encompass process, systems and people is invaluable to delivering a solution that delivers in practice.

Nicola Debney

Consultant

Nicola is a highly skilled learning and development specialist. She has over 20 years' experience supporting teams and individuals within many well known high street retailers

Amy Duffin

Training Consultant

Amy is one of the creative forces behind First Friday’s digital offer and has a background in luxury retail and a degree in Fashion Design. She has a strong track record of delivering digital learning that inspires and motivates delegates from a wide variety of industries.

Clare Edwards

Transformation Consultant, Head of Training Academy

A Principal Consultant and Head of the First Friday Training Academy, Clare has over 30 years of retail experience which she uses to support clients to develop their commercial knowledge, technical capability and soft skills.

Katie Fletcher

Training Consultant

An associate member of the CIPD, Katie specialises in training management and consultancy for systems transformation programmes and has worked on several complex, global programmes. She also manages First Friday's highly successful 'Train the Trainer' programme.

Louise Gay-Jones

Training Consultant

Louise has over 25 years’ of experience in the field of learning and development, and has worked with a broad range of clients from numerous industries. She specialises in developing blended and digital learning training programmes and holds a Certificate in Training Practice from the CIPD.

Fiona Gorton

Training Manager & Consultant

Fiona has over 20 years’ experience as a Training Manager and Consultant and is a chartered member of the CIPD. She specialises in system transformation and has previously held buying and store management roles for the Arcadia Group.

Sarah Heath

Merchandising and Transformation Consultant

Sarah previously worked as Head of Merchandising for Debenhams and White Stuff. She has a can-do attitude, an infectious passion for her work and a wealth of merchandising experience making her an asset on any team.

Lynne Heaton

Training Consultant

Following 20 years as a senior merchandising professional, Lynne is now an experienced consultant and training developer specialising in supporting system transformation programmes, core technical skills training and merchandising best practice.

Holly Kimberley

Merchandising, Transformation and Training Consultant

Holly has many years’ experience of working at a senior level in merchandising and planning for well-known high street, luxury, and supermarket retailers in both the UK and North American markets.

Miles Leach

Training Consultant

Miles is an experienced training consultant with a strong track record of delivering classroom and digital skill-based and system transformation training, and broad knowledge of all elements of the training cycle.

Michelle Liddle

Training Consultant

Michelle has over 14 years commercial and managerial experience and a background working at a senior level in core merchandising for a number of UK retailers, across multiple product categories.

Rena Loizou

Consultant

Rena is an Associate Consultant, providing additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Wendy Marx

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Wendy provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Sally McGowan

Merchandising, Transformation and Training Consultant

Sally has a proven track record of leading training and change for many transformation programmes. She has an eye for identifying areas for improvement and developing effective strategic solutions to optimise productivity and margin.

Vivienne McLaren

Transformation & Business Change Consultant

Viv is a Transformation and Business Change consultant with over 20 years’ experience at a senior level in in merchandising, supply chain, and business change & transformation. She has advised on several large transformation programmes for leading retailers and is APMG accredited in Change.

Sarah Morgan

Merchandising and Transformation Consultant

Sarah is a commercial and results-driven consultant, with several years’ experience as a Commercial Director, operating at board level with full profit and loss accountability across a variety of markets.

Nicola Morley

Merchandising and Transformation Consultant

Nicola has worked on several transformation programmes for a diverse portfolio of global brands and enjoys sharing her merchandising and leadership expertise.

Claire Morris

Merchandising and Transformation Consultant

Claire has a wealth of experience, having worked as a Head of Merchandise & Commercial Planning for leading retailers in the UK and Australia, and specialises in helping businesses establish planning and forecasting best practice.

Sarah Morris

Executive Commercial and Transformation Consultant

Sarah has broad retail experience across diverse product categories and sectors, having worked as a Buying & Merchandising Director for leading retailers such as John Lewis and Tesco.

Charlotte Morton

Training Consultant

Charlotte has a proven track record in leadership, managing multi-million-pound budgets and driving business growth at some of the UK’s best-known retailers, and has worked with First Friday since 2020 as a commercial and strategic merchandising consultant.

Claire Pearl

Commercial and Transformation Consultant

With over 20 years’ experience as a Buying & Merchandising Director for a number of well-known UK fashion and lifestyle brands, Claire is a proven leader, achieving results through a considered approach to the balance between creative and commercial metrics.

Jack Saunders

Training Consultant

Jack has over 20 years' experience as a training and change consultant and has worked on a wide range of complex programmes for several leading retailers. She brings energy, passion and enthusiasm to her work, leaving clients engaged and motivated.

Jean Spencer

Head of System Transformation Training

Jean is a founding member of First Friday and a seasoned professional in the training arena, well used to supporting her team when changes, delays and challenges happen. She’s calm in a crisis, solution oriented and patient when bringing the multiple parties and elements together to deliver exceptional training for clients.

Jenny Swartout

Digital Learning Consultant

Specialising in eLearning design and project branding and identity, Jenny has many years’ experience behind her working with various authoring tools such as Camtasia, Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline to create innovative, engaging learning materials for transformation and change programmes.

Sally Taylor

Merchandising, Transformation and Training Consultant

Sally has over 20 years of experience as a training and change management consultant working with a large client base across several industries and international locations.

Jane Thomas

Training Consultant

Jane has worked as a training and change consultant since 2006 following a long career in merchandising & planning and L&D, and now specialises in system transformation programmes.

Lara Turner

Training & Change Management Consultant

A Training And Change Management consultant who also enjoys training development and delivery, Lara has a background in FMCG and thrives on managing complex, fast-paced cross-functional projects. Lean Six Sigma certified, she is a great communicator that enjoys driving the change agenda within training and supporting clients through business change.

Victoria Ward

Transformation & Business Change Consultant

A consultant with over 20 years’ experience, Victoria had a long career in merchandising for blue-chip retailers before joining First Friday where she now supports and guides businesses through transformation programmes, enabling them to deliver sustainable change in her role as a strategic transformation consultant.

Francesca Adonis

Training Consultant

Francesca is an Associate Training Consultant, providing additional specialist trainer capacity on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Training Team.

Arit Anderson

Training Consultant

Arit is an Associate Training Consultant, providing additional specialist trainer capacity on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Training Team.

Amie Blumberg

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Amie provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Sue Carr

Training Consultant

Sue is an Associate Training Consultant, providing additional specialist trainer capacity on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Training Team.

Sarah Coxall

Merchandising, Transformation and Training Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Sarah provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting and Training Teams.

Sarah Devereux

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Sarah provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Louise Eyles

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Louise provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Graham Field

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Graham provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Kathryn Fletcher

Consultant

An experienced retail professional, Kathryn provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Amanda Goodman

Training Consultant

Amanda is an Associate Training Consultant, providing additional specialist trainer capacity on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Training Team.

Ash Halim

Training Consultant

Ash is an Associate Training Consultant, providing additional specialist trainer capacity on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Training Team.

Lucy Hatley

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Lucy provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Louise Leaf

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Louise provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Corrina Towers

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Corrina provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.

Laura Zaccagnini

Consultant

An Associate Consultant, Laura provides additional specialist consultancy on client projects as part of First Friday's extended Retail Consulting Team.