Martin Newman is a consumer expert, also known as ‘The Consumer Champion’. His work has led him to found Customer Service Action and The Customer First Group, making him a force for positive change for both consumers and brands.
As well as fighting for consumer rights Martin is an advocate for diversity, social responsibility and employee engagement for all consumer facing sectors. These issues top the agenda in his media appearances across national press and television.
He appears regularly on BBC TV (Watchdog, Healthcheck UK Live, Your Money Your Life) and BBC Radio (BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Devon), on Sky News, ITV, Channel 5 and a host of other media channels such as LBC, The Times and FT to discuss consumer issues relating to the retail, travel, casual dining, automotive and financial services sectors and most recently the effects on the industry of the Pandemic.
Martin also produces and presents his own TV and Podcast channels which can be found at www.ConsumerFocus.TV and www.ConsumerFocus.FM.
Martin has worked for over 35 years leading the multichannel operations for some of the world’s most recognisable retail brands. These include Burberry, Intersport, Pentland Brands (Speedo, Berghaus), Harrods and Ted Baker. His bestselling book 100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience, is seen as definitive within the sector and was shortlisted for the Business Book of the Year Award 2019.
Following his career in the consumer sector, Martin founded global ecommerce and digital consultancy Practicology, which was sold in 2018 after having scaled up to a global staff of 100 in offices across the UK, EU, Middle East and Asia. Martin has since set up The Customer First Group and new consumer facing website Customer Service Action.
Martin delivers keynote presentations and chairs many leading industry events around the World. He has shared stages with innovators and entrepreneurs alike, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, to discuss the future of the internet and its implications for retailers.
Amongst Martin’s many accolades, he has featured in various industry leader lists including Retail Week’s top 50 eTail Power List five years in a row. He has also been named consecutively in the Retail Insiders top 100 Retail Movers & Shakers list, as well as the British Vogue Online Fashion 100.
Martin judges numerous industry awards such as the World Retail Awards, the Customer Experience Awards, the Retail Insider Awards, the PayPal eTail Awards, the Online Retail Awards of Australia and the Great British Entrepreneur awards.
Martin’s counsel also encompasses roles as a Non-Executive Director, Chairman and Board Advisor working with the Boards of consumer-facing businesses on their key strategic questions and challenges. He is also a board advisor to Clearpay, Yext and is a Trustee of In Kind Direct and a member of the prestigious KPMG IPSOS Retail Think Tank.
