When it comes to digital transformation, hard landscaping group Marshalls has big plans. And the appointment of Adil Jan as Chief Information Officer is intended to drive those plans forward. 

This is a new role at Marshalls, to which Adil brings more than 25 years of business transformation, systems and analytics experience, most recently in the retail and healthcare industry at Bunzl.

Adil’s focus is now on driving forward the digital strategy of Marshalls PLC, working with both Marshalls and its customers to gain value from technology and systems.

Leading a team of more than 70 people, Adil will work across the entire Marshalls group to improve the company's customer and partner experience.

Adil says: “I’m focusing on making digital a key part of the customer and employee proposition, helping us and our partners to move the industry towards more automation. Electronic trading will be the priority for me, working across customer groups to make our systems talk better to one another and making the day-to-day process more efficient, benefitting all parties.”

In September, Marshalls launched an augmented reality tool that enables domestic customers to see what the company's products would like like in their gardens on their drives and patios. Using mobile phones or tablets, they see 3D product models that they can ‘place’ in their own outdoor space. It is the first phase of a paving visualiser project that Adil is now closely involved in.

Adil: “New technology brings new possibilities, which allows us to re-imagine the way we work, even re-thinking the meaning of work itself. If we want real value out of any of this. It's imperative for us to understand the problems we need to solve before looking to apply new tech and ways of working.”

What attracted Adil to Marshalls, he says, was a video on LinkedIn about Marshalls efforts to remove modern slavery and child labour from its supply chain. He says it really captured his imagination. You can watch the video here.

“I was doing some research ahead of meeting Martyn Coffey, Marshalls' Chief Executive, when I came across a video of him talking to Amar Lal, a former child labourer from Rajasthan who is now a youth advocate.

"I listened to Amar and Martyn talk about child labour problems within the imported stone industry and I instantly felt the connection that this was the sort of company I wanted to work for. It’s a company that wants to create change in the space that it occupies - and I feel passionate about playing a part in that.”

Martyn Coffey says: “Adil joins Marshalls in a new role for the business. Digital transformation forms a key part of our five-year strategy and his appointment symbolises our commitment and ambition to this area.”