Joanne Skilton, formerly head of UK retail at BNP Paribas Real Estate, has left the retail property sector after 25 years to join tech firm Unily.
Skilton joined BNP Paribas Real Estate as head of UK retail in 2017. Before that, she was head of commercial leasing at the Battersea Power Station Development Company for around three years.
Her previous roles also include retail and leasing director at intu, then known as Capital Shopping Centres, where she worked for five years from 2008.
Skilton will join Unily in the newly created role of chief commercial officer, which will oversee the business’s expansion and develop understanding around the digital workplace solutions it can provide for companies.
This includes retail, manufacturing, legal, finance, food, beverage and leisure aspects.
Skilton said: “Moving from property to the tech sector and joining Unily at what is a significant tipping point in the digital workplace market presented a phenomenal opportunity.
“My role is to lead the strategic scalable roll-out to exploit the commercial equity in the product, to capitalise on the growth potential in the UK, the USA, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.”
Skilton joins the board with immediate effect alongside Unily co-founders Richard Paterson and Will Saville, chief trading officer Sam Hassani, chief operating officer Mark Sahal and chief marketing officer Chris Saville.
Unily’s clients include McDonald’s, US chocolate manufacturer Hershey’s and L’Oréal.
The company also said it was on track to hit targeted revenue of more than £20m in 2019. It has 120 employees across four regions globally.
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