Say hello to Karen (she/her), head of technology for retail.

Q. Hey Karen, welcome to the Very blog. Tell us about yourself, and who's in the photo?

Hey, sure! My name is Karen Stothers, I'm head of technology for retail. Pictured is my husband of 15 years, Peter, seven year old (going on 17!) twins Evalyn and Freya, and I've been at Very for 17 years.

Q. Tell us about your career at Very so far.

I started as an assistant merchandiser on white goods in our electrical department, I worked across many areas and roles in the department, and eventually became head of merchandising. I took 12 months maternity leave and came back with a different outlook. I took a step back from being a head of and moved out of category into business projects and initiatives as a product manager across areas of retail transformation. Since then, I've worked my way back up and across into head of delivery overseeing all the retail tribe initiatives and have recently moved into my new role as head of technology for retail, leading on building, implementing and maintaining all of our retail tech solutions. 

Q. You've been very busy! What advice would you give to other females at Very looking to further their career?

I've had a great career at Very and have never felt I've had to do anything different being female. I'd say work hard, go after what you want and stay true to yourself. Get yourself out there and meet people outside of your team, don’t underestimate the power of a good network, too!

Q. Great advice. Have you had any challenges along the way?

One of the hardest challenges was taking a step back in my career and rebuilding my confidence after returning from maternity leave, but I had fantastic support from lots of people at Very making it by far the best decision I've made!

Q. Finally, what does success look like for you?

We spend a lot of time at work, so success to me is absolutely about work/life balance. I feel very fortunate to work in roles I love with great people and to be able to take my girls to school a couple of days a week. 

Thanks for your time Karen, lovely to catch up, and good luck in your new role!  

If you'd like to join Karen in the tech team, or any other team for that matter, check out our latest jobs here.