Ocasta appoints Mike Hardy as chief growth officer as demand grows for better frontline execution

The appointment comes as more retailers look for a better way to connect head office decisions with clearer, more consistent frontline action.

Ocasta has appointed Mike Hardy as chief growth officer, bringing in senior retail technology experience at a time when retailers are under growing pressure to communicate change clearly, improve execution and tighten operational control across store estates.

Hardy joins from StoreForce, where he served as managing director for Europe. He has spent much of his career helping retail and frontline organisations use technology to improve day-to-day execution, strengthen customer relationships and drive measurable growth.

His arrival comes as more retailers confront the same operational challenge: strategy may be clear at head office, but consistency is still hard to achieve in store, where new processes need to land quickly, standards need to be maintained across multiple locations, managers need better insight into what is happening on the ground, and teams need the right information at the right moment without having to search for it or wait for it to filter down. For many retailers that is still harder than it should be.

The scale of that challenge is showing up in day-to-day operations. The Retail Bulletin and Legion’s 2025 State of the UK Hourly Workforce report found that more than 43% of managers still rely on paper-based processes or simple software such as Excel, while managers ranked tools that make it easier to communicate with their team as the support they need most. That helps explain why frontline execution still breaks down so often in practice.

Operational comms sit in one place, tasks in another, audits somewhere else, and coaching often happens separately again. Messages are sent, but leaders cannot be sure they have been seen, understood or acted on. Checks are completed, but insights come back too late to prevent repeat issues, and performance gaps are spotted without a clear view of what is causing them. Too often, frontline execution is still shaped by noise, delay and assumption.

Where retail guesswork starts

For Ocasta, that fragmentation is where guesswork takes hold.

Its frontline operations platform brings together communications, task execution, audits, observations and coaching in one place, so retailers can connect what head office wants to happen with what teams are actually doing day to day.

That matters because execution is rarely a single issue. A missed standard might be a comms problem, a knowledge problem, a process problem or a coaching problem. When each of those moments sits in a different system, leaders are left piecing together a partial picture. When they are connected, it becomes easier to see what is working, what is slipping and where to act next.

For retailers trying to move faster without adding complexity, that joined-up view is becoming more valuable. The goal is not more reporting for the sake of it. It is clearer direction for frontline teams, better accountability across stores and faster action when standards start to drift.

Hardy’s appointment reflects that shift.

Ben Collier, co-founder at Ocasta, said: “Mike understands what strong frontline execution looks like and what gets in the way of it. He knows the pressure leaders are under to move faster, stay consistent and see what is really happening across dispersed teams.

“Too many organisations are still relying on assumptions, patchy communication and delayed feedback from the frontline. That slows change down and makes performance harder to improve. Mike’s experience will help us bring a more joined-up, operational way of working to more organisations.”

For Hardy, the opportunity is not just about category growth. It is about solving an operational problem that many retailers still accept as normal.

He said: “I’m excited to be joining Ocasta at such an important point in its journey. I’ve spent a big part of my career helping retail and frontline organisations improve execution and performance, and I’ve seen first-hand the difference the right technology can make when it is practical, easy to use and shaped around real operational needs.

“What stood out to me about Ocasta is the strength of the platform, the clarity of its value to frontline teams, and the speed at which the business listens, learns and evolves. There is a real opportunity to help more frontline organisations move faster, execute more consistently and make better decisions in the moment, and I’m looking forward to helping build on that.”

Ocasta works with brands including Virgin Media O2, Victoria’s Secret and Dignity Funerals, supporting frontline teams with the knowledge and insight needed to improve performance in every moment.

Meet Ocasta at Retail Technology Show 2026

Hardy will join Ocasta at Retail Technology Show 2026 at ExCeL London on 22 and 23 April, where the company will be on stand E40 and has also been shortlisted as a finalist in the event’s 2026 Innovation Awards.

For retailers visiting the show, Ocasta will show what innovation looks like when it starts with frontline execution.

That might mean replacing fragmented operational comms with targeted, trackable tasks. It might mean reducing repeat issues through inspections, site visit insight and faster follow-up. Or it might mean helping managers coach in the moment, giving teams quicker access to knowledge during the working day, and improving confidence and consistency for new starters before day one.

Every retailer’s operational reality is different, but the pattern is often familiar: too much noise, too many systems and too little certainty.

That is the gap Ocasta is focused on closing — helping frontline teams stay informed, aligned and ready to act, while giving leaders the insight to see what is working, what is not and where to focus next.