Archie Mason
Director, Innovation
“Archie is the glue that holds our innovation business together. Utterly dependable, driven and passionate about True, Archie’s work on developing our real estate partners in particular has opened up a whole new platform for True to develop in the coming years.” — Matt Truman
overview
Archie has a rare but useful background in both Finance and Strategy Consulting, having started his career at PwC. More recently, he has developed Innovation expertise, setting up and leading the innovation team at the John Lewis Partnership before joining True at the start of 2019. When not at work, most of his time is spent being inspired by his two young children, raising awareness and funds for charities that support kids with disabilities, and trying (but rarely succeeding) to find the right balance between staying fit and eating delicious food.
meet Archie
Why did you choose True?
Having previously worked with True when at the John Lewis Partnership, I recognised the potential of the unique model that True operates and saw a team with huge ambition to grow something really special.
How would you describe your job to a five-year-old?
I help companies think about how people like you will be shopping in the future.
What do you love most — and least — about your job?
I love getting to solve some of the biggest strategic questions that our Corporate Partners are facing, and meeting incredible entrepreneurs around the world who are creating the future for these corporates and others across the sector.
Name an idea or company that reimagined a business or industry — one you wish you’d thought of.
Netflix. In a previous role I wrote a thought piece on the future of the TV sector that involved talking to a broad range of people across the industry. It was before Netflix had really taken off as a streaming business but the potential for disruption was obvious.
Which person or people helped shape and inspire who you are today?
There are a handful of very specific conversations that I can recall very clearly over the course of my career, each of which has played an important role in getting me to where I am today. They have inspired me to help others in a similar way — if one person remembers a specific conversation they had with me at some point, I'll be happy.
true cv
Archie’s expertise at True:
Archie leads the team on multiple projects for a number of our partners, including:
John Lewis & Partners
Waitrose & Partners
Primark
Grosvenor
Oxford Properties
Shell
Morrisons
CCEP
Diageo
TJX
True stories featuring Archie
Events
Events, Reimagined
This October, our team was finally able to meet in person for a few fun-filled days of getting to know each other — and our new brand — a little better.
News
John Lewis Partnership selects True as Innovation Partner
The John Lewis Partnership has joined forces with True to help source Innovation across its retail and grocery businesses.
relevant people
Mike Tattersall
Managing Director, Innovation and CCO
“Mike is one of those rare people who can inspire, educate and drive a team whilst being a kind, humorous and empathetic leader. He creates an environment that encourages communication and collaboration in a way that makes you want to work hard and show up every day!”
Liam Buswell
Director, Innovation
“Liam is incredibly smart, cool and collected. He’s very good at articulating difficult concepts, which is very helpful when discussing horizon technologies and is always happy to go above and beyond to help everyone across the team.”
