Available to book

E-commerce strategist & global speaker

James Hardy

Customer Experience

Business Strategy

Customer Loyalty

Transform e-commerce strategies with James Hardy, speaker on retail globalisation and digital growth. James works with global brands to future-proof online expansion across trading platforms, leveraging expertise from Flutterwave, Alibaba, and his award-winning China e-commerce platform.

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Trusted by Readly, Redburn, Flutterwave, Alibaba

James Hardy

London, United Kingdom

Starting from

£2k–5k

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London, United Kingdom

Starting from

£2k–5k

Send an email

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+44 203 835 2929

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James Hardy's biography

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At a glance

Authority on retail globalisation, e-commerce, and online growth strategies
Former Head of Europe for Alibaba
Co-founder of the UK's largest China e-commerce exporter

James Hardy is an authority on retail globalisation, e-commerce, and online growth strategies. He works with brands to future-proof their online expansion across various trading platforms, including Amazon, Alibaba, boutique marketplaces, and own-brand sites. He is the Head of Global Retail & Market Development at Flutterwave, Africa’s largest fintech company. Previously, James served as Head of Europe, Middle-East, and Africa for Alibaba and co-founded the UK's largest China e-commerce exporter. This award-winning platform helped European brands build market share in mainland China. James has developed international e-commerce strategies for numerous public and private companies, focusing on maximising their value in external, private, and public markets. He examines what large global conglomerates can learn from startup methodologies and what smaller companies can learn from brands like Alibaba about scaling their business. James regularly contributes to the press and media, appearing in The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, The Journal du Net, and the BBC and China Daily News.

Topics, sessions and talks

Smart Business At Alibaba

James Hardy discusses the Consumer-to-Business (C2B) model, on-demand development, automated decision-making, and exceptionally fast feedback loops. He delves into Alibaba’s concept of Smart Business and what this means for the impact of emerging technologies.

What Businesses Can Learn From Alibaba And Amazon

James Hardy discusses the radically different approaches of these two behemoths and what can be learned from each. Amazon is focused on its customers but not its suppliers and owns most of its own capabilities. Alibaba is focused on all parties within its ecosystem and has multiple business partnerships in almost all areas in which it operates. James pulls the primary learnings from each and predicts how they will fare when they compete head-to-head in countries such as India.

The Future Of E-Commerce: Learnings From Alibaba

James Hardy explains how Alibaba’s ecosystem operates and why it has been so successful. He focuses on how Alibaba has been able to move so fast and disrupt so many industries, even those outside of its historical core areas. He discusses the company structure, culture and approach to business value and relationships that have allowed it to become such a powerful force within China and increasingly across the globe.

Ecosystems And The Future Of Business

James Hardy explains what business ecosystems are, giving examples from multiple verticals to illustrate the speed and success derived from such an approach. He explains why they are the future of business, and then ties this into a unified theory of business and an operating model for all businesses.

Why we recommend booking James

Book James Hardy to gain unparalleled insights into retail globalisation, e-commerce, and online growth strategies. With experience at Alibaba and Flutterwave, he offers actionable advice for scaling businesses across diverse platforms. Learn from a proven leader who bridges the gap between startup innovation and global conglomerate success.

Check James's availability

Trusted by Readly, Redburn, Flutterwave, Alibaba

Testimonials

A fascinating and original thinker on business strategy, we gained immense value.

Will Butler-Adams

CEO, Brompton Bicycles

James Hardy was the star of the show! His keynote on ecosystems and the parallels within our industry hit the spot with all our publishers and with our CEO who was super impressed.

Ranj Begley

Readly

The feedback we received from our clients was extremely positive.

Redburn

15,000+ experts

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What topics does James Hardy specialise in?

James Hardy specialises in discussing retail globalisation, e-commerce, online growth strategies and more.

What is James Hardy's speaking style like?

James delivers insightful, original presentations on business strategy, engaging audiences with practical examples and industry parallels. His sessions consistently receive positive feedback for their relevance, clarity, and immediate value.

How can I book James Hardy for my next event?

Email james.hardy@getapeptalk.com or call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience. As speaker agents, PepTalk can secure James Hardy for commercial and corporate events, conference keynotes, leadership talks, celebrity brand endorsements & partnerships, personal appearances, and motivational speaking engagements. We can assist with enquiries about James Hardy's speaking fees, availability, and booking process for private business functions, industry conferences, and team events. Please note, for media interviews, autographs, charity appearances, or personal matters, we recommend contacting James Hardy directly.

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