Mike Hoban joined Morrisons mid-2014 and is in charge of its brand and communications strategy. The supermarket has had a difficult couple of years as the discounters, rise of online and convenience retail cause upheaval in the grocery sector. Prior to Morrisons, he was in charge of Thomas Cook’s ecommerce strategy. Yet Hoban is refreshingly sceptical about social media, which he says has yet to prove its commercial value. He is much more interested in CRM personalisation, which, he says, is about understanding the customer journey. Former colleagues call him a “visionary”, “one of a kind” and “the most inspirational person I’ve worked with”.