Pret A Manager’s global chief digital officer Sarah Venning is to step down from her role at the omnichannel food to go retailer after taking a new role at Merlin Entertainments as its new chief digital and data officer.
Venning joined Pret as chief information and transformation officer in January 2019, before being promoted in October 2021.
She was previously director, group IT, strategy and architecture at the John Lewis Partnership, having held previous roles at the retailer since 2012.
Joining the executive team at Merlin, Venning’s role will focus on bringing together the key areas in Merlin’s technology, data, and digital capabilities to build a world-class digital strategy and deliver a seamless digital experience for guests and over 30,000 Merlin team members.
Commenting on her new role, Venning said: “Merlin is a company defined by its people, culture and dedication to innovation and I am excited to help drive the next phase of growth.
“Merlin’s extraordinary global locations will become ever more social, connected, and immersive through the power of digital and data. With the whole team, we look forward to designing an incredible next-generation experience for our guests.”
At MCA’s Hostech conference last year, Venning spoke about how Pret was enhancing the personalisation and targeting of its loyalty scheme Pret Perks – now called Club Pret.
