Kingfisher builds its retail-media engine with two senior hires
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
On 27 July 2026 Kingfisher — owner of B&Q, Screwfix and Castorama — appointed Jez Collins as its first Head of Data Monetisation, while B&Q hired Amazon veteran Laura Karsunky as retail media director, signalling a serious build-out of the group's commerce-media business across Europe.
Two hires that spell out an ambition
Kingfisher has created a new senior role — Head of Data Monetisation — and given it to Jez Collins, who spent 12 years at dunnhumby before three and a half years as retail media director at Colateral. Alongside it, B&Q has appointed Laura Karsunky, who held senior roles at Amazon for over a decade, as director of retail media.
Together the appointments cover both sides of a modern retail-media business: Collins on turning first-party data into commercial products across Europe, Karsunky on building the advertiser-facing network at B&Q.
Why DIY is fertile ground for retail media
Retail media has been dominated by grocery — Tesco, Sainsbury's Nectar360, Asda. Home improvement is a different, arguably richer, proposition: high-consideration, project-based purchases where a shopper buying a kitchen is also in market for flooring, lighting, tools and paint. That's a goldmine for endemic brands wanting to reach buyers at the moment of planning.
Kingfisher's scale gives it the data to matter: the group serves millions of customers across B&Q, Screwfix and Castorama in the UK and Europe, and hiring from dunnhumby and Amazon buys credibility with the brands and agencies it now needs to sell to.
Marketing Minute's read: the retail-media map is being redrawn
Our take: the story here isn't two CVs, it's the signal. When a retailer creates a ‘data monetisation’ title and poaches from Amazon, it's telling the market it intends to compete for ad budgets, not dabble. Expect a formalised B&Q network, off-site extensions and measurement partnerships to follow.
For UK marketers in home, garden, tools and trade categories, the action point is simple: a credible new retail-media network is forming. Get on the roadmap early, when test budgets are welcomed and rate cards are still negotiable, rather than fighting for space once it's saturated.
Quick FAQ
Who has Kingfisher hired?
Jez Collins, ex-dunnhumby and Colateral, as its first Head of Data Monetisation; and, at B&Q, former Amazon leader Laura Karsunky as director of retail media.
What is ‘data monetisation’ in retail?
Turning a retailer's first-party customer data into commercial products — targeted ads, insights and measurement sold to brand partners — the engine behind every retail media network.
Why does DIY retail media matter to advertisers?
Home-improvement shopping is high-value and project-led, so it links naturally to multiple purchase categories — strong context for endemic brands to reach buyers while they plan.
— Christie McCormack, Retail & Consumer Editor at Marketing Minute
Kingfisher is staffing up to turn its shopper data into a serious commerce-media business — and home, garden and trade brands should get on the roadmap before the rate card hardens.
If a B&Q or Screwfix retail-media network launched tomorrow, would your brand be ready to test it?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: DecisionMarketing, Retail Technology Innovation Hub and Retail Media Age.
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Written by Christie McCormack, Retail & Consumer Editor at Marketing Minute
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