Gavin Holland, Global Head of UX Design at JD Sports Fashion, reflects on his career journey from BBC Worldwide to leading global UX at scale. He shares insights on collaboration, personalisation, AI-driven design, and the future of omnichannel commerce.

Let’s start at the beginning. Looking back, what were some pivotal moments that shaped your path into UX design?

I was fortunate to break into UX right at the dawn of the Internet boom. One of my earliest roles was at BBC Worldwide in London, where I worked on how we could bring iconic BBC brands like Top of the Pops, Radio Times and Palin’s Travels to life in the digital space. It was an incredibly exciting time, there were no established rules, and we were exploring how to translate rich, traditional media into engaging online experiences. That experience really sparked my passion for user-centred design.

Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work all over the world on a wide range of projects with a wonderfully diverse mix of brands across Europe, US and the Middle East. What I enjoy most is the challenge of immersing myself in each brand’s unique context, running workshops, collaborating with stakeholders, and understanding the needs of real people. It’s that blend of creativity, empathy, and problem-solving that keeps me energised about UX.

What advice would you give your younger self starting out in design or tech?

I’d tell my younger self to show your passion for digital in every way you can. Be inquisitive, not just about design, but about wider innovation, emerging trends, and how technology is shaping the world, particularly in emerging Web3 tech trends. Take every opportunity to show energy and proactivity; it’s often the enthusiasm you bring that opens doors. 

Once you're inside an organisation, don’t stay in your lane. Be curious about what other teams do, engage with them, ask questions, and build relationships across the business. The more you immerse yourself in the wider context, the more influence you’ll have and the better your design decisions will be. UX doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it thrives when you understand the full ecosystem. You’ll need these wider folks for knowledge, engagement and to build impetus for your ideas too!

From first steps to leading global UX, when did you first realise the true business impact great UX could have?

The moment I truly saw the business impact of great UX was when I began facilitating collaborative workshops. I’ve led countless discovery-focused sessions where we brought together people from across the organisation, some of whom hadn’t spoken in months, even years. These workshops created space for honest conversations about pain points in products and processes, and what struck me was how often the solutions were simple, yet incredibly impactful for customers. It showed me just how powerful and transformative a bold, collaborative UX process can be, not just in solving problems, but in reconnecting teams and driving meaningful change.

That experience showed me that UX isn’t just about the interface, it’s about creating space for alignment, empathy, and action. I’ve loved developing this lean and collaborative aspect of product design, where we bring people together, cut through complexity, and solve real problems. It’s in those moments that UX proves its true value, not just to users, but to the business as a whole.
 

Designing at Scale: Building Global UX for the Modern Shopper

You lead UX for one of the world’s biggest sportswear retailers. What are some of the key principles or frameworks that help you design for different customer behaviours across markets?

One of the key principles I rely on is forming deep relationships with reps in different territories and maintaining close collaboration with teams in the US and other regions. This enables us to share insights, frameworks, and best practices, from customer behaviour to accessibility, ensuring our UX approach is globally consistent yet locally relevant. We’ve also established regular monthly forums to bring teams together, share data, and align on strategy, which has been instrumental in building a strong, connected UX community across markets.

Balancing creativity with performance is never easy. What’s your process for aligning user needs with business goals in such a fast-paced retail environment?

To align creativity with performance, I like to kick off projects using a Lean UX Project Canvas, originally shaped by Jeff Gothelf’s work, which helps us rapidly build consensus around objectives that balance customer insight with business goals. We aim to complete this in person with all key stakeholders to maximise clarity, collaboration, and momentum from day one. I don’t believe in UX as a rigid process, it’s simply our shared approach to developing great products together. That’s why we actively involve business stakeholders in participatory design sessions and encourage wider teams to be part of the design journey. It builds ownership, surfaces valuable perspectives, and ultimately leads to more impactful outcomes.

What innovations or shifts in UX are exciting you most right now?

I’m really excited by how AI is accelerating UX workflows, especially in research and analysis. It’s helping us trawl through vast amounts of data and user feedback to generate actionable insights at a fraction of the time it used to take. We’re now using advanced prompting techniques to guide AI tools towards the responses we need, which is making our design process faster, sharper, and more informed than ever.

From your experience, what’s the biggest UX challenge in ecommerce today — and how are you tackling it?

One of the biggest UX challenges in ecommerce today is delivering truly personalised experiences that feel helpful, not intrusive. We’re tackling this by deeply understanding our complex tech stack and planning how to harness all available customer data points, so we can serve timely, relevant content that genuinely supports product discovery, from personalised recommendations to 'shop the look' style journeys.

You’re speaking at eCommerce Expo about omnichannel commerce at scale & the innovative trends in the space. How does JD Sports use technology and innovations to help create consistent and seamless customer experience across digital, physical, and third-party channels, while still tailoring the journey to different markets and customer segments?

In omnichannel commerce, I’m excited by new trends that truly connect the digital and physical experience. We’re exploring immersive in-store digital experiences, including AR, VR, and avatar technology to help customers visualise themselves in our apparel quickly and accurately. We’re also ensuring our loyalty offers are seamlessly redeemable across both digital and in-store channels. Internally, we’ve set up steering groups to maintain a consistent brand message across all touchpoints - so every interaction feels unified, relevant, and Forever Forward.

Gavin will be speaking at eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing on the 24-25 September at the Excel London.

Register here

Quick-fire questions

Most-used design tool in your day-to-day?
Figma, of course, for core design work, and their whiteboarding and collaborative tool, FigJam.

UX or product trend you're currently obsessed with?
Lean, collaborative product design, rapid co-creation with stakeholders, test ideas early, and iterate based on real feedback.

Dream collaboration — person, brand, or product?
I’ve always been inspired by the boldness of Designers Republic and the sonic innovation of Warp Records, so a dream collaboration would be creating a digital experience that fuses experimental design with cutting-edge music and culture.

Your go-to source of design inspiration?
I find my greatest design inspiration through conversations with my team of Product Designers here at JD Sports, and I actively encourage my team to share ideas and spark dialogue across our comms channels.

One piece of career advice you live by?
Build strong relationships, stay curious, and never underestimate the power of asking great questions.