Mat O'Connor
Founder,
Actuate
Mat O'Connor is the founder of Actuate, a specialist ecommerce agency in Manchester working with founder-led retail brands on Shopify, Magento 2 and Adobe Commerce. He has worked in ecommerce since 2011 and has run an ecommerce-focused business since 2014.
Actuate is a Hyvä Silver Partner, an Adobe Bronze Partner and a Shopify Select Partner. The agency is deliberately small and works to a foundations-first principle: that site speed and frontend architecture are the first phase of conversion rate optimisation, not something to sort out afterwards. Recent Magento 2 Hyvä work includes Helmet City, Willow & Hall and Reliant, each with a retained CRO programme running alongside the build.
Mat trained as an actor before moving into development, and speaks regularly to ecommerce audiences across the north of England. He co-organises Digital Clubhouse, a monthly networking event for ecommerce founders and managers, and its annual summit in Manchester.
He is a vocal advocate for Magento as a platform for growing mid-market retailers, and for the idea that most conversion problems are architectural long before they are anything else.
Sessions
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23-Sep-2026The Connected Commerce StageYou Can't See Conversion Problems When Your Website Is On Fire
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