Eugene is a customer-obsessed product leader driving omnichannel experiences across retail and digital, with an app-first mindset. With over a decade of experience scaling products at companies like Apple, Bumble, and Lazada (Alibaba Group), he now leads digital transformation at Holland & Barrett, shaping how the UK’s leading wellness brand connects with 100 million customers. Eugene thrives at the intersection of experience design, engineering, and business impact, building products that serve real human needs at scale.
In your own words, what’s your role in the app business right now?
While I lead broader omnichannel experiences across digital and retail, the app remains the heartbeat of our customer engagement strategy. It’s the most personal, immediate, and data-rich touchpoint we have, and I see my role as making sure it serves as the connective tissue between in-store moments and digital journeys.
How did you end up working in apps?
My path into apps started on the testing side. I was freelancing as a software tester, interacting with hundreds of mobile experiences across platforms. That curiosity snowballed into a career, one that’s taken me from QA to product roles. I’ve been hooked ever since.
What are you most excited about in apps right now?
I’m fascinated by the convergence of mobile, AI, and physical experiences. We’re moving beyond “screen-only” products into a world where your phone becomes the interface for everything, from store visits to wellness diagnostics. That blend of digital and real-world context is where the next big breakthroughs will come from.
Is there anyone you’d like to shout out to who has influenced your journey in the app industry?
I’ve been lucky to work with some truly exceptional teams, from engineers at Apple to product thinkers at Bumble. But it’s my peers, the people in the trenches with me, who’ve had the most lasting influence. They’ve taught me that great product work is about humility, curiosity, and relentless focus on the user.
What’s in your app tech stack?
Our core is a React Native app built on Expo, enabling rapid cross-platform development. But that’s just the beginning; our stack spans analytics, CRM, experimentation platforms, and retail systems. Connecting it all is the real challenge and the opportunity.
What do you like most about working in apps?
It’s the immediacy. You ship, you learn, you iterate. And you’re constantly reminded that your product lives in someone’s pocket, it’s personal, it’s high-stakes, and it demands empathy at every step.
What one thing would you change about the app industry?
App discovery and distribution are still bottlenecked by outdated gatekeepers. I’d love to see more open ecosystems where developers can innovate freely and users can find meaningful products without algorithmic bias or friction.
The future is in fluid, context-aware experiences, where your app knows when to step forward and when to disappear. Especially in wellness, there’s huge untapped potential in blending app functionality with in-store, wearable, and even ambient tech experiences.
If you weren’t working in apps what would you be doing?
Probably backend or data infrastructure. I enjoy the systems-thinking side of product and love finding leverage in well-designed architecture.
iOS or Android?
iOS.
What apps have been most useful to you over the last year?
Perplexity, an incredible rethink of how we search and process information.
What’s on your Spotify playlist?
Tom Misch, always. A mix of mellow groove and rhythm that keeps the ideas flowing.
Any Netflix/ TV show recommendations?
Severance. It’s brilliantly surreal and a poignant reflection on the boundaries between work and identity.
Is there anything else we should know about you?
You can often find me playing piano at the rail station: my way of unplugging and connecting with people in the moment. Music, like product, is about emotion, flow, and timing, and sometimes a little improvisation.
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