ABOUT US

Darren Gillan
Managing Director and Founder
Darren Gillan is a strategic senior management professional with more than 20 years of experience in the Luxury Goods sector.
Darren is the Managing Director and founder of Gillan Luxury Consulting. His expertise and personal experience of dealing with world renowned luxury brands, as well as operating in the most prestigious department stores in Europe, give him a leading edge to advise and consult for the world of luxury. Every venture he has undertaken has been remarkably successful and a new development of growth.
Previously as Head of Operations at Watches of Switzerland he was the driving force behind all aspects of enterprise within the Watches of Switzerland estate with specific responsibility for Customer Experience, CRM, Store Development and Retail Efficiency.
This role also included strategy planning, and the new CRM platform for the wider Aurum business (Watches of Switzerland, Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths). Here Darren personally headed the opening of the Watches of Switzerland Knightsbridge flagship store, the Rolex Boutique in Heathrow Terminal 2, the complete refurbishment of the Rolex boutique in Old Bond street, and the pop up Rolex boutique at 1A Old Bond street.
Prior to this, Darren was Managing Director at Georg Jensen UK. Here, he had full P&L responsibility for the UK business operations encompassing retail, e-Commerce, and wholesale platforms. Significant accomplishments included the successful transformation of the UK retail estate, opening 7 new stores including the flagship store in Mount Street within 12 months.
Previous roles include Head of Retail Europe and MD of Americas for Vertu, where in conjunction with the Boston Consulting Group was responsible for the global role out of the retail activation program. Here he developed the brand and opened the boutique on Madison Avenue and in the Louvre Paris.
Darren was also a General Manager for Aurum responsible for Harrods, Heathrow and Knightsbridge; as well as General Manager for David Morris International in Selfridges.
Before entering the luxury sector, Darren was a youth work coordinator for a nonprofit organization with responsibility for over 100 teenagers and 30 volunteer workers spread across seven geographic sectors. This early experience has helped Darren to gain an ability to help develop people working for him and troubleshoot. His analytical skills have ensured prosperous growth wherever he has worked.



