Tom Chapman OBE

Keynote Speaker

Tom Chapman's Biography

Tom Chapman OBE is an entrepreneur and investor. He has a strong track-record of founding, scaling and investing in transformative tech-driven start-ups, with a portfolio today that spans the logistics, financial services, healthcare, and fashion sectors.

He co-founded MATCHESFASHION.COM with his wife, Ruth, growing it into one of the leading luxury retailers globally. The pair were majority shareholders in the business before it was sold in a deal worth in excess of $1 billion in 2017.

Since exiting the business, Tom has focused on investing in disruptive, mission-driven start-ups with a strong emphasis on the B2C consumer brands that leverage technology in new ways.

Tom has spent the last five years actively looking for committed founders who challenge the status quo and make a positive impact in the lives of their customers. He works hand-in-hand with management teams and provides them with guidance, expertise, and knowledge.

Today, his portfolio includes Cerebelly, a science-driven producer of baby food; digital healthcare app Huma; by Humankind, a personal care brand seeking to eliminate single-use plastic; and children’s money management application GoHenry.

Tom helps these brands build deep, personal relationships with customers by connecting with them across both physical and digital touchpoints. He also takes care to place special importance on social responsibility, inclusiveness, and environmental impact.

Tom's work as an investor builds on his experience founding MATCHESFASHION.COM, which operated at the forefront of the changing face of retail for more than 30 years. With his wife Ruth, they grew the company from a single bricks-and-mortar store to a global luxury fashion brand, credited with introducing designers such as Versace, Prada, and Bottega Veneta to the UK.

Under Tom’s leadership, MATCHESFASHION.COM invested heavily in technology across all areas of the business, enabling the company to better understand the lives of its customers and provide them with a fast, convenient, and highly personalised service.

MATCHESFASHION.COM was one of the first luxury brands to go online in 2005; one of the first businesses to launch 90-minute delivery in 2016; and one of the first retailers to build a platform to provide a single truly unified view of customers’ shopping across both online and physical channels.

Tom has since leveraged his pedigree for scaling and exiting international businesses to steward some of Europe and North America’s most promising founders and CEOs.