South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay is reorganising its information technology leadership: David Cohn took up the role of Group Chief Information Officer last week. He had worked for direct competitor The Shoprite Group for about two decades. Mark Tudor remains with Pick n Pay but is stepping down from his previous role as Chief Information Technology Officer. In future, Mark Tudor will serve as Executive Information Technology.
Mark Tudor has led Pick n Pay’s IT as Chief Information Technology Officer since December 2022. Prior to this, Mark Tudor was responsible, amongst other things, for architecture and innovation, as well as the Transformation Management Office for Technology at the retailer. Mark Tudor has been with Pick n Pay since 2016.
In David Cohn, Pick n Pay has secured a top executive in retail technology who spent around two decades working for its direct competitor, The Shoprite Group. There, David Cohn most recently led the technology organisation as Group Chief Information Officer. In 2024, David Cohn left the group and initially announced his retirement.
David Cohn brings extensive SAP and GK experience to the role
At The Shoprite Group, David Cohn was responsible for selecting GK as the new POS platform and for launching the implementation project. Prior to the decision, his team analysed numerous solutions and visited other GK users. According to David Cohn, key factors included the omnichannel capabilities, the technological roadmap, support for various fiscal compliance requirements and the standardised integration of GK OmniPOS into the SAP landscape.
The teams at The Shoprite Group and GK integrated the POS software with the merchandise management system within eight weeks. Under David Cohn’s leadership, the project partners also developed an RFID-based self-checkout solution for the new UNIQ clothing range within six months. The Retail Optimiser reported. Following David Cohn’s departure, his successor, Chris Shortt, completed the roll-out in South Africa: within five months, The Shoprite Group migrated 29,191 tills across 2,450 stores to GK.
Exceptional experience with retail technology in Southern Africa
David Cohn began his professional career at Accenture in 1986, later working there as an associate partner. In 2004, he moved to The Shoprite Group, where he was initially responsible for the retail business’s core systems and branch programmes. Pick n Pay’s new Group CIO studied Business Science at the University of Cape Town from 1982 to 1985.
