Tendam recruits telecommunications talent to lead its AI strategy

Spanish fashion multinational Tendam, owner of Cortefiel, Springfield and Women'secret, has appointed Mónica Sala as its new chief artificial intelligence (AI) and transformation officer.

Joining from telecommunications operator Orange España, the executive will start at the group on January 1, 2027. She will sit on its management committee and report directly to Jaume Miquel, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tendam.

In this role, Sala will oversee the company's AI strategy and transformation programmes. According to a statement from Tendam, her remit involves generating value from data and technology, enhancing the customer experience across all its brands and channels, and moving towards more efficient operations.

Sala joins Tendam from the executive committee of Orange España. There, she led divisions including strategy, business-to-business (B2B), systems and networks, bringing experience in digitalisation processes and technology deployment within large corporations.

With Sala's arrival, Tendam's management committee will expand to 12 members, four of whom are women. Sitting alongside Miquel are the heads of the corporate divisions: Manuel Serrano in finance; Elisa Gómez de Bonilla in legal; and Ramón Amorós in human resources.

The board is completed by the operations and channel executives: Manel Jiménez heading supply chain, operations and Fifty; Pedro Esquivias in customer; Javier Figar in global retail; and Antonis Kyprianou in franchises. They are joined by the managing directors of the group's three major chains: Eva Romeo at Women’secret; Carlos Domínguez at Springfield; and Marie Castellví at Cortefiel.

AI as a primary growth driver

The appointment gives executive structure to a priority Tendam has pursued since its change of ownership. Multiply Group, the Abu Dhabi holding company now integrated into 2PointZero, completed the acquisition of a 67.91 percent stake in the company from funds CVC and PAI Partners in July 2025. At the time, it highlighted AI as one of the primary levers to accelerate growth, aiming to integrate it across all areas of the business.

Technology already features in the financial results as one of the group's growth engines. Tendam closed the first half of its 2026 financial year, running from March to August, with sales of 744.9 million euros, up +10.7 percent, and a net profit of 59.3 million euros, up +27.9 percent. Among the drivers of this growth, management cited AI applied to demand management and margin optimisation.

Tendam states it already has nearly 30 AI use cases applied to the business. These are built on years of work in customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty programmes, omnichannel operations and advanced analytics, alongside a base of more than 27 million unique members in its loyalty clubs.

Integrating AI across value chain

The roadmap led by Sala plans for the integration of AI across all areas of the value chain. This spans from planning and sourcing to supply chain, inventory management, pricing, marketing, e-commerce and customer service. Key priorities include improving demand forecasting and margin optimisation, as well as driving personalisation and strengthening in-store service.

“We now want to extend that capability across the entire value chain, with a clear priority: turning it into business results,” Miquel noted in the statement. He specified these results as better anticipating demand, managing inventory with greater precision and improving customer service to protect margins.

Meanwhile, Sala described AI as “a historic opportunity” to rethink how fashion is designed, produced and sold, emphasising her intention to work with the teams to “turn that opportunity into results”.

Tendam currently operates 13 own brands, including Pedro del Hierro, Hoss Intropia, Slowlove, Ooto and Hi&Bye, and retails more than 210 third-party brands through its multi-brand platform. The group is present in over 80 countries with more than 1,900 points-of-sale, comprising directly operated stores, concessions and franchises, in addition to its online channels.