He joins the firm from Orchard Supply Hardware where he was CIO and vice president of business strategy. Before that he spent 22 years at management consultancy Accenture where he was a senior partner in the retail practice and was responsible for the consumer packaged goods practice in the Western US.

Lawrence Mohr, chairman of the board at RivalWatch, said: “Marty has the experience and inside industry understanding to take RivalWatch to the next level. Marty understands just how valuable real-time competitive intelligence can be to an organisation’s bottom line.”

Hodgett (pictured) was also welcomed by the firm’s chief operating officer, Gary Puckett, who said: “Since our inception, we have been committed to attracting not just the best talent but the best relevant talent, and Marty is just that. He knows the mind of our customer, because he’s been one.”