"I am on a mission to inspire, develop & retain talented people within the Retail Industry."
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Founder. The International Retail Academy
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The TIRA Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
General Manager
Kai F
Kai is an accomplished global retail leader with a strong commercial and luxury operations background. He has held senior leadership roles at LVMH, Cartier, and most recently PVH, where he served as Operations Director. With deep expertise across all operational disciplines, Kai has led large, complex teams across 30+ countries, delivering performance at scale. He brings a collaborative and steady leadership style that brings out the best in diverse global teams.
Creative Director & Writer
Nic C
Nic is an award-winning Creative Director specialising in retail and brand storytelling.His multi-award winning corporate and events work has seen him work across the world, often specialising in events work that requires unique films and projections, such as multiple screens and aspect ratios or integration with on stage elements and working with many areas of VFX.
Nic delivers high-impact campaigns and brand content for global names including Hunkemöller and ASICS, blending sharp narrative thinking with commercial impact across retail and digital platforms.
Senior Trainer, UK
Edith O.
Edith has worked with incredible brands for over a decade and is a naturally engaging, high energy person. Edith blends logic with humour to make your training experience memorable and importantly ‘sticky’ to retain as much value as possible.
Edith has been described as “a thought provoking trainer with bucket loads of relatable stories”
Executive Coach, UK
Laura A.
Laura is a passionate and insightful Executive Coach with a rich background in retail leadership and people development. Her experience spans over 15 years, including senior roles in both commercial and charity sectors. Chartered with the CIPD and trained in Cognitive Analytic Therapy, Laura brings a relational and reflective approach to coaching. She’s deeply committed to helping individuals and teams grow, and we’re proud to have her supporting our network with values-led coaching and mentoring.
Field Trainer, UK
Karim D.
Karim, is an ICF-certified coach with over 30 years of senior leadership experience across the UK and Middle East. He has held Country Manager roles and built high-performing teams in world-class organisations including Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols and ALDO. Karim is engaging, dynamic, and naturally inspiring, known for his ability to connect with people, unlock confidence, and develop emerging leaders into confident, high-impact managers.
Field Trainer, UK
Lisa S.
Lisa is fun, engaging, self-motivated individual with a can-do attitude. A genuine positive mindset. Lisa had an extensive career at British airways giving her a great foundation being extremely client-driven. Lisa is passionate about people and has travelled extensively, which has given her a high level of cultural awareness. Lisa exudes positivity, drive and ambition. We are delighted to have Lisa as a field trainer in the UK supporting our brands with workshops and in-store leadership coaching.
Graphics, Animation
Emma Y.
If your brand needs engaging content to educate & inspire the end-user, you need Emma! A notable achievement was the delivery of a comprehensive animation for our client, Rituals showcasing the brand new in-store experience for the 1,000 global stores. Emma is highly detailed and has exceptional creative flair.
Senior Learning Designer
Emma F.
Emma specialises in inclusive learning design and takes an idea into fully designed concept. Emma has been working with TIRA since 2024 and successfully delivered a number of high profile learning methodologies.
Emma is also well experienced at complex project management and brings a great deal of energy and thinking differently lens to eveything our clients need!
Photography, Video
Veronica S.
Veronica is our photographer who captures our brand values and mission through monthly content strategy, creation and editing. Originally from Italy and now living in The Netherlands Veronica has become a trusted partner of TIRA, continuously delivering quality assets for the business for social media and personal branding.
Executive Assistant
Jahzeel C.
Jahzeel has been with TIRA since day 1. Jahzeel helps to organise all of our projects, creates extraordinary workbooks for our clients, helps with social media management and is the go-to person for tasks that require precision. We are so pleased to have Jahzeel as a global member of the team. Jahzeel has supported with work for Miccy’s, Tommy Hilfiger and Skechers
Let us share a story...
At 16, Kayleigh, our founder, began her retail journey at New Look in Barrow In-Furness, Cumbria. Earning £3.25 per hour, she quickly fell in love with the service industry, thriving on customer interactions. By 19, she was a Concession Manager at Debenhams and soon embarked on a global retail career, holding roles from Area Manager to Head of Franchise.
In 2020, Covid brought unexpected challenges, including redundancy, but it also ignited Kayleigh’s passion to take control. She founded the Retail Academy, driven by a deep commitment to the retail community. Today, the International Retail Academy inspires and supports teams, ensuring they can better serve their customers. Kayleigh’s energy and passion for retail are at the heart of everything we do.
We inspire your teams
We care about your mission
We serve you...so that you can serve your teams and your customers
TIRA was created to help retail professionals master the art of delivering an outstanding service culture in stores, leading to more sales—without the discomfort of 'selling'. We believe retail is a powerful hub of connection, blending people and technology to create PHYGITAL spaces that attract and engage consumers. As the pandemic accelerated online growth and threatened the future of physical retail, it became clear that leaders must innovate, hire and retain top talent, and most importantly, give consumers a reason to come in—and a reason to come back.
In an industry often obsessed with data, we emphasize the importance of intangible behaviors, attitudes, and habits that drive real change. Whether you’re planning a retail kick-off meeting or a sales conference, Kayleigh’s energetic, thought-provoking talks have inspired audiences at PVH, the International Franchise Show, Retail Week Live, and The Retail Technology Show in London.
The International Retail Academy actively champions retail careers, highlighting the incredible opportunities within the sector. We are the catalyst for positive change in retail, providing a toolset that becomes a skillset, which ultimately improves the mindset to build an outstanding service culture—with meticulous care and flawless execution.
An International Coach in All Things Retail!
Hi I'm Kayleigh!
I have worked on the sales floors of fast-paced lifestyle and premium brands progressed to lead multi-cultural, diverse teams in my operational leadership role across the Middle East and served as a Franchise Retail Leader from an office role in Europe.
Having 20 years of real ground experience into large format multi-site leadership, I have a holistic view of retail and know first-hand how to understand people, roles and responsibilities to unleash the greatest potential of individuals and teams.
From store doors to corporate floors - I love the world of retail and the people who drive it! Originally from the UK, I currently live in The Netherlands but we serve clients across the globe.
Brands I have worked with:
Publications & Appearances
At the 10th Global DIY-Summit, Kayleigh Victoria Fazan, Founder of The International Retail Academy, emphasized the role of inclusivity in reducing staff turnover and boosting customer satisfaction. She highlighted how involving customers in their shopping journey is key to successful retail experiences.
At Retail Week Live, Kayleigh Fazan of The International Retail Academy emphasized the importance of building customer relationships and investing in employee training to enhance brand value and customer loyalty.
A fun, enagaging and down to earth discussion around empowering store teams and approaching workstreams from a bottom-up approach.
Published here
Kayleigh Fazan champions the human side of innovation in retail. She believes that even the best technology fails without team buy-in. Her message is clear: involve store teams early, connect them to the mission, and success will follow—because great retail is built by united teams who serve together.
We've all been there - you've popped into the grocery store for one basic item, and leave with a whole array of random purchases that were just 'too good' to leave behind.
Most customers believe they're making completely independent choices, but visibility has a huge influence on what ends up in the basket.
Published in Retail Jeweller, June 2026. In this industry opinion piece, Kayleigh Fazan argues that in jewellery retail the team member is the brand: customers buy the confidence, expertise and experience of the person serving them, not just the product.
Kayleigh makes the case that developing frontline teams is the sector's most overlooked route to trust, loyalty and sales.
Kayleigh Fazan, Founder and Managing Director of The International Retail Academy, is redefining retail leadership. Her journey—built on grit, purpose, and authenticity—champions the belief that retail can transform lives and that women can lead with both strength and softness.
As the founder of The International Retail Academy, Kayleigh Fazan has spent over 15 years empowering shopfloor teams across global brands like Rituals, Tommy Hilfiger, and GAP. Her bottom-up approach to retail leadership equips teams with the soft skills needed to thrive—transforming customer care into a powerful, people-first experience
Members gained key retail skills in a focused training day featuring expert-led sessions on sales, security, and behaviour management. The interactive format sparked strong engagement, leaving teams better prepared for the busy season ahead.
Kayleigh Fazan recently shared her inspiring journey on Shiny Happy People. In this episode, she delves into her story, from pioneering a transformative ‘bottom-up’ approach in retail to empowering shopfloor teams across global brands. Tune in to hear how Kayleigh is shaping the future of retail through her innovative leadership.
We are good at hiring young people. We are far less good at developing them. Too often, entry-level retail is treated as a pair of hands rather than a person with potential. We hand over a uniform, a quick induction and a till, then wonder why they leave, or why they never grow.
This is the belief I want to challenge: that a frontline job is a dead end. It is not. It is one of the most powerful development platforms in the country, if we choose to use it.
Co - Author of Women Who Inspire
Women Who Inspire is a book featuring powerful female leaders across the globe. In my chapter I wanted others to be inspired by my journey and how I have overcome adversity through strength and mindset, leading to a successful and fulfilling life.
My chapter was named Embracing Discomfort.
The book is published across the UK, Middle East and Australia and available on Amazon
Main Stage Speaker at Susa Summit
Speaking at this years online SUSA Summit, taking place October 12th-15th on the Hopin platform.
80+ sessions, 20+ workshops, unlimited networking and expos, over 60 hours of special programming #futureproofAfrica
More than 3,000 delegates enjoyed a truly immersive experience for the 2nd year running. Kayleigh is hoping to speak at the summit live, face-to-face once restrictions lift again.
Kayleigh Fazan, founder and owner of the International Retail Academy presented a keynote talk on The Retail Revolution at the SingularityU South Africa Summit Online 2021.
FAQ's
Book Kayleigh as your Speaker FAQ's
Why do I need a professional retail speaker?
You need it for 2 reasons. The first being to energise, educate and invigorate the people in the room. The second, and most important is to inspire change in your people. People respond to relatable stories and want to be inspired to be their best.
How long are your talks?
Kayleigh can speak from a 30 - 90 minutes depending on your brief. Talks are of course best in-person.
What equipment should I have available ahead of the talk?
A great room layout is essential. Your event Manager should de-brief you in good time. Typically a theatre style feels formal and semi-circles are more inclusive. Kayleigh has delivered in most formats.
A stage timer is always welcome along with a bowl of blue M&M's (just kidding...)! Please let us know if you require a presentation and if this will be circulated to your delegates.
Does Kayleigh only speak at retail events/brands?
No. Kayleigh has also spoken at an Architecture Firm, a Recruitment Consultancy, SAAS vendors and several schools. Please reach out for a relaxed conversation.
How much is this going to cost?
Is Kayleigh the cheapest? No. Will her talk be the most memorable and impactful long after the talk has finished? Yes.
"Your talk has really inspired me. I found myself thinking YES so many times"
- Retail Experience, IKEA