Gary Wells

Scaling subscription & DTC businesses | £5M → £20M+ | Consumer health | AI & automation-led growth

United Kingdom

About

I scale subscription and e-commerce businesses. My focus is profitable growth, combining acquisition, retention and data to build scalable revenue engines. I’m particularly interested in how AI and automation can be applied to growth, from creative production and testing, to CRM, retention and internal workflows. With a view to increasing testing velocity, improve decision-making, and reducing manual effort across acquisition and lifecycle marketing. I’ve spent most of my career in large-scale e-commerce, leading growth across global businesses, managing 8-figure budgets, and building the systems that drive both new customer acquisition and long-term value. Currently focussed on leading DTC growth at Sons, with P&L responsibility across the UK, Ireland and Germany within a subscription model. Summary of experience - Scaling DTC and subscription businesses from £5M to £20M+ - Improving CAC, LTV and payback across paid and owned channels - Building and leading high-performing growth teams - Expanding across international markets (UK, IE, DE, EU, APAC, NAM) - Developing data infrastructure, analytics and customer insight capabilities I’ve operated across private equity-backed, public, and high-growth environments, with a consistent focus on building profitable, durable businesses. Enjoy early-stage and high-growth environments.

Experience

  • Growth Director at Sons
    Dec 2024 - Present · 1 yr 8 mos

    Leading digital growth and P&L for a subscription-based consumer health business across the UK, Ireland and Germany. Responsible for: Scaling new customer acquisition Driving retention and subscription revenue growth Improving CAC efficiency and LTV Building the growth roadmap across multiple markets Focused on building a scalable, profitable DTC engine.

  • Chief Marketing Officer (Contract) at Pure Electric
    Mar 2024 - Jul 2024 · 5 mos

    Brought in to support the commercial and marketing strategy of a privately owned mobility brand. Focused on: Clarifying growth strategy Improving marketing effectiveness Aligning brand, product and commercial execution

  • Wiggle (9 yrs 7 mos)
    • Marketing Director
      Feb 2022 - Feb 2024 · 2 yrs 1 mo

      Led marketing across one of the world’s largest online cycling and sports retailers. Key impact: Managed 8-figure marketing budgets across performance and brand Scaled acquisition and retention across global markets Built and led teams across performance marketing, CRM, data and brand Played a key role during private equity ownership and subsequent public market listing

    • Head of Growth
      Jun 2019 - Feb 2022 · 2 yrs 9 mos

      Led global growth across acquisition, retention and customer value. Key responsibilities: Owned new customer acquisition and retention performance Built a single customer view in Google Cloud to improve marketing efficiency Managed marketing data, analytics and forecasting Led digital marketing, affiliates, CRM, loyalty and brand marketing

    • Head of Digital
      Aug 2014 - Jun 2019 · 4 yrs 11 mos

  • Data Analyst at Independent News & Media
    Jan 2010 - Jan 2014 · 4 yrs 1 mo