Sam Kumar

Founder, tieback.io — AI-Native Digital Product Passports Platform | Fractional CTO | Ex-ERGO, Cigna, Nestlé

Farnham, England, United Kingdom

About

I spent 20+ years building, fixing, and scaling enterprise technology — complex systems across Retail, Financial Services, Telco, Process Manufacturing, and Pharma, in six countries. E-commerce rollouts from London to Hong Kong. Digital transformation programmes for insurers, pharma companies, and premium consumer brands. Along the way, I noticed a pattern: the companies that struggled most weren't the ones with bad technology. They were the ones with fragmented data, no single source of truth, and compliance teams held together by spreadsheets and good intentions. That pattern led me to build tieback. tieback is an AI-native Digital Product Passport platform for fashion, textile, and consumer goods. The EU's ESPR regulation is creating the largest product-data mandate in history — and most brands aren't ready. tieback gives them a secure, compliant DPP infrastructure: role-based passport resolution, dynamic localisation across 31 markets, GS1 Digital Link resolution, and an AI operations layer that enforces compliance boundaries by design, not policy. Now live at tieback.io. Regulation enforcement begins mid-2028. The brands that move now will own this space. Alongside tieback, I serve as fractional CTO for two scaling businesses — OXiGEN and esbconnect — where I bring the same operator mindset: architect the platform, build the team, ship the product. I don't advise from the sideline. I build in the codebase, own the architecture decisions, and stay accountable for delivery. If you're a fashion or consumer goods brand preparing for EU DPP compliance, I'd welcome a conversation about how tieback can help. If you're a founder or scaling team navigating technology decisions, I'm happy to share what I've learned — pro bono, no strings. Reach out. tieback.io

Experience

  • Founder at Tieback
    Jan 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 6 mos

    Building the AI-native Digital Product Passport platform for fashion and consumer goods brands navigating EU ESPR compliance. tieback provides secure, regulation-ready DPP infrastructure: role-based passport resolution, dynamic localisation across 31+ markets, GS1 Digital Link integration, and an AI operations layer (Tia) that enforces compliance boundaries at the architecture level. Designed for mid-tier and enterprise brands shipping to the EU. Built from the ground up as AI-native — not a legacy database with a chatbot bolted on. tieback.io

  • OXiGEN (Hybrid)
    • CTO Advisory
      2024 - Present · 2 yrs 6 mos

      Fractional CTO for OXiGEN, a brand-to-supply-chain platform. Responsible for technology strategy, architecture decisions, and hands-on product delivery. Scaling the engineering team and platform capabilities to support growth-stage operations. Embedding AI responsibly into core product workflows — with clear governance boundaries, human oversight, and a focus on augmenting team capability rather than replacing judgment.

    • Non Executive Director
      Jan 2021 - Apr 2024 · 3 yrs 4 mos

      Strategic consulting - E- commerce product and program delivery

  • CTO Advisory at esbconnect
    2024 - Present · 2 yrs 6 mos

    Fractional CTO for esbconnect, a rising star Adtech business focusing on customer acquisition via email and data services business. Leading technology strategy, platform architecture, and delivery management. Building scalable infrastructure to support 1BN+ email operations. Introducing AI-driven capabilities across deliverability, segmentation, and campaign intelligence — designed with data privacy guardrails and transparent decision-making at every layer.

  • Co-Founder at StartWithUs.digital
    2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

    Co-founded StartWithUs to bring operator-led advisory, venture support, and AI transformation guidance to founders, scale-ups, and enterprises navigating what comes next. We advise from experience, not theory — having built businesses, scaled teams, and led transformation across the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia. Our work spans founder and board advisory, enterprise AI transformation, venture support, and product building — including our own ventures such as tieback (tieback.io). Selectively investing in and supporting ambitious teams on growth, positioning, and fundraising readiness.

  • Senior Principal Consultant - AI | Digital Transformation | Business Agility at Infosys Consulting
    Jul 2023 - Apr 2024 · 10 mos