All Writers: List

Katherine V Gough is Professor of Human Geography at Loughborough University.

Dr Louise Grimmer is Associate Head Research Performance and Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing at the University of Tasmania. Louise is Associate Editor of the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, a 2021 Fulbright Scholar and Senior Fellow with the Institute of Place Management in the UK.

Louise researches local shopping precincts, factors affecting small and independent retailers, and how marketing communications can help retailers grow their firms. Her other research interests are supermarket and department store retailing, thrift and sustainable shopping, tourism and retailing, issues management and crisis communications in the context of the retail industry, and how the digital economy is transforming traditional modes of shopping.

Louise is a Member (and Certified Practising Marketer - CPM) of the Australian Marketing Institute and a Member of the American Marketing Association. She hosts the retail podcast 'Shopology', has worked as a national radio presenter for the ABC, and writes the 'Retail Therapy' column for TasWeekend in The Mercury newspaper.

Louise is regularly sought out for expert comment by local, national and international media outlets and she has published in leading academic journals including Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, and Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

Abhay Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Luxury Connect & Luxury Connect Business School (LCBS).

Author of the book The Incredible Indian Luxury Bazaar, Gupta, recognised as the 'Luxury retail icon of the year 2012' by Asia Retail Congress, has won several awards across India, SEA and GCC regions. Featured in 'India's top 100 most influential men of luxury for seven consecutive years 2012 to 2019 in a row, he has also been on the panel of jury members for Luxury Lifestyle Awards, Asia. Additionally, Gupta has been acknowledged as the 'Most Influential Retail professional & Retail leader across Asia - GCC and Africa: 2016, 2017 & 2018' by Asia Retail Congress.

Having being featured in Forbes Luxury Trend Report 2012 as one of the industry leaders, he has also been widely recognised as a luxury expert by CNBC, CNN, NDTV Profit, Business India, Economic Times, to name a few. He helped not only bring but also establish luxury brands like Versace, Versace Home, Versace Collection, Corneliani, John Smedley, Tween Damat ADV, Arredo Classic, etc, in India. He has now been mandated by a plethora of luxury brands across fashion, lifestyle, home, interior and residences, etc, for their India entry strategy.

A regular speaker at most luxury forums, Fondazione Altagama has also recognised his contribution to the growth of Italian luxury industry by his pioneering efforts in India.

Lisa J Hackett is a Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New England. Her key research areas are Aviation History, Uniforms, Clothing and Fashion, Popular Culture, Romance Novels and the British Royal Family. She is the co-founder, along side Associate Professor Jo Coghlan and Mr Huw Nolan, of PopCRN, the Popular Culture Research Network.

Kersten Hall graduated from St. Anne's College, Oxford with a degree in biochemistry, before embarking on a PhD at the University of Leeds using molecular biology to study how viruses evade the human immune system. He then worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at Leeds before becoming a Visiting Fellow in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. His book 'The Man in the Monkeynut Coat:' (Oxford University Press, 2014) explores the life and work of physicist William Astbury who, from an unusual start studying the structure of wool fibres, made the very first attempt to solve the structure of DNA. The book was featured in a list of 'Books of 2014' by 'The Guardian' newspaper (https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2015/jan/01/books-of-…) and was shortlisted for the 2015 British Society for the History of Science Dingle Prize. His next book, 'Insulin, the Crooked Timber - from 'Thick Brown Muck' to Wall Street Gold' tells the story of the discovery and development of insulin, and the controversies that surrounded this medical milestone, and will be published by Oxford University Press later this year.

A Senior Lecturer and Deputy Division Head for Fashion Communications at the Manchester Metropolitan University, Dr Hilde Heim has worn many a hat since she began her career as a fashion designer into graphic design, designing layouts for the likes of Vogue, Elle and Madame Figaro in Paris to launching her boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, designing, manufacturing, importing, retailing and wholesaling designer formal wear collections. She then decided to partake this wealth of knowledge and transitioned to academia and became a lecturer, applying her strengths in design studio work, styling, context and influences, as well as fashion visualisation through manual and computer aided design. 

She has since successfully undertaken programme and faculty leadership and management roles, course compliance and curriculum development. With two PhDs under her belt, she now also works as a consultant on advisory boards, connecting fashion and tech start-ups as well as industry organisations. Her current research spans digitalising supply chain transparency, digital product passports and informing policy on circularity.

Charles Helm was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1957. He graduated with an MBChB at the University of Cape Town in 1981. He moved to Canada in 1986, settled in Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia in 1992, has practised there since then as a family physician, and is a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Following the discovery of Cretaceous dinosaur trackways near Tumbler Ridge by his eight-year-old son and a friend in 2000, he was a founding member of the Tumbler Ridge Museum in 2002, and through this organisation he helped establish a local palaeontology research centre, which specialises in ichnology. He has served on the museum board of directors as president, vice-president and secretary. He has made Cretaceous dinosaur trackway discoveries and Triassic fish and marine reptile discoveries. He led the drive for the successful designation of the Tumbler Ridge Unesco Global Geopark. He is the author of nine books, one of which is a book on dinosaurs for children.

He has applied the palaeontological knowledge he acquired in Canada to his native South Africa since 2007, documenting the wealth of Pleistocene fossil trackways that he and his research team have discovered along a 350km stretch of coastline, and has led research publications on these findings. Discoveries include four hominin tracksites and evidence that patterns made in sand by hominins are now preserved in rock surfaces.

He is a research associate with the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, where he is currently pursuing his PhD in the Department of Geoscience. He has helped to pioneer the emerging discipline of geomythology in southern Africa. He has given numerous talks on palaeontology, ichnology and geomythology to audiences in Canada and South Africa. 

Catherine Hinderman is a dynamic leader at the intersection of technology, business, and luxury craftsmanship. As the Business Relationship Director at BugendaiTech, she works at the forefront of AI, data science, and digital transformation, helping enterprises leverage cutting-edge innovations to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and customer experiences.

Beyond the tech world, she is the Founder & CEO of Gaia Amore, a luxury lifestyle brand that honours centuries-old artisanal traditions while integrating modern, sustainable practices. Gaia Amore is built on the philosophy of preserving heritage craftsmanship while empowering artisans worldwide.

With a deep passion for innovation and design, she explores how emerging technologies like AI, virtual twin technology, and CAD tools are revolutionising industries—from high fashion to large-scale manufacturing. Her work bridges the gap between creativity and innovation, advocating for smarter, more sustainable, and personalised consumer experiences.

When she’s not driving business growth or luxury innovation, you can find her exploring new design trends, attending global tech and fashion conferences, and fostering collaborations that push industries forward.

Dr Pia Interlandi is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University. Working at the intersections of fashion, funerals and forensics, Pia explores materials and materiality in relation to dress, death, and decomposition. A founding member of the Order of the Good Death, Natural Death Advocacy Network and Australian Death Studies Society, Pia has spent over a decade advocating for creativity at end of life.

Muhammad Azizul Islam (Aziz) is Chair in Accountancy and Professor in Sustainability Accounting & Transparency at the University of Aberdeen Business School. Aziz was a Haskayne Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Calgary (2016) and was a distinguished visiting professor at University of Gadjah Mada (2014) and University of Indonesia (2022). Aziz is a Chartered Accountant (CAANZ).

Aziz has been involved in academia for over 20 years, in which time he has held various academic leadership and administrative roles. During his early career, he received the School’s Award for Excellence in Administration and Support and the Dean’s Award for Team Teaching Excellence (2011). He is the winner of The University of Aberdeen Principal’s Excellence Award 2022 for the Outstanding Research Project and a finalist for the Green Gown Award (2022) in association with UKRI. He was named winner of the Fair Trade and Sustainability category in the Scottish Fair Trade Awards 2022,