What I’d say to me back then - River Island’s Meriel Neighbour on why job-hopping pays off

Hotel manager and driving instructor aren’t the traditional route into a career in technology. But this is the path that led Meriel Neighbour to her current role as Head of Technology Delivery and Transformation at River Island, via digital roles at a multitude of retail giants.

Working in hospitality at the start of her career, Neighbour’s ambition was very much about progressing through the ranks within a hotel and becoming a general manager. She explains:

I thought that was going to be the pinnacle of my career. It was going to take me a long time to get there in a very much a man's world.

Her grand plan was to then write a book about her experiences and lengthy journey working her way to the top, revealing how as a woman, you could get to become a general manager of a hotel. But she achieved that ...