Dean Walker is a respected fashion buying and retail leader with over 25 years of experience across luxury, contemporary, streetwear, and sports markets. Known for his commercial instinct, cultural awareness, and ability to anticipate what’s next, he has built a career defined by product, credibility, and sustained growth.
Starting on the shop floor in the North East, Dean’s early obsession with product, trend, and consumer behaviour quickly led to senior buying roles across Cruise and Flannels, where he played a key role in their growth and re-emergence.
In 2013, Dean joined END., spending over a decade helping shape the business into one of the world’s most influential fashion retailers. As Buying Director, he oversaw global budgets and helped drive year-on-year growth across multiple categories, identifying and scaling brands from early adoption into multi-million-pound global businesses. His remit later expanded to lead END.’s Special Projects, delivering landmark collaborations and exclusive product moments that reinforced the brand’s global position.
Alongside his buying expertise, Dean has built long-standing relationships across the international fashion industry, with a trusted network spanning brands, founders, distributors, and leading retailers. His ability to combine cultural relevance with commercial reality has been central to his success in opening doors, building partnerships, and delivering meaningful growth.
At Jet Black, Dean brings that experience, instinct, global network, and special-projects mindset to help the next generation of brands build stronger foundations, reach the right retailers, create culturally relevant moments, and grow with purpose.
Chris McIlroy’s career has been built around the art of modern retail curation: understanding product, reading markets, and shaping assortments that feel both commercially sharp and culturally relevant. With over two decades of experience across luxury and contemporary fashion, he has become known for bringing structure, taste, and strategic focus to complex buying environments.
Since beginning his career in 2005, Chris has developed a reputation for clear decision-making and a strong understanding of how brands, products, and consumers connect. His strength lies in seeing the bigger picture, knowing not only what belongs in the market, but where it should sit, how it should be presented, and how it can grow over time.
Chris has held senior buying and leadership roles across international markets, working closely with founders, designers, brand leaders, and retail teams. His experience includes playing a key role in the launch and development of flagship department store concepts across the Middle East, where he contributed to market entry strategy, brand curation, regional assortment planning, and the creation of retail propositions tailored to local consumers.
Most recently, Chris was Mens Buying Director at Harvey Nichols UK, where he helped define the direction of the contemporary fashion offer at one of the industry’s most recognised department stores. During his tenure, he led the menswear business to record-breaking turnover, balancing commercial growth with margin discipline, product authority, and long-term brand relevance.
Chris brings a strategic retail perspective shaped by department store leadership, international market experience, and long-standing industry relationships to Jet Black His role is centred on helping brands sharpen their proposition, understand their market position, and build the commercial structure needed to connect with the right retailers in the right way.