Christian Scharmüller

Managing Director & CCO Smarter Ecommerce

As the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Managing Director of Smarter Ecommerce (smec), Chris Scharmüller is at the forefront of helping some of the UK's most prominent e-commerce brands, including The Hut Group, JD Sports, RiverIsland and Allbeauty, navigate the complex world of online advertising.

His work centers on transforming how businesses approach paid search, moving beyond manual campaign management to a more strategic model of steering AI algorithms. With his close ties to Google and Microsoft, he enables clients to overcome the complexities of international growth and ensure their ad spend contributes to their bottom line, not just top-level revenue.

Also, Chris is a co-host of the podcast "Growing Ecommerce" with Mike Ryan. Together, they offer a fresh take on the latest in online retail.

Day 1 | 30th September

10:50 AM BOARDROOM – Building Tomorrow's Growth Engine: The New Paid Search Playbook for the AI-era

When AI levels the playing field in paid search, data strategy determines the winner.

The headlines say Google Search is dead. But the numbers say otherwise. Search isn’t dying - it’s being reborn and Google has made its AI ambitions clear: Performance Max, Demand Gen, and AI Max for Search are the future of paid discovery.

This session explores the macro shift shaping ecommerce advertising and why now is the time for CMOs and ecommerce leaders to rethink how growth is built. Because when your largest growth channel turns into a black box, tactical levers disappear and the only edge left is how well you guide the algorithm.

You’ll walk away with:

Clarity on where to invest and what to ignore in the evolving search landscape.
A strategic framework for reclaiming control by steering AI with data, structure, and business logic.
Exclusive insights from 4,000+ campaigns, revealing what works, what fails, and where profitable growth still hides.
Proof points from leading ecommerce brands that turned disruption into profitable growth.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Christian.

Download The Latest Agenda