H&M hires Cambridge Analytica whistle blower

H&M has hired Christopher Wylie, the whistle blower in the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica, in an attempt to better get to know their customers.

From whistle blower to consultant

The whistle blower who exposed Cambridge Analytica, the data company that allegedly used data from Facebook users without permission to help president Trump win the election in the United States and to influence the result in the Brexit referendum, has now been hired to help fashion group H&M understand its own data, according to Bloomberg.

The data specialist will have to help H&M – which has seen turnover and profits decline for years – get to know its customers better. Using data analysis and artificial intelligence, the H&M group wants to get better at understanding what consumers want and at estimating demand.

H&M looking for hope in data analysis and A.I.

As a consultant, Wylie will mostly be working on projects that focus on “sustainable and ethical” artificial intelligence. Using data, he will have to provide H&M with better insights in customers, products and markets, as a spokesperson for the group confirmed in a public reaction. 

Earlier on, CEO Karl-Johan Persson mentioned that sales numbers are gradually recovering, mostly because the fast fashion chain has been developing better ways to predict trends and prices.