Meet Louise

Louise Dolan is a retail leader with more than four decades of experience in buying, trading, supplier relationships and commercial transformation. Her career began as an A-level trainee at Selfridges, where she learned both buying and shop-floor retail, before moving through M&S, Safeway, Focus on Retail and interim buying work, Sainsbury’s and, finally, Waitrose, where she became Trading Director for total store.

Across that journey, Louise has bought and led teams across most areas of the store, from fresh food and grocery to non-food and general merchandise. She has worked with an equally broad supply base: farmers and growers, own brand manufacturers, founders and start-ups, established suppliers and some of the biggest brands in the world. That breadth has given her a practical understanding of what makes retail work, from products, customers and commercial performance to the relationships and trust needed behind the scenes.

Louise is a people-first leader who believes that how results are achieved matters just as much as the results themselves. Throughout her career she has built, coached and developed buying teams, created clarity and confidence, and been a driving force for cultural change. At Sainsbury’s, that included helping shape the case for a Commercial Academy and investing in the capability of buyers and leaders. At Waitrose, she led a major trading transformation, strengthening commercial performance, rebuilding belief across the team and creating closer, more productive relationships with stores and suppliers.

Known for being practical, direct and curious, Louise combines commercial challenge with warmth, humour and a genuine love of people. She believes the best cultures are clear, trusted and enjoyable places to work, where teams feel able to challenge, grow and make things happen.

She decided to write the book to share some of the experience and practical lessons from her career, helping buyers, suppliers and leaders understand one another better.