Stanley (pictured), who joined Dunnhumby in 1999, will lead the company’s team of 500 data scientists globally.

Davis, who was appointed to the role in 2018, has left the business to join the Royal Bank of Canada as senior vice-president, enterprise data strategy and government.

During her time at Dunnhumby, Stanley has held several roles across insights, data science, customer knowledge and client teams, most recently leading the company’s Tesco business.

A Dunnhumby spokesperson said: “Sandra has a wealth of experience in analytics and data science across retail, telecoms, financial services and utilities; her background and leadership skills will be invaluable.”

Stanley said: “I am excited to partner with our clients to ensure we focus on what will make a meaningful change for customers and drive results.”