Inside Retail’s Top 50 People in E-Commerce is an annual ranking of the most impressive and inspiring leaders in Australia’s online retail industry. Our 2024 report features C-level executives with decades of leadership experience, alongside start-up founders and digital specialists with a wide range of skills, from marketing to logistics. You can download it here.Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing in-depth profiles of this year’s Top 10. Here’s the story of how #7, Winning Group CEO John Winning got into e-commerce and developed his leadership skills.John Winning has been a leading player in Australia’s e-commerce industry for nearly 20 years. He has witnessed and helped shape the evolution of the industry around the rise of fast shipping, exceptional customer service, and the growing focus on sustainability. But it is his approach to leadership that sets him apart from the average e-commerce founder. “When I launched Appliances Online in 2005, online shopping wasn’t commonplace, let alone shopping for a big and bulky item. At that time, just over half of households in Australia had internet access, there were very few smartphone options on the market and Facebook had only just launched,” Winning told Inside Retail. “We were one of a few pureplay retailers in the country and set out to provide traditional customer service in a modern context. We gained customers’ trust through our legendary service, which is still unmatched to this day  – one customer, one experience at a time.”Appliances Online has now served over 2.5 million unique customers nationwide and helped them recycle more than 80,000 tonnes of electronics and appliances through its free removal and recycling, an industry-first scheme that it has offered from day one. “We recycle more whitegoods than any other retailer in Australia and since 2022 we have expanded our program to include mattress and product packaging recycling,” he said.In late 2022, Appliances Online introduced ‘efficient’ product rows on its website, another industry-first. These rows highlight energy- and/or water-efficient washers, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, freezers, TVs and air conditioners, catering to the growing number of consumers shopping with sustainability in mind. Winning loves the fast-paced nature of e-commerce and is motivated by the constant pressure to innovate.“Appliances Online’s mission is to provide the best shopping experience in the world and to achieve this we need to continually push the boundaries – which I really enjoy doing – at every stage of the shopping journey, from the minute someone lands on our website to well after they receive their product,” he said. “What also excites me about working in the industry is the opportunity to create change, to use our business and ecosystem as a force for good, not just for customers, our team members and the industry, but also for communities and for the planet.”Leveraging neuroscience to leadAs CEO of Winning Group, the company behind Appliances Online, Winning Appliances, Winning Services, Andoo, ORA, Heelix, Rogerseller, Spence & Lyda and Home Clearance, Winning has been at the forefront of conversations around employee engagement and company culture for many years.In 2016, he hired Katharina Kuehn, a neuroscientist, to embed deep customer insights into the business strategy, and subsequently named her chief strategy officer of Winning Group, leading the company to overhaul its approach to hiring, training and productivity. “We use neuroscience to understand our team members on a deeply human level, to identify their superpowers and to engage and connect with them through our internally developed platforms Heelix and Deep Sphere,” he explained. Heelix allows team members to give anonymous feedback, which is actioned by team leaders in real time, and Deep Sphere uses personality types to find out what truly motivates team members and how they are best suited to different roles. “The unprecedented level of insights gained in real time from these platforms allows us to create a highly motivated, connected and performing team,” he said.Last year included the launch of the Emerging Leaders Program and Leaders Program at Winning Academy, the company’s training and development facility in Sydney, resulting in the upskilling of employees, and increased morale and retention rate. With all of this focus on supporting team members to reach their full potential, what does Winning’s approach to self-improvement look like? He doesn’t follow any particular strategies or methods for managing his time, but he is not much of a morning person. “I tend to work late into the evening,” he said. “I get my exercise through sailing and skydiving and for energy, I use yoga and meditation. I also rely on Wim Hof’s method of ice baths. Wim is a good friend of mine. I use his breathing techniques to help me to sleep soundly.”A champion of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Winning’s personality type is that of an adventurer. “I am always exploring. I love challenges, I am attracted to risk and adventure,” he said, drawing parallels between his active lifestyle and his day job. “As the CEO of an experience company that is constantly innovating and agile, I lead by example and empower people to do their job proactively.”