Polytag appoints chief strategy officer

Polytag has appointed Alex Webster as chief strategy officer to support the company’s next stage of growth in response to increasing demand for next-generation product data technology.

Webster joins Polytag with a long track record of backing and building data-led businesses, spanning fintech, loyalty and consumer technology. His investments and early involvement include 123Send, GoHenry, Unmind, Fidel API, Monzo and Revolut.

Alongside this, Webster has spent the past seven years building a consumer brand – Genie Drinks – giving him first-hand experience of the role data plays in driving growth, alongside the power of brand storytelling both on and off pack. Recognizing the opportunity to engage consumers beyond the physical product, he was an early adopter of connected packaging, printing Polytag QR codes on hundreds of thousands of cans to extend the brand experience.

Across his career, he has consistently focused on identifying businesses operating ahead of major market shifts. At 123Send, where he played a senior commercial and strategic role, he helped scale the business ahead of the shift to mobile and digital payments in live environments, contributing to its successful sale in 2014.

Webster joins Polytag at a time of significant structural change across the packaging and retail industry, as brands prepare for initiatives such as the GS1 Sunrise 2027 program and emerging Digital Product Passport regulations. These changes are expected to accelerate the transition from traditional barcodes to QR codes and richer product-level data.

Crucially, Polytag’s platform is positioned at the center of this shift, enabling brands to move beyond compliance-driven use cases and unlock new opportunities in marketing, traceability and consumer engagement.

Webster’s appointment reflects Polytag’s continued investment in strengthening its team as the company scales to meet the increasing demand from brands seeking to future-proof their packaging strategies and unlock greater value from product data.

As chief strategy officer, he will focus on shaping Polytag’s long-term growth strategy, strengthening its position in the connected packaging ecosystem and supporting brands in maximizing the commercial and sustainability value of packaging data.

Webster’s appointment follows a period working directly with Polytag as a customer at Genie Drinks, where he experienced first-hand the platform’s capabilities in enabling brands to connect packaging to richer digital experiences.

'As a customer, I was drawn to Polytag’s ability to move beyond basic QR functionality,' Webster said. 'What stood out was the platform’s ability to support richer, multi-layered digital experiences, including dynamic content, sustainability messaging and location-specific information all within a single code. Compared to more traditional barcode and QR providers, which tend to focus primarily on redirection, Polytag felt like a genuine data and engagement layer for brands rather than just a scanning tool.

'We are now entering a critical moment for the industries Polytag serves, with regulatory and technological change driving a movement to connect physical packaging to digital experiences. Polytag is perfectly positioned to help brands navigate that transition and unlock the opportunity it creates, and I’m excited to help shape its next phase of growth.'

Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, added: 'Alex brings a rare combination of experience as both a builder and investor in high-growth, data-led businesses, alongside first-hand experience as a Polytag customer. His appointment reflects our ambition as we enter our next stage of growth, and his expertise will be instrumental as we continue to scale and support brands through a period of significant industry transformation.'