Speakers

James Theuerkauf is a successful entrepreneur, CEO and tech executive. He founded the AI-native inventory optimization start-up Syrup Tech. Syrup supported Fortune 1000 brands and retailers like Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Deckers and Lululemon in their most critical inventory decisions. James led Syrup to $25M in venture funding from top-tier VCs like Accel and Gradient, Google’s AI fund. Syrup was acquired by Anaplan in 2025 for an undisclosed amount.

Prior to founding Syrup, James was at McKinsey & Co in London and São Paulo, where he worked in the Firm’s Consumer/Retail and Private Equity & Principal Investors practice. James has been featured in the BBC, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Forbes, and Fortune, among others.

James holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he co-founded Syrup as part of the Harvard Innovation Labs, and a B.Sc. from University College London, where he focussed on econometrics and statistics. James is half-British, half-German, and grew up in Barcelona, Spain.