Rooted in Demandware and Salesforce Commerce Cloud Experience
Syntheum was started by a group of former Demandware and Salesforce Commerce Cloud leaders—engineers, analysts, strategists, and designers—who helped build and scale the systems behind some of the world’s most iconic brands. From launching hundreds of sites to driving billions in GMV, we’ve influenced nearly every facet of how modern e-commerce operates. We built Syntheum to take the next leap forward.
Rooted in Demandware and Salesforce Commerce Cloud Experience
Turning Experience Into Impact
At Syntheum, we’ve transformed decades of merchandising knowledge into tools that think like merchandisers. These are the principles we build around—and the outcomes our platform is designed to deliver.
To reinvent e-commerce merchandising with intelligent, agentic systems that eliminate busywork, enhance human creativity, and adapt to how merchandisers actually think and work. We believe AI should enhance—not replace—human expertise.
Our Perspective
We believe merchandising should be intuitive—not over-engineered. The best systems feel invisible, surfacing just what you need, when you need it. Our work removes friction, not just adds features.
How We Work
We blend AI, UX, and business context to design tools that fit how teams actually work. Our approach is pragmatic, data-informed, and built on hundreds of e-commerce launches—not theory.
Trust & Empathy
We’ve worked side by side with merchandisers for years, so we know the pressure they’re under. That’s why we build with empathy—creating tools that support real decision-making. Trust is earned through clarity, consistency, and care.
What Sets Us Apart
We bring deep commerce expertise to everything we build—grounded in practice, not theory. Our AI is designed to augment human decisions, not replace them. We prioritize clarity over complexity and build with transparency and trust.
Why Now
Commerce platforms are bloated with dashboards and disconnected workflows. Merchandisers are expected to do everything—analyst, strategist, copywriter. It's time for AI to collaborate, not just assist.
Who We Are
Peter Pritchard
Co-Founder & CTO
Peter is the Co-Founder and CTO of Syntheum, and a certified solution architect with a lifelong passion for systems design. He’s been building software since the early days of personal computing—starting with Atari programs and early Apple development—and has spent his career architecting scalable platforms for enterprise commerce.
Before launching Syntheum, he held senior engineering and architecture roles at Demandware and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, where he helped pioneer the Open Commerce APIs and led advanced R&D initiatives. He also served as a technical lead for X-Works, supporting global retailers as they modernized their infrastructure.
Peter blends deep technical acumen with pragmatic business thinking. At Syntheum, he ensures that agentic systems are not only robust and extensible—but also aligned with how real-world merchandisers work and make decisions.
Vinod Kumar
Co-Founder & CEO
Vinod is the Co-Founder and CEO of Syntheum, and a seasoned digital commerce strategist with deep experience driving growth, innovation, and operational excellence across the retail technology landscape. He’s a recognized thought leader in the industry—respected for his strategic insights and widely followed for his perspectives on retail and merchandising.
Previously, he held global analytics, product strategy, and business insights roles at Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Demandware. While at Salesforce, he played a key role in developing the intelligence and benchmarking capabilities used by leading retailers to turn data into strategy and drive measurable results.
Today, he leads Syntheum with a mission to empower merchandisers through agentic AI—tools that simplify operations, eliminate friction, and unlock growth. He believes the future of commerce isn’t just powered by AI—it’s made more human by it.
Lindsay Vaughn-Lume
Head of Customer Success
Lindsay is the Head of Customer Success at Syntheum, where she helps brands grow, adapt, and succeed. She’s spent her career understanding the challenges merchandisers face and aligning technology to support real business outcomes—with clarity, care, and trust.
She’s held senior roles at fabric, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Demandware, where she worked closely with customer teams to remove friction, improve performance, and guide strategic decisions. Her approach is grounded in empathy and built on strong partnerships that support long-term success.
At Syntheum, Lindsay also plays a pivotal role in shaping product direction—bringing the voice of the customer into every release and ensuring that what gets built reflects the goals, pressures, and priorities of digital commerce teams.
Joshua Hester
Head of Product
Josh brings a mix of product instinct, brand storytelling, and hands-on experimentation to Syntheum. His background spans creative direction, consumer goods, and product marketing—helping shape tools that resonate with how merchandisers think and work.
Before joining Syntheum, Josh co-founded Firsthand Supply, a clean, sustainable haircare brand—scaling it from a kitchen-side experiment into a thriving, mission-driven company. His work there has included overseeing creative direction, business development, supply chain operations, and a complete rebrand featuring 100% post-consumer recycled packaging.
Josh has also led client marketing at Swiftkurrent and drove early-stage strategy and brand development at Velvet Collective. Throughout every role, he's remained focused on building with intention, crafting with purpose, and creating products that truly resonate.
Jeff Dearing
Head of User Experience
Jeff is the Head of User Experience at Syntheum and a veteran UX and product designer with nearly two decades of experience shaping the digital commerce landscape. He’s led design and strategy across hundreds of launches and conducted over 1,000 customer journey audits to identify opportunities and drive performance.
At Demandware and later Salesforce Commerce Cloud, he played a pivotal role in developing reference architectures, conducting KPI benchmarking, and helping brands turn insights into measurable design improvements.
At Syntheum, Jeff brings a pragmatic, data-informed approach to every interaction—ensuring that the company’s tools are intuitive, outcome-driven, and shaped by a deep understanding of how merchandisers think and work.