Michael Black Appointed Chief Revenue Officer
and General Manager, Consumables
Michael Parness Appointed Chief Marketing
Officer and General Manager, Play
BARK, Inc. (NYSE: BARK) (“BARK” or the “Company”), a leading
global omnichannel dog brand with a mission to make all dogs happy,
today announced the appointments of Michael Black as Chief Revenue
Officer and General Manager, Consumables and Michael Parness as
Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager, Play, effective
immediately. Reporting to the Company’s Co-Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, Matt Meeker, Mr. Black and Mr. Parness will lead
the Company’s expansion across its consumables and play categories,
respectively.
“We are thrilled to elevate our leadership team with the
addition of two proven leaders who bring a wealth of experience
across the pet, e-commerce, and retail sectors,” said Matt Meeker.
“Michael Black, who served as the Chief Executive Officer of
premium pet brand Outward Hound brings an impressive track record
of delivering omnichannel growth across the pet sector. He will
orchestrate our consumables strategy in both our direct-to-consumer
and retail channels. Michael Parness, who served as the Chief
Marketing Officer of JustFoodForDogs and Outward Hound, has
consistently demonstrated his ability to drive brand building and
business growth through creative storytelling and strong customer
engagement. He will oversee our growth in the play category and
ensure our brand reaches as many dog households as possible.
Together, we believe these additions will be instrumental in
raising awareness of our mission and driving multi-channel,
cross-category growth.”
Most recently, Mr. Black served as the Founder and President of
Paragon International Advisors, a consulting firm focused on
partnering with private equity investors in the pet industry. Prior
to that, he served as the Chief Executive Officer–and previously
the Chief Revenue Officer–of Outward Hound. During his tenure, he
led Outward Hound through a successful digital transformation and
years of significant growth. Previously, Mr. Black served as Senior
Buyer, Pet Accessories at Walmart. Mr. Black has also served as
Board Advisor to PetLab Co. since 2022. He holds an M.B.A. from the
University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young
University. He resides in Bentonville, AR with his wife Paola,
their 4 children, and their Newfoundland named Chewie.
“Over the years, BARK has built one of the most impressive
brands in the pet space. Their mission and dedication to enriching
the lives of dogs resonated with me, and I am thrilled to join the
team,” said Mr. Black. “The retail commitments for treats in 2024
are just the beginning to boosting the visibility of BARK’s
consumables footprint. In my view, the Company has a significant
runway in the large and growing consumables category, and I am
excited to help BARK realize its full potential.”
Mr. Parness brings three decades of experience leading
transformative brand, retail, and e-commerce initiatives, unlocking
sustainable growth across various CPG industries, including pet and
toys. He served most recently as the Chief Marketing Officer of
JustFoodForDogs, a premium fresh dog food brand, where he was
responsible for elevating brand awareness and driving growth across
their direct-to-consumer, e-commerce, and owned retail channels.
Before that, Mr. Parness served as the Chief Digital Officer of
Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, a multi-brand, omnichannel wine
portfolio. Previously, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer of
Outward Hound for nine years, where he worked closely with Mr.
Black and led various functions including brand strategy,
performance marketing, social media, and creative. Mr. Parness was
also responsible for starting and growing their direct-to-consumer
and e-commerce channels, which grew significantly during his
tenure. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Toy Design from the
Fashion Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Industrial Design
from Pratt Institute. He resides in Denver, CO with his long-term
partner Jennifer, her two kids, and their St
Bernard/Newfoundland/Doodle mix named Lola.
“Having spent a considerable portion of my career in the pet
space, I have long admired the impressive brand, customer
experience, and innovative products that Matt and the team at BARK
have built over the years,” said Mr. Parness. “I am eager to get
started and help the Company deliver on its mission to make all
dogs happy. With our strong brand and growing product portfolio, I
believe we are poised to grow market share across our
direct-to-consumer and retail channels.”
About BARK
BARK is the world’s most dog-centric company, devoted to making
dogs happy with the best products, services and content. BARK’s
dog-obsessed team applies its unique, data-driven understanding of
what makes each dog special to design playstyle-specific toys,
wildly satisfying treats, great food for your dog’s breed,
effective and easy to use dental care, and dog-first experiences
that foster the health and happiness of dogs everywhere. Founded in
2011, BARK loyally serves dogs nationwide with themed toys and
treats subscriptions, BarkBox and BARK Super Chewer; custom product
collections through its retail partner network, including Target
and Amazon; its high-quality, nutritious meals made for your breed
with BARK Food; and products that meet dogs’ dental needs with BARK
Bright®. At BARK, we want to make dogs as happy as they make us
because dogs and humans are better together. Sniff around at
BARK.co for more information.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating
to, among other things, the future performance of BARK that are
based on the Company’s current expectations, forecasts and
assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you
can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as
“may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” "anticipate,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “intend,” “potential,”
“continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other
comparable terminology. These statements include, but are not
limited to, statements about future operating results, including
our strategies, plans, commitments, objectives and goals. Actual
results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and
reported results should not be considered as an indication of
future performance. Other factors that could cause or contribute to
such differences include, but are not limited to, risks relating to
the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect
to BARK; the risk that spending on pets may not increase at
projected rates; that BARK subscriptions may not increase their
spending with BARK; BARK’s ability to continue to convert social
media followers and contacts into customers; BARK’s ability to
successfully expand its product lines and channel distribution;
competition; the uncertain effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or
other global or macroeconomic events or challenges.
More information about factors that could affect BARK's
operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations” in the Company's quarterly report on Form
10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the Company’s
Investor Relations website at https://investors.bark.co/ or the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed
on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which are
based on information available to the Company on the date hereof.
The Company assumes no obligation to update such statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240403587811/en/
Investors: Michael Mougias investors@barkbox.com
Media: Garland Harwood press@barkbox.com
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