Demos Parneros is an experienced retail and e-commerce leader, who was instrumental in growing Staples from a startup to a $24B+ revenue Fortune 100 company over a 28-year career, serving as President of North American Retail and E-Commerce businesses. Hired as a store manager when the company had 5 stores and $15M of revenue, promoted to a variety of positions (HR, Marketing, Merchandising, and Operations) before taking on the President’s role responsible for the Retail and E-Commerce business with ~1,800 stores, ~55,000 employees, and generating $11B in revenue.
He subsequently took on the role of CEO at Barnes & Noble, developing and implementing a focused transformation plan, which eventually led to the sale of the company. Demos is now leading CityPark Investments, which is focused on providing Board/Advisory service and consulting to startups and growth companies in the retail and e-commerce space. In this role, he is working closely with accelerator funds and startups looking to disrupt the customer experience.
Demos served on Modell’s Board of Advisors and Boards at Barnes & Noble and KeyCorp, where he was a member of the Risk Committee. Demos earned a Bachelor of Science in Management from New York University and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
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