Demos Parneros is a highly successful retail & e-Commerce executive with more than 35 years of strategic leadership experience developed at Fortune 100 & 500 companies. He is the former CEO of Barnes & Noble and President of North American retail and e-commerce businesses at Staples with numerous accomplishments in restructuring, turnarounds, revenue & profit growth, acquisitions, business expansion, and digital transformations. He is also a seasoned Board member bringing deep experience with Wall Street analysts and the investor community.
Since August 2018 he is been working as a Consultant and Advisor, serving as Management and Operations consultant for clients in retail, e-commerce, consumer products & services including early-stage, growth, and 10 start-up firms that include Cleancult, Fillogic, Adelante, Wealthramp, Bitreel, XRC Labs, and SuperAngel Fund.
From November 2016 to July 2018, Demos was the CEO of Barnes & Noble, an innovator in publishing, retail, and digital media serving America with over 600 bookstores in every U.S. state, and newly designed stores opening in communities nationwide. He was recruited to lead and turn around all operations of the 20,000-employee company, with full P&L responsibility across 635 retail stores, the e-Commerce business, a digital download business, and a Publishing division.
Before that, he worked for years at Staples, crowning his time there in December 2012, when he was named President of the North American Stores and Online at Staples. Managed the $10B North American Retail and e-Commerce business, including Operations, Merchandising, Marketing, and Real Estate, with 1800 stores and more than 40,000 associates. Demos was a key member of the Staples Executive Committee, contributing to developing short-term and three to five-year strategic plans.
