Demos Parneros (born March 10, 1962) is an American businessman who was previously the chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble[1] and president of North American retail and online at Staples Inc.[2]
Demos Parneros | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 10, 1962 Cyprus |
| Residence | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Profession | Businessman |
Early life
editBorn in Cyprus, Parneros moved to New York City when he was nine years old. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science degree in management.[3]
Career
editParneros began his career at Macy's Inc. and then held multiple management positions at Staples before joining Barnes and Noble in November 2016.[4]
Staples
editParneros joined Staples in 1987 as general manager of its first store in New York City and worked in the company's human resources, marketing, merchandising and store operations divisions.[5] In 2002, Parneros was appointed president of the company's U.S. Superstores and responsibility for over 1,000 locations.[6] In 2012, Parneros was appointed president of Staples North American Stores’ 1,800 locations and the company's online business, Staples.com.[7] Under Parneros, Staples launched its first omnichannel stores, customer kiosks that merged the company's retail and online product offerings.
KeyBank
editParneros served on the board of KeyBank from 2014 to 2018.[8][9]
Barnes & Noble
editParneros was appointed chief operating officer of Barnes & Noble in November 2016. In April 2017, he was appointed CEO, with responsibility for all company operations, including brick-and-mortar stores, merchandising, e-Commerce, publishing, IT systems and real estate.[10][11] At the time, Barnes and Noble was searching for effective ways to compete with Amazon and strengthen its retail and digital Nook businesses.[12] While the brick-and-mortar bookstore market stabilized, the company continued to experience sales and revenue declines. As part of Parneros’ turnaround strategy, Barnes & Noble designed and opened smaller store locations and refocused on book sales.[13]
In 2019, the company opened its first five prototype stores, half the size of the traditional stores, to align with its omnichannel sales approach.[14] Parneros was terminated in July 2018 for alleged violation of company policies.[15] Parneros subsequently sued Barnes & Noble for breach of contract and defamation.[16] In October 2020, Barnes & Noble and Parneros agreed to amicably settle the case with all claims dropped.[17]
Personal life
editParneros lives with his wife, Debbie, in Boston, Massachusetts. They have two children.
References
edit- ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (2017-04-27). "Barnes & Noble Names Demos Parneros as Chief Executive". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Francis, Jack (2014-04-01). "Demos Parneros, President, North American Stores & Online, Staples | OPI – Office Products International". Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Names Demos Parneros CEO – Alumni – Harvard Business School". www.alumni.hbs.edu. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "2018 Commencement Speakers Announced". Endicott Observer. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Appoints Demos Parneros as Chief Operating Officer". Barnes & Noble Inc. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2002/04/22/daily47.html. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Alter, Alexandra (2017-04-27). "Barnes & Noble Names Chief Executive, Its Fourth Since 2013". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ KeyCorp. "KeyCorp Elects Demos Parneros To Board Of Directors". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Glynn, Matt (19 July 2018). "KeyCorp reaches $450 million cost-save target from First Niagara deal". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Appoints Demos Parneros as Chief Operating Officer". Barnes & Noble Inc. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Lindner |, Matt (2017-04-27). "Barnes & Noble promotes Staples veteran Demos Parneros to CEO". Digital Commerce 360. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Alter, Alexandra (2017-04-27). "Barnes & Noble Names Chief Executive, Its Fourth Since 2013". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "Facing Growing Losses, Barnes & Noble Is 'Going Small'". Observer. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Milliot |, Jim. "B&N Will Open Five Prototype Stores in Fiscal 2019". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Wang, Christine (2018-07-03). "Barnes & Noble fires CEO Demos Parneros for violating company policies". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Horowitz, Julia (2018-08-28). "Former Barnes & Noble CEO sues over his firing". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Andrew Albanese |. "Barnes & Noble, Former CEO Abruptly End Litigation". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-02-18.