Allbirds, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIRD), a global lifestyle brand that
innovates with sustainable materials to make better footwear and
apparel products in a better way, today announced the appointment
of Chief Operating Officer Joe Vernachio as Chief Executive Officer
and a member of the Board of Directors, effective March 15, 2024.
He succeeds Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds’s co-founder and CEO, who
will continue as a member of the Board of Directors and serve as a
special advisor to the Company. Mr. Vernachio’s addition to the
Board will expand the size of Allbirds’s Board of Directors to
eight members.
Vernachio has served as Allbirds’s COO since June 2021. In 2023,
the Company increased his responsibilities to include oversight of
commercial and international functions, in addition to operations.
Vernachio brings decades of experience in the retail industry and a
long track record of building enduring brands. Prior to joining
Allbirds, he spent four years as President of outdoor apparel and
gear brand Mountain Hardwear, Inc., where he led a successful
turnaround from declining sales and losses to robust growth and
profitability. In his new role, Vernachio will oversee all
operations and continue advancing Allbirds’s strategic
transformation plan.
“Building Allbirds with my co-founder Tim Brown, alongside our
talented and dedicated Flock, has and continues to be an incredible
privilege. I am thrilled to pass the mantle to Joe, who I have been
working with for nearly three years. We turned to Joe to take on an
expanded leadership role, increasing his responsibilities this past
year and leveraging his capabilities as we developed our strategic
transformation plan. Joe’s expertise has been particularly
meaningful as we’ve worked to align our ethos with operational and
financial execution,” said Zwillinger. “Our mission to make
products that are coveted by consumers and deliver amazing comfort
and style without denting the earth is even more important than it
was when we started the Company nine years ago. I have every
confidence that we have built the foundation for an enduring,
multi-generation brand that will thrive in the years to come.”
Dick Boyce, Lead Independent Director, stated, “On behalf of the
Board, I want to thank Joey, both as co-founder and CEO, and
acknowledge his enormous contributions and fierce commitment to
Allbirds’s mission, proving that good design and sustainability
don't have to be mutually exclusive. We are delighted that Joe is
taking the reins as we strive to maximize long-term shareholder
value. He brings a powerful combination of continuity, business
prowess, and deep industry experience to the role from his nearly
four-decade, storied career managing a variety of leading brands.
We are confident that he is perfectly suited to lead Allbirds
through its next phase and well into the future.”
Vernachio added, “I am honored to step into the CEO role and am
endlessly grateful to Joey for his partnership. I look forward to
continuing to work closely with our teams across the organization
as well as the Board as we advance Allbirds’s strategic
transformation plan. I have a deep appreciation for what it takes
to build brand equity, restore growth, and drive scale. Allbirds
has all the makings of an enduring, iconic brand – lifestyle
positioning, meaningful purpose and sustainability, and great
value. I look forward to delivering on the full potential of our
strategy, creating incredible products and building long-term value
for our shareholders.”
Vernachio has been instrumental in leading key initiatives under
the Company’s operational transformation, including reducing
inventory, transitioning to a distributor model in international
markets and optimizing U.S. distribution. Most recently, he assumed
full control over product development. In addition to serving four
years as President of Mountain Hardwear, Vernachio spent seven
years at The North Face, an outdoor products company and subsidiary
of VF Corporation, where he served as Vice President of Global
Product. Earlier in his career, he held various leadership
positions with global brands including Patagonia, Nike, Roots,
Calvin Klein and Spyder.
About Allbirds, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, with its roots in New
Zealand, Allbirds launched in 2016 with a single shoe: the now
iconic Wool Runner. In the years since, Allbirds has sold millions
of pairs of shoes, and has maintained its commitment to incredible
comfort, versatile style and unmatched quality. This is made
possible with materials like Allbirds’s sugarcane-based midsole
technology, SweetFoam™, and textiles made with eucalyptus fibers
and Merino wool – so consumers don't have to compromise between the
best products and their impact on the earth.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release and related conference call
contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on
management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently
available to management. All statements other than statements of
historical facts, including statements regarding our strategic
transformation plan and related efforts, financial outlook and
guidance targets, planned transition to a distributor model in
certain international markets, anticipated distributor model
arrangements, anticipated distributor model arrangements, focus on
improving efficiencies and driving profitability, estimated and/or
targeted cost savings, medium-term financial targets, market
position, future results of operations, financial condition,
business strategy and plans, reducing the carbon footprint of our
products, materials innovation and new product launches, and
objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking
statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking
statements because they contain words such as “designed,”
“objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,”
“could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or
“would” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or
expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to: our ability to execute our strategic
transformation plans, simplification initiatives or our long-term
growth strategy; fluctuations in our operating results; our ability
to achieve the financial outlook and guidance targets for the first
quarter of 2024; our ability to complete transitions to a
distributor model in certain international markets; our ability to
achieve our cost savings targets by 2025; economic uncertainty in
our key markets; impairment of long-lived assets; the strength of
our brand; our net losses since inception; the competitive
marketplace; our reliance on technical and materials innovation;
our use of sustainable high-quality materials and environmentally
friendly manufacturing processes and supply chain practices; our
ability to attract new customers and increase sales to existing
customers; the impact of climate change and government and investor
focus on sustainability issues; our ability to anticipate product
trends and consumer preferences, including with respect to the
product launches we have planned for the first half of 2024; and
our ability to forecast consumer demand. Moreover, we operate in a
very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new
risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our
management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of
all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause our actual results or performance
to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements we may make.
Further information on these risks and other
factors that could cause our financial results, performance, and
achievements to differ materially from any results, performance, or
achievements anticipated, expressed, or implied by these
forward-looking statements is included in the filings we make with
the SEC, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 2023, and future reports we may file
with the SEC from time to time. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release and related conference call relate
only to events as of the date stated or, if no date is stated, as
of the date of this press release and related conference call. We
undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements
made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the
occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We
may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations
disclosed in or expressed by, and you should not place undue
reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking
statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future
acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or
investments.
Contacts:
Investor Relationsir@allbirds.com
Media Contactpress@allbirds.com
Source: Allbirds, Inc.
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