Casper Adds To Executive Ranks; Hires Former Walmart Exec

Casper Sleep is appointing several new members to its executive leadership team. Charles Liu will serve as chief operating officer, Dara Williams will be chief people and diversity officer, and George Poulios will serve as vice president of retail, real estate and store development.

“We are thrilled to welcome this bench of remarkable leaders to the team as we continue to strengthen Casper’s leadership in a way that reflects our core values,” Philip Krim, co-founder and CEO at Casper, said in a press release on Thursday (Feb. 4). “Dara, Charles, and George bring critical skills and know-how to both our culture and business operations as we further our commitment to improve diversity and inclusion, while scaling our business to bring better sleep to all.”

With over 20 years of experience in end-to-end supply chain management and corporate operations, Liu served as Walmart’s vice president of supply chain for its eCommerce unit, where he delivered “operating efficiencies across supplier relationships and negotiations” and more, the company said. At Casper, Liu will supervise “end-to-end supply chain functions” — sourcing, product engineering, compliance, quality and much more, per the release.

The company said that Emilie Arel, president and chief commercial officer, will still serve as principal operating officer.

Williams brings over 15 years of expertise across roles in human resources. In her new position at Casper, she will oversee all areas of HR, as well as sponsor and lead all diversity, equity and inclusion work at Casper, “including strategy, education, cultural initiatives and internal development.”

Poulios brings over 20 years of global multi-channel luxury and specialty retail experience to Casper. He previously was head of field at Enjoy Technology and held leadership roles at Apple, Giorgio Armani, Club Monaco and others. At Casper, Poulios will oversee the retail experience and operations, real estate and store development, and visual merchandising teams.

Casper offers mattresses, pillows, bedding and furniture that is designed by the company’s research and development team at Casper Labs.  In November, Casper partnered with the department store and retailer Nordstrom to bring its products to shoppers online and at certain retail locations.