Petco Hires HP Veteran as CEO

An executive with HP is leaving the tech world for the world of speciality pet retailing.Petco has named Ron Coughlin as its new chief executive officer, effective June 18. Coughlin joins the company from HP, where he served for 11 years, most recently as president of personal systems."[Coughlin] has outstanding leadership experience with a consistent track record of driving strong growth and transformation at consumer-facing organizations," said Christopher Stadler, Managing Partner of CVC Capital Partners. "For the last 25 years, he has worked closely with the world's top physical and online retailers. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Ron, and we are excited about what his involvement will mean for the future of Petco."The move by Petco follows rival PetSmart's appointment of J.K. Symancyk as CEO. Symancyk previous served as CEO of Academy Sports + Outdoors and prior to that was president of Meijer.Petco has been looking to appeal to digitally connected pet lovers with new apps, food products and wellness services. Last month the company announced it would install pet food kitchens in store as it looks to get a leg up on competitors in the fast-growing pet category.Coughlin, a consumer products and technology industry veteran with over 15 years of C-suite executive experience, spent the last four years leading HP's Personal Systems segment, a $33 billion global business that offers consumer and commercial products and services. Previously, he was SVP of Consumer PCs, SVP of LaserJet Hardware and Commercial Document Services and Solutions, and SVP of Sales, Strategy, and Marketing at HP. Prior to joining HP, Ron spent 12 years at PepsiCo in a range of senior executive roles, including Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo International Beverages. In that capacity, he was responsible for marketing activities across Pepsi, 7 Up, Gatorade, and Tropicana in all markets outside of the US."Over the past 50+ years, Petco has become one of the most trusted names in the pet category," Coughlin said. "I look forward to working with Petco's strong existing leadership team and more than 25,000 passionate partners to grow and transform our business with a commitment to the needs of pet parents and the animals they love first and foremost. We will drive compelling in-store, online and services-related offerings, and we will have an unwavering commitment to innovation and flawless execution. I am excited about Petco's future."

Petco Hires HP Veteran as CEO

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