Milwaukee-based startup
Bright Cellars, a monthly wine subscription service, has named
Joe Megibow as its new chief executive officer.
Bright Cellars co-founder and past CEO
Richard Yau will continue to serve on the board.
"Alongside his co-founder Joe Laurendi, Richard built Bright Cellars into a trusted brand for wine education and discovery. We’re grateful for their early work in launching the company on a remarkable trajectory," said Dawn Miedler, Bright Cellars chief operating officer and president.
In a Thursday LinkedIn post, Yau said he would remain in Milwaukee for a different opportunity, but did not specify what that opportunity is.
"My past eight years as CEO and co-founder of Bright Cellars have been incredibly rewarding," reads the post. "Through leading Bright Cellars, I’ve learned more than I could imagine and have built lifelong relationships along the way."
Megibow formerly served as the CEO of Lehi, Utah-based Purple Innovation, Inc., a manufacturer of comfort products including mattresses, pillows, cushions, sheets, and bases.
Megibow led Purple to profitability while more than doubling revenue to $700+ million. In this role, he oversaw significant manufacturing expansion. Earlier in his career, Megibow served as senior vice president and chief digital officer at American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. Prior to that, Megibow held several senior roles with Expedia, Inc.
"Wine has been a part of society for thousands of years -- yet has become increasingly complicated and out of reach for many," said Megibow. "Bright Cellars’ consumer-centric model, helping to match wine tastes to customers without any prior knowledge of wine, has been missing in the industry. This data-driven approach not only delivers better customer satisfaction, but also enables efficient development and production. I'm thrilled for the opportunity to work with this innovative team as we fulfill our mission of making it much easier to learn about, receive, and enjoy wine."
Bright Cellars has expanded its business to reach over $40 million in annual revenue. The company polls customers on which wines they like from its monthly wine subscription service in order to make personalized recommendations. It then leverages the data it collects to generate insights, which have allowed Bright Cellars to develop its own portfolio of wines.
Last fall, the company
raised $11.2 million in a Series B round.
"Joe is a world-class executive with a proven track record of profitably scaling disruptive consumer companies. We are thrilled to have him join as CEO and know he will play a pivotal role as the company continues to reinvent the archaic, nearly $80 billion U.S. wine industry and appeal to a new generation of wine lovers," said Clara Sieg, Revolution Ventures partner and Bright Cellars board member.
