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From Home Furnishing Business
Purple Announces New Board Appointments
December 3,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Purple Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPL), the creator of renowned Purple Mattress, has announced the appointment of Dawn Zier to its board of directors and Paul Zepf as the new chairman. Both appointments filled vacated positions created by the retirement of Terry and Tony Pearce in August 2020.
"We are excited about the addition of Dawn Zier to Purple's board of directors as the company seeks to continue its accelerated growth trajectory in 2021 and beyond," said Gary DiCamillo, lead independent director.
Purple Innovation CEO Joe Megibow added, "Dawn's demonstrated experience in digital marketing and business transformation will be a valuable asset as Purple continues to take market share in the direct to consumer sleep market. Further, as Purple broadens its horizons in international and new comfort technology markets, she will add strong relevant insights into new growth markets and categories."
Zier is the principal of Aurora Business Consulting, LLC and advises companies on business transformation, digital marketing and high-performance teams. She served as president and CEO of Nutrisystem, a leading provider of health improvement and weight loss solutions, from 2012 until March of 2019, when it was sold to Tivity Health. She assisted in the transition to Tivity as President/COO and Board Member until December 2019. Previously, Zier served in a variety of positions at Readers Digest Association, including president of International, president of Europe and president of Global Marketing. She currently serves on the board of directors of Hain Celestial Group, Spirit Airlines and Prestige Consumer Healthcare. Zier holds an MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, as well as an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Zepf has been a director of Purple Innovation since August 2020 and previously acted as an advisor to the company and a board observer. Zepf previously was CEO of Global Partner Acquisition Corp., the predecessor to the company, from its formation in June 2015 until February 2018. Previously Zepf was managing director and head of strategic initiatives at Golub Capital (February 2014 to June 2015) and was managing principal of corporate partners II, a Lazard sponsored private equity fund from March 2005 until February 2014. Zepf has been a board member of Ironshore Ltd., a property casualty insurance company, and has served as a director of BIH Holdings. He has a BA, with highest honors, from the University of Notre Dame.