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Hero expands leadership team with two key hires

Lauretta Roberts
01 November 2018

London and New York-based omichannel commerce company Hero has augmented its top team with two key hires.

Benjamin Baum has joined the business as Chief Operating Officer and Marc Hruschka joins as President of Luxury Strategy and Partnerships.

Both bring with them strong pedigrees in fashion and luxury. Baum was previously Chief Digital Officer at Tailored Brands Inc. and former Head of Business Development, Multichannel Retail at Google, while Hruschka was formerly President & CEO at Chopard US, VP at Chanel, and most recently CCO at John Hardy.

Hero CEO, Alistair Crane, said of the hires: "We're proud to announce a stellar line up of executives to our leadership team, accelerating our vision to transform retail by uniquely extending the physical experience of the store to digital. By bringing together the most experienced team of industry titans, no other technology company is as well positioned to understand the strategic issues facing retail today, pioneering groundbreaking innovation that transforms an entire industry."

Hero, which was founded in London by Crane and Adam Levene in 2015, connects online consumers with store associates, giving customers the chance to experience the store and giving them added confidence to make a purchase, while also allowing store associates to maximise their earnings by influencing online sales.

The business has a number of high profile investors and advisers including Yasunobu Kyogoku, former COO of Uniqlo USA, and Pearson Poon, Executive Director of Harvey Nichols. Partners include leading luxury groups LVMH and Richemont and global brands including John Varvatos, John Hardy, Men's Wearhouse, Jos A Bank and Harvey Nichols. More partnerships will be announced later this year, the company promised.

Baum said he was "thrilled" to be joining the business, adding: "My career has been built on having a deep understanding of what makes retail brands important to consumers - Hero's team has built some of the most impressive technology that is solving many needs of retailers in 2018. It's critical to survival for retailers to digitally reinvent themselves while preserving the unique strengths of stores and service that have made them who they are. I look forward to building great things with Hero and our retail partners."

Hruschka added: "Global retail is at an inflection point, and in luxury, brands are looking to double down on digital while protecting the white glove service traditionally found in the boutique. Hero is preserving and pioneering the most personal shopping experience and at the same time driving new sales opportunities for associates to earn digitally for the very first time, both in-store and online. I'm excited to help forge new global partnerships and cement Hero's reputation as the omnichannel power brand."

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