Dive Brief:

• Casper on Tuesday announced it has hired Emilie Arel as president and chief commercial officer, and Ben Clark as chief technology officer.

• Arel has more than 20 years of experience in retail, merchandising, customer experience and marketing, according to a company press release. Prior to joining the mattress brand, Arel was the CEO of FullBeauty Brands, CEO of Quidsi (an Amazon company that shut down in 2017), and held various roles at Gap, Inc.

• Clark, who will oversee the advancement of digital products and the enhancement of systems at Casper, joins the brand from Wayfair, where he served as chief architect.

Dive Insight:

Since its inception five years ago, Casper has helped lead a disruption of the mattress industry, formed partnerships with major retailers and quickly expanded its own brick-and-mortar footprint. These recent hires signal the digitally native mattress brand sees even more room for growth. 

"Adding world-class, experienced leaders remains critical as we try to keep up with global demand across the growing business of sleep," CEO and co-founder Philip Krim said, adding that the new hires "bring invaluable experience to Casper as we continue to scale and bring better sleep to more people across the globe."

While Casper has made a big push in expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint in recent years — announcing last year that it planned to open 200 stores across North America — its most recent announcement indicates that it hasn’t shifted its focus entirely away from its digital roots.

At Wayfair, Clark spent years enhancing the company’s tech platforms and building out its engineering team. His arrival comes at an opportune time for growth for the mattress company, particularly in its digital channels.

Casper in March announced it reached a post-money valuation of $1.1 billion after raising an additional $100 million, pushing it to unicorn status. At the time, the company said it intended to use the funding to "fuel Casper's category leadership and omnichannel growth," which includes its wholesale and e-commerce channels.

Building out its team, to an extent, further propels reports that the company may be readying an initial public offering.

Casper on Tuesday also announced the addition of two independent board members, Diane Irvine and Jack Lazar. Irvine comes in with more than a decade of director-level experience under her belt, was formerly the CEO and CFO of diamond and jewelry company Blue Nile, and is the current chairperson of Yelp. Lazar has served as CFO of "multiple public companies," including GoPro, and he currently serves on ThredUp’s and Tile’s boards, among others.