Demos Parneros

I have been fortunate to know Demos since my very first few days at Staples. I know Demos as a positive, curious and strategic executive, as well as a kind and supportive leader. Demos’ years of experience, from running stores in his early career all the way to running companies, enables him to provide comprehensive strategic guidance. He can see the big picture of where an industry is going, what white spaces can be explored and all the interconnected threads of vendors, merchandising, supply chain, operations and customer outreach that are needed. But he can also get into the detail of each of those disciplines to map out a plan to get there.

I first met Demos in the early 2000s when he was serving as President of Staples. My company, Parago, was a key vendor of Staples and provided services to the company for over 15 years. I served as the CEO of Parago and was the executive sponsor on the account. Over the years, the relationship between our two companies was strategic as Parago was constantly looking for ways to drive customer acquisition and loyalty. Being the amazing leader Demos is, and his passion for customer service, he provided an audience for us over the years to discuss our programs.

I served as Demos’ Chief of Staff for nearly two years at Barnes & Noble. In that time, I learned so much from watching him work – both about how to run an effective business and how to treat people. You can tell from how he approaches problems, the questions he asks, the decisions he makes, etc., that he sees the big picture but also understands the operational details. He leads his team toward results but truly values not only people’s contributions to the business, but the people themselves. It was a pleasure working for Demos.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Demos during my time at Staples (1999-2001), when he was running one of the major regions and I was SVP strategy. He built the business substantially by rolling out new stores, upgrading older stores to improve their throughput, and hiring and retaining a talented team. He executed a very rapid store expansion, and, despite the pressures we were all under, Demos helped make Staples a fun place to work!

I had the pleasure of working with Demos during my 13 years at Staples. Demos is an inspirational leader, thoughtful but direct. Demos brings his passion and excitement to everything he does. It is infectious, motivating not only his direct reports, but anyone who has been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work alongside of him. I learned so much during my time with him, and have carried those lessons on long after we stopped working together.