Brooklinen co-founder Rich Fulop is stepping down as CEO of the DTC bedding brand.
Fulop has led the brand since founding it with his wife, Vicki, in 2014.
“Rich knew he wanted to step aside at some point to spend more time with his growing family, and he wanted to wait until he was fully confident in the brand's success,” a company spokesperson told Retail Dive. “This year felt like the right time after a lot of focus on expansion over the past few years … and because of how well the business was doing.”
Brooklinen has tapped an internal member of its staff to take on the CEO responsibilities in the interim and has already begun a search for a permanent replacement. Fulop will remain an active board member, the spokesperson said.
Over the past several years, Brooklinen has worked to build out its brick-and-mortar footprint, launched a separate brand, Marlow, specializing in pillows and debuted a hospitality collection for hotels and bed and breakfasts, among other things.
The executive shuffle comes at a time when more DTC founders are hanging up their CEO hats in order to usher in talent with more retail experience. Glossier founder Emily Weiss last year announced her departure as the beauty brand’s CEO. That same year, Lively’s founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant stepped down from the CEO role and was succeeded by Kristin DiCunzolo, previously the vice president of marketing and direct at Lively’s parent company, Wacoal. And Casper’s co-founder Philip Krim stepped down as chief executive in 2021 just as the company announced it would be acquired and taken private by private equity firm Durational Capital Management.
