(PRESS RELEASE) NOVATO, CA — Zenni, the online eyewear retail leader, announced two new key hires to its C-suite to support its continued growth. David Ting joins the company as Chief Technology Officer to evolve the online customer experience, while driving innovation across the Zenni business offering. Building on his 25 years of experience leading growth strategy for technology companies, Ting is focused on integrating and advancing the efficiencies of Zenni’s direct-to-consumer platform. With more than three decades of experience leading brand, marketing and communications strategies for companies across a variety of industries, Paul Parkin also joins as Chief Brand Officer, where he’ll build on the deep engagement Zenni already has with its customers, direct the company’s new brand strategy, architecture, and drive deeper brand affinity and loyalty – #lovemyzennis
“We are all very honored to have talent like David and Paul join the team and support the next evolution of Zenni’s far reaching multi-faceted eyewear business,” said Julia Zhen, CEO of Zenni. “Their combined leadership across technology and brand strategy not only strengthens our executive team, but Paul and David’s knowledge and creativity will help drive Zenni to new heights as we continue to expand and diversify our offering to provide eyewear for everyone.”
Ting has expansive experience building out successful and innovative technology platforms for established brands such as Yahoo!, Newscorp, Blizzard and IBM, as well as startups including Flexport, DataVisor, and Nylas, increasing the latter’s valuation over 10x in the time there. Ting led cross functional, global teams of engineers, product managers and designers, and his platform build outs have been featured at Google Next, AWS reinvent and Alibaba Cloud Summit. In 2022, Ting was also selected as one of the top 100 Engineering Leaders by Alumni Spotlight, and his Engineering team has been ranked 29 by Comparably.
“I am thrilled to join the Zenni team as Chief Technology Officer,” said Ting. “Thanks to its groundbreaking and longstanding direct-to-consumer business model, Zenni is in a unique position to digitally disrupt a century old industry. By adding cutting edge technology to industry leading manufacturing and online presence, Zenni can help people live better and see better by making eyewear more comfortable, stylish, and affordable in a socially responsible manner.”
Parkin has deep expertise and a passion for creating effective and transformative branding across a wide range of organizations, business sectors and geographies. He has worked with some of the newest and the most established brands on the planet, including Virgin, Disney, and Logitech, creating solutions for startups looking to disrupt and helping Fortune 50 companies manage their most valuable assets.
“As Zenni continues to evolve in order to achieve its mission to bring eyewear and eye care to everyone, I am excited to not only help tell that story, but elevate our brand, and ultimately business, to a new level,” said Parkin. “I look forward to partnering with the team developing Zenni’s latest innovations, while growing the company’s reputation and customer base.”
Most recently, Ting was Senior Vice President of Engineering, Product, and Chief Information Security Officer at Nylas, where he managed all engineering, product and support organizations for the company. Prior to Nylas, Ting held leadership positions at companies including Yahoo!, NetEase, Newscorp, and Blizzard. Ting holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and has 4 patents.
After years of experience working with some of the world’s leading brand consulting firms, including Wolff Olins, Landor, Rodney Fitch and Interbrand, Parkin founded Salt Branding in San Francisco in 2001, where he worked for more than 20 years with clients including Coca-Cola, Disney, Google, Delta Airlines, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft and many more to build their brands and connect their customers and employees. Parkin also managed the Virgin brand in the UK and was a founding member of MightyWords, a spin-out from Fatbrain that was acquired by Barnes and Noble. Parkin graduated from St. Martin’s School of Art, followed by a degree at The Royal College of Art in London.