Velcro Companies appoints Gabriella Parisse CEO

• Parisse promoted to President immediately and assumes role as CEO Nov. 1
• Andrew Ellis, Roberto Travella and Chitra Ebenezer promoted to Executive Leadership Team

Velcro Companies names Gabriella Parisse Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Leadership transition begins immediately with Parisse serving as President. She will assume her role as CEO on Nov. 1.

Current CEO Jeff Malcolm will retire Nov. 1 to enjoy more time with family and friends. He will remain a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

“Gabriella has a track record of success and brings extensive global experience across commercial, marketing and innovation in consumer goods and B2B,” said Malcolm. “She is the right person to lead Velcro Companies as we look to unlock the power of the VELCRO® Brand to drive innovation and growth around the globe.”

“Under Jeff’s leadership, we’ve strengthened our core business and positioned the company well to respond to customer and consumer needs with the best original fastening products and solutions,” Parisse said. “It is an honor to lead this wonderful company as we bring the iconic VELCRO® Brand to life through our differentiated portfolio, innovative product development and the ORIGINAL THINKING™ of our colleagues around the globe.”

Gabriella Parisse

Parisse has more than 30 years of international experience in consumer goods and B2B with a track-record in accelerating growth, brand building and innovation. Gabriella joined Velcro Companies in October 2018, most recently serving as Chief Growth Officer.

Parisse spent 26 years with Johnson & Johnson. She served in a variety of global senior leadership roles with increasing responsibility in marketing, innovation and business development, including President of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Italy and Vice President, Skincare for Europe, Africa and Middle East. She also served on the Executive Committee of Tate & Lyle PLC as President of Innovation and Commercial Development.

She graduated with honors from La Sapienza University in Rome with a master’s degree in Statistics and Demographic Sciences. In 2009, she was awarded the Italian honor of "Cavaliere del Lavoro" (Order of Merit for Labour) by the President of the Italian Republic.

Parisse is the company’s first female CEO and one of many exceptional female senior leaders and professionals employed throughout the organization.

Additionally, Velcro Companies promoted three other employees to Executive Leadership Team (ELT) roles. Effective immediately:

• Andrew Ellis becomes Chief Commercial Officer – Americas. He brings a vast knowledge of our business and strong leadership credentials across B2B and Consumer to the role, including more than 20 years with Velcro Companies in a variety of global sales and marketing leadership roles across the organization.

Most recently, he’s successfully led the company’s Global Consumer organization and served as interim leader for its APAC Commercial organization. Past roles also include leading the company’s APAC Region while living in China and its Global Personal Care category. Prior to joining Velcro Companies, he worked in Pharmaceuticals Sales and Marketing.

Ellis earned an MBA from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

• Roberto Travella becomes Chief Commercial Officer – EMEA/APAC. He joined the company in October 2020 to lead its EMEA B2B Commercial organization and brings nearly 30 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing to the role.

Prior to joining Velcro Companies, Travella worked at 3M for more than 26 years, serving in a variety of business development, sales and marketing leadership roles. Most recently, he served as Regional Division Leader for the 3M Separation and Purification Sciences Division. He also served as Western Europe Area Leader for the company’s Home Care Division, General Manager for 3M Gulf, servicing customers in Africa and the Middle East, and General Manager for 3M in South Africa.

Travella earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from L. Bocconi University in Italy.

• Chitra Ebenezer becomes Chief Marketing Officer. She brings more than 25 years of marketing, brand building and communications leadership expertise to the role. She joined the company in September 2019 as Vice President, Global Communications & Brand.

She has extensive experience working with global brands, including serving in numerous senior leadership roles over 11 years while at Kraft Foods Group. She also led the US Marketing team at Rana Meal Solutions and served as Global Communication Director at Tate & Lyle. She started her marketing career at Kimberly-Clark, working on the Huggies® brand.

Ebenezer earned an undergraduate degree from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Ellis, Travella and Ebenezer serve on the ELT with Parisse and Doug McBurney, Chief Operating Officer, and Ben Kaplan, General Counsel and Chief Talent Officer (CTO). Doug joined the company in 2020 and has more than 20 years of senior operations leadership experience with an emphasis on driving operational excellence for global premium textile brands. Ben joined in 2018 and has nearly 20 years of experience serving in senior leadership roles across a variety of global organizations.

About Velcro Companies

Velcro Companies is a technology-driven, global organization providing versatile, strong, reliable and durable fastening solutions that solve problems in simple, elegant and surprising ways. VELCRO® Brand products are used by businesses and consumers around the world and can be found in the Transportation, Medical, Packaging, Construction, Personal Care, Footwear & Apparel and Industrial markets. We have a heritage of innovation spanning more than 60 years and hold more than 400 active patents and numerous trademarks, including the VELCRO® trademark. To buy genuine VELCRO® Brand products and find out more about our company, visit www.velcro.com.

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