Amazon aggregator Thrasio loses CEO, other top execs as company works through bankruptcy

Thrasio,
the
top
aggregator
of


Amazon
third-party
sellers,
is
losing
its
CEO
and
five
other
senior
executives,
months
after
the
former
highflier
filed
for
bankruptcy.

Greg
Greeley,
Thrasio’s
CEO,
informed
staff
on
Tuesday
that
he
plans
to
resign,
according
to
an
internal
memo
viewed
by
CNBC.
Finance
chief
Josh
Burke
is
also
leaving,
along
with
the
company’s
technology
chief,
head
of
human
relations,
chief
commercial
officer
and
supply
chain
lead.

Stephanie
Fox,
Thrasio’s
chief
operating
officer,
will
replace
Greeley
as
CEO.
The
executives
will
stay
on
to
ensure
a “smooth
transition”
and
then “step
down
when
Thrasio
emerges
from
Chapter
11
in
the
coming
weeks,”
Greeley
wrote
in
the
memo.

Thrasio
became
an
early
leader
in
what
became
a
rapidly
booming
market
to
acquire
successful
brands
on
Amazon
and
combine
them
under
one
roof,
with
the
goal
of
using
their
data
and
operational
expertise
to
turbocharge
sales.
Thrasio
raised
$3.4
billion
in
equity
and
debt
from
major
firms
like


Goldman
Sachs,


BlackRock
and


JPMorgan
Chase,
and
reportedly
reached
a
peak
valuation
of

about
$10
billion
in
2021.

Thrasio
ranked
22nd
on
CNBC’s

Disruptor
50
list
in
2021
and
40th
the

following
year.
The
company
snapped
up
more
than
200
brands,
from
a
top-selling
pet
deodorizer
spray,
to
golf
putting
mats
and
cocktail
shakers. 

But
cracks
in
the
market
began
to
form
as
the
pandemic
e-commerce
surge
faded,
unsold
inventory
piled
up
and
some
aggregators
took
on
excessive
amounts
of
debt.
Thrasio

filed
for
bankruptcy
in
February
and
said
it
had
agreed
with
lenders
to
restructure
some
of
its
debt
load.

Alongside
the
C-suite
shakeup,
Thrasio
is
also
laying
off “employees
at
every
level,”
according
to
the
memo.
The
company
declined
to
say
what
percentage
of
its
workforce
would
be
affected
by
the
cuts.
Thrasio
had
1,211
employees
as
of
2022,
according
to
Pitchbook.

“The
predicted
revenue
trajectory
from
the
brands
in
our
portfolio
does
not
support
our
current
operating
expenses
and
future
interest
payments,”
Greeley
wrote
in
the
memo. “So
just
as
we’ve
restructured
our
debt
to
pave
the
way
to
profitability,
we
also
need
to
slim
down
further
to
ensure
Thrasio
can
meet
its
financial
obligations
and
serve
customers
effectively
in
the
future.”

The
company
is
also
considering
selling
off
some
of
its
smaller
or
more
complex
brands,
according
to
a
source
familiar
with
the
matter,
who
requested
anonymity
to
discuss
private
matters.

In
a
court
filing,
Thrasio
said
it
had
between
$1
billion
and
$10
billion
in
assets,
and
between
$500
million
and
$1
billion
in
liabilities.
It
owes
more
than
$5
million
to
U.S.
Customs
and
Border
Protection
and
roughly
$2.9
million
to
GXO
Logistics,
among
other
liabilities.
Greeley
said
the
company’s
operations
were “cash
flow
positive
in
Q1.”

Thrasio’s
ability
to
emerge
from
bankruptcy
could
be
complicated
by
an
ongoing
investigation
by
the
Unsecured
Creditors
Committee,
which
seeks
to
determine “how
the
debtors
lost
over
$3
billion
in
value
in
less
than
two
years,”
according
to
a
separate
filing
with
the
bankruptcy
court
last
week.

The
creditors
have
requested
more
information
about
a “2020
insider
tender
offer,
which
resulted
in
millions
of
estate
funds
being
transferred
to
insiders,”
as
well
as
potential
conflicts
of
interest
with
the
retiring
of
a
loan.
They’re
also
inquiring
about
officers
and
directors
involved
in
over
$300
million
in
company
stock
sales “that
has
given
rise
to
allegations
of
fraud.”

Thrasio
previously
overhauled
its
leadership
ranks

in
2021,
when
co-founder
Josh
Silberstein
resigned
from
his
role.
The
company

laid
off
about
20%
of
its
employees
the
next
year.

Greeley,
a
19-year
veteran
of
Amazon
who
oversaw
the
development
of
the
Prime
loyalty
program,
was
named
CEO
in
2022,
and
along
with
a
slate
of
executives
who
had
experience
at


Walmart
and
Amazon,
tried
to
orchestrate
a
turnaround.