Purse purveyor has e-commerce talent in the bag

Executives from Staples and virtual reality firm Magic Leap have joined the strategic advisory board of leading online handbags, luggage and backpacks retailer eBags.



Mike Edwards, eBags president and CEO, said Faisal Masud, executive VP of global e-commerce at Staples, and Scott Henry, CFO at Magic Leap, would bring a wealth of wealth of entrepreneurial and operational experience and an understanding of what it takes to excel in a fast-paced technology to eBags as the newest members of the board.



“Faisal and Scott have held senior leadership positions at some of the most progressive and disruptive global brands, including Staples, Amazon, eBay, Magic Leap, and Beats by Dr. Dre,” said Edwards, a former Staples executive himself.



The noteworthy additions to the eBags board come on the heels of what the company said were new sales records for the first week of December and Cyber Monday.



Prior to leading the digital efforts at Staples, Masud was VP and general manager at Groupon, Inc., where he managed Groupon Goods' strategy and execution in more than 35 countries, and directly coordinated all functions for that unit, including merchandising, inventory, marketing, engineering and operations. Masud also held executive positions at eBay-PayPal and Amazon.



Henry is currently CFO at Magic Leap, a startup that has raised more than $540 million, which develops technology around virtual reality and 3D computer-generated imagery. Prior to Magic Leap, Henry held CFO roles at Beats Music and Beats by Dr. Dre. He joined Beats in 2011 and led the company's transition from a licensing company to an independent global manufacturer. Before Beats, Henry served as CFO at several major companies, including Borders Group (another company where eBags CEO Edwards worked) and Las Vegas Sands. Earlier in his career, Henry worked as an investment banker at ING, Prudential Securities and Salomon Brothers.



Founded in 1998 by Peter Cobb, who also serves as chairman of the National Retail Federation’s digital division known as Shop.org, eBags contends it is the leading online retailer of handbags, luggage, backpacks, and accessories offering 67,000 products from 550 brand such as Michael Kors, kate spade, Tumi, Fjallraven, The North Face and Patagonia.