Stacking Up: Hayneedle executive profile series starts Thursday, July 1

Over the past few years, Hayneedle has been stacking up on talent. The Omaha-founded and still 100 percent Omaha-based online retailer of home furnishings and lifestyle products…

Hayneedle’s executive team, from left to right: Donn Raymond, chief financial officer, Jason Goldberger, chief merchandising officer, Carter Cast, president and CEO, Ash ElDifrawi, chief marketing officer, Dana Coonce, vice president of human resources, Jon Barker, chief operating officer, and Steve Dee, chief technology officer. Photo from hayneedleinc.com.

Over the past few years, Hayneedle has been stacking up on talent. The Omaha-founded and still 100 percent Omaha-based online retailer of home furnishings and lifestyle products recruited three individuals away from major players in the retail and tech industries: Carter Cast from Walmart.com, Ash ElDifrawi from Google, and Jason Goldberger from Amazon.

In our interview with Goldberger, he recalled receiving an “out of the blue” phone call from Hayneedle co-founder Doug Nielsen about a “powerful idea.”

“The idea was there was this wonderful company bigger than people thought that was really poised to become something bigger,” Goldberger said. “They were looking to further build the company and wanted me to come be apart of it.”

Needless to say, Goldberger didn’t pass up the opportunity.

Starting this Thursday and appearing the following two Thursdays, Silicon Prairie News contributor Andrea Ciurej will be sharing similar stories from Cast and ElDifrawi and telling you more about their backgrounds, roles at Hayneedle, and advice for entrepreneurs.

Here’s the Stacking Up schedule (updated weekly with links):

July 1: Jason Goldberger, Chief Merchandising Officer

Stacking Up: Jason Goldberger brings e-commerce experience to Hayneedle

 

 

July 8: Ash ElDifrawi, Chief Marketing Officer

Stacking Up: Ash ElDifrawi focused on building Hayneedle brand

 

 

 

July 15: Carter Cast, President and CEO

Stacking Up: Carter Cast brings marketing legacy to Hayneedle

 

 

 

Here’s more about Hayneedle’s background, from hayneedleinc.com:

Our journey to a world-class brand started in 2002, when founders Doug Nielsen, Mark Hasebroock, and Julie Mahloch acquired hammocks.com and began selling hammocks online. They saw the potential of launching more sites, each devoted to a product category. This became NetShops, where we continued to launch sites focused on home and outdoor living.

In August 2009, we unveiled our new name and new, easy-to-navigate website. Hayneedle.com includes 220 stores and counting, each devoted to a single product category.

Hayneedle is privately held and funded by Insight Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital.

Read full company background

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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