Thinx Names Meghan Davis New CEO
Thinx is rearranging its C-suite.
The period underwear and apparel brand, which is majority owned by personal hygiene company Kimberly-Clark, has named Meghan Davis its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.
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“We’re excited for what the future holds for the Thinx brand and its products,” Alison Lewis, chairperson for Thinx board of directors, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring in a leader of Meghan’s caliber and experience to oversee this business. Her insights and data-driven approach to brand building will help us continue to develop innovative solutions based on consumer needs and unlock the next phase of growth for Thinx.”
Davis, who has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the health care and beauty industries, has held senior leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson in both Europe and North America.
As for Thinx, Davis said, “I have tremendous respect for the [brand] and am excited for the opportunity to help accelerate Thinx’s impact and growth by continuing to deliver leading-edge innovation in sustainable femtech. Thinx is a brand that I have admired for revolutionizing the feminine care industry, confronting stigmas and fighting for access to period products.”
Davis replaces former CEO Maria Molland, who will stay with the business until June 30 to help with the transition.
“We thank Maria for her longstanding commitment to helping the company further cement its leadership in the femtech category,” Lewis said. “This commitment includes Maria’s support as we searched for her successor.”
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Thinx was founded in 2014 as an online period-panties business. The start-up quickly made a splash circa 2015, becoming the topic of water cooler conversations, after images of juicy grapefruits and dripping egg yolks adjacent to women donning little more than Thinx panties showed up on subway platforms in major cities across the U.S. The campaign and growing interest in sustainability helped Thinx cement a substantial fanbase among Gen Z and Millennial shoppers.
But problems arose in 2017 when Miki Agrawal, cofounder and CEO of Thinx, was outed after accusations of sexual misconduct. Molland was brought on during the summer of that same year to help turn the company around.
“This job is undeniably the best I’ve ever had and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together to break boundaries and bring reusable period and incontinence underwear to more people around the world,” said Molland, who added that she’s stepping down to spend more time with her children. “This was not an easy decision, but one that I know is right for me personally. It has been a privilege to serve the Thinx community of customers and work with an amazing group of talented people.”
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In February, Kimberly-Clark — which includes the Huggies, Kleenex, Kotex, Cottonelle, Depend and Pull-Ups brands — completed a majority acquisition of Thinx for an undisclosed amount. (The company purchased a minority share of Thinx for $25 million in 2019.)
The following month, Molland told WWD that Thinx would continue to run as an independent firm, with its current leadership team remaining in place.
“The reason behind that is that [Kimberly-Clark] really values our entrepreneurial high-growth culture,” Molland said at the time. “And they realize that if they came in and were reorganizing, or moving parts of the business over to [Kimberly-Clark] that would most likely slow down our growth.”
Instead, the acquisition would help Thinx scale while tapping into Kimberly-Clark’s vast resources, such as capital and supply chain partners, many of which have increased exponentially amid the pandemic’s prolonged supply chain challenges.
Meanwhile, Thinx assortment has continued to grow and now includes underwear for teens, post-menopausal women and period-proof activewear. The brand has also increased its distribution to Target, CVS, Nordstrom, Selfridges, Kohl’s, London Drugs in Canada and Urban Outfitters store shelves, as well as online shops like Amazon, at various price points. Most recently, Thinx partnered with Walmart. In early 2021, Molland said Thinx was anticipating approximately $100 million in total revenues for the year.
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EXCLUSIVE: Period-panties Brand Thinx Enters Walmart
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