Nautilus Inc. on Monday announced that its board of directors has named James “Jim” Barr IV as CEO.
He will assume day-to-day leadership of the company on July 29 and will also join Nautilus’ board of directors. Barr is a C-level leader with multiple successes transforming and growing large scale digital and multichannel businesses in diverse industries.
Barr, a digital/e-commerce veteran, most recently helped lead, as group president at Ritchie Bros., a global leader in the sales of used industrial equipment with transaction value of $5.3 billion, a successful digital transformation that expanded the 60-year-old company’s offerings from its core onsite auctions to a full array of onsite and online formats, enhancing the value proposition by giving customers unprecedented choice of ways to buy and sell.
He led the company’s global marketing, technology and online product teams, ran its online businesses and helped the company launch new offerings in asset management software.
Prior to Ritchie Bros., Jim was EVP and chief digital officer of OfficeMax, a global retailer/wholesaler of office equipment, supplies and business services with revenue of over $7 billion and a top ten largest online retailer. There, he transformed its online and omnichannel experiences and turned around its online business from declining revenue to double-digit growth each and every quarter before the company ultimately merged with Office Depot.
In 2008, Barr was named the first President of Sears Holdings’ newly-formed Online Business Unit, another top ten online retailer, where he developed and drove an omnichannel and online strategy that rapidly expanded the product assortment and produced strong double-digit online growth and rapid increases in customer satisfaction.
Jim’s foundational digital experiences came as an executive for 12 years in Microsoft’s online businesses as GM, MSN Business Development, where he partnered to bring revenue, content and capabilities to the MSN network before heading the company’s B2C online businesses as GM, Commerce Services, where his engineering and business teams developed and ran online shopping, classified advertising and auction businesses, as well as platforms and technologies, which ultimately powered the ecommerce experience in Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
“As Nautilus, Inc. continues to transform its business leveraging technology to provide our customers a personalized fitness experience, we are excited to have Jim Barr, with his extensive technology and digital expertise, to drive Nautilus into its next era,” said M. Carl Johnson, III, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nautilus, Inc. and Interim Chief Executive Officer. “Jim’s proven capabilities of driving growth through people leadership, consumer-driven marketing, innovation and technology, and digital prowess will greatly enhance Nautilus’ plans to extend its global fitness position.”
“This is a time of tremendous opportunity for Nautilus, as technology evolves fitness through connected devices and software experiences, Artificial Intelligence (AI), greater customization and depth of customer interactions, and other capabilities that vastly improve the way we live healthy lifestyles,” said Jim Barr. “With leading brands, high quality global cardio and strength products, passionate employees, and world-class strategic partners, Nautilus has strong potential to deepen relationships with customers and build on its strong heritage as a leader in fitness.”
