Neil Fiske

About Neil Fiske

Neil Fiske (age 63) is nominated for election to Purple Innovation’s Board at the June 10, 2025 annual meeting; if elected, he will serve as an independent director. He is President of Black Diamond Equipment (NASDAQ: CLAR) since February 2023, and previously served as CEO of Marquee Brands (2020–2023), Gap Inc. (2018–2020), Billabong International (2013–2018), Eddie Bauer (2007–2012), and Bath & Body Works (2003–2007). He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Political Economy from Williams College, and spent 14 years at Boston Consulting Group as Vice President/Director, including running the Chicago office .

Past Roles

External Roles

No other public-company board memberships are disclosed for Fiske in PRPL’s proxy .

Board Governance

• Independence: If elected, Fiske will be an independent director under Nasdaq/SEC rules .
• Board addition context: His election as the ninth director fulfills a December 2024 settlement to add an additional independent director within 12 months .
• Committee assignments: Standing committees are Audit (Chair: R. Carter Pate), Human Capital & Compensation (Chair: Claudia Hollingsworth), and Nomination & Governance (Chair: Gary DiCamillo); committee membership for Fiske is not specified in the proxy and will be set by the Board .
• Attendance baseline: In 2024 the Board held 12 meetings; each current director attended at least 87.5% of Board and committee meetings. Fiske was not on the Board in 2024 .
• Independent director executive sessions: Independent directors hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present .

Fixed Compensation

Based on PRPL’s director compensation program, if elected, Fiske would be eligible for the $175,000 cash retainer and any applicable committee chair/member fees .

Performance Compensation

• PRPL directors are compensated entirely in cash; no equity awards to non-employee directors were granted/paid for 2024 (i.e., no RSUs/PSUs/options), so there are no performance- or stock-price-linked components for directors .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Board Skills Matrix indicates Fiske brings public-company executive leadership, operations, consumer marketing/brand, digital/e-commerce, sales/retail management, manufacturing/supply chain/logistics, product development, finance/P&L, international/global, M&A/integration, human capital/culture, risk/crisis management .
• Awards and recognition in marketing, product innovation, retailing, publishing .

Equity Ownership

Governance Assessment

• Positive signals

  • Independent director addition and settlement compliance: Adding Fiske as an independent director fulfills a shareholder settlement obligation, strengthening board independence and responsiveness .
  • Strong skill fit: Skills matrix highlights deep consumer brand, operations, digital/e-commerce, and turnaround experience aligned with PRPL’s strategic needs .
  • Policies: Robust insider trading/anti-hedging/anti-pledging policy and director stock ownership guidelines support alignment and risk controls .
  • Board engagement baseline: 2024 attendance at least 87.5% for incumbents; board used special committee tools for complex issues .
  • Shareholder support: 2024 say-on-pay passed with over 98% of votes cast in favor, indicating investor confidence in compensation governance .

• Watch items / potential red flags

  • Cash-heavy director pay: Directors are paid 100% in cash with no equity grants; until Fiske builds an equity position to meet the 3x guideline, alignment is less immediate versus equity-based director pay structures .
  • Ownership concentration and prior disputes: Coliseum beneficially owns ~49.6% of shares and has significant historical governance arrangements (Subscription and Cooperation Agreements), which can influence board dynamics and may create perceived conflicts if not carefully managed via independent committees and majority-of-the-minority protections .
  • Special committee fees: Elevated cash fees for special committee service may draw scrutiny if prolonged; ensure clear mandates and sunset provisions .

• Related-party/Conflict check on Fiske

  • No related-party transactions disclosed for Fiske; he was nominated via a third-party search firm retained by the Board; independence affirmed if elected .
  • Audit Committee pre-approves all related-party transactions; ongoing oversight mitigates conflict risk .

• Committee roles and engagement outlook

  • Committee assignment for Fiske TBD; given skills, logical fits could include Nomination & Governance (succession, board evaluation) or Human Capital & Compensation (consumer/retail performance lens), but the proxy does not assign him; final appointments are made by the Board annually .

• Compensation peer group context (executive benchmarking)

  • The 2025 peer group (approved late 2024) focuses on aligned industry/size (e.g., Bassett Furniture, Haverty Furniture, FIGS, The Lovesac Company, Warby Parker); directors oversee pay plans benchmarked to this group via an independent consultant (LB&Co.), with no consultant conflicts .

Overall: Fiske’s operator/turnaround profile and independence are positives for board effectiveness. Key monitoring areas include director equity ownership progress to meet guidelines, committee placement and engagement, and governance safeguards around Coliseum’s influence and any special committee activities .