Auburn Hills-based AutoPets, which invents and manufactures pet products designed make pet care easier such as the Litter-Robot, has hired Joshua Chandler as CFO. Chandler’s hire is part of a series of moves the company is making in an effort to build its team and expand.
The company reached more than $40 million in revenue before pursuing outside funding.
“Joshua was the perfect fit for our CFO,” says Jacob Zuppke, COO at AutoPets. “He has worked closely with entrepreneurs, presided over rapid organic growth, and brings valuable experience in the ecommerce and direct-to-consumer spaces that have been so successful for AutoPets. His perspective and expertise will be critical as we enter our next phase of growth.”
Chandler has more than 20 years of experience in finance at ecommerce and direct-to-consumer companies. He was most recently the first CFO at ECS Tuning, an ecommerce distributor of automobile parts for European cars. He helped nearly quadruple revenue through organic growth and acquisitions.
He was previously senior vice president of finance at Thane International, a consumer products company specializing in direct response marketing and ecommerce distribution channels. While there, he oversaw financial operations as the company grew revenue from $80 million to $400 million and expanded headcount from 50 to 400 employees worldwide.
“AutoPets has the team and the vision to expand and accelerate its incredible run of success,” Chandler says. “As an integral part of that team, I’m confident that we will extend the company’s winning streak and continue pushing the business to new heights.”
AutoPets has also hired a director of information technology, software engineer, manufacturing process engineer, purchasing associate, four customer service agents, and 10 assembly line workers in recent months, bringing its headcount up to 120 as of June 1. Its manufacturing facility is in Wisconsin.
The company was founded in 2000 and is looking to hire more workers. It launched Litterbox.com, a monthly cat box subscription, in March, and is preparing to ship Feeder-Robot, a Wi-Fi enabled automatic pet feeder, this summer.
