EVERETT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Funko, Inc. (“Funko” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FNKO), a leading pop culture lifestyle brand, today announced that Steve Nave has been appointed Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.
Nave was engaged as a consultant to the Company in December 2022 and has worked alongside Brian Mariotti, Chief Executive Officer, since that time to drive enhanced strategic and operational execution. After a thorough search of internal and external candidates, the Board of Directors determined that Nave is the ideal leader to take on the CFO and COO roles to ensure that Funko’s financial and operational systems are in lockstep as the Company works to enhance long-term shareholder value.
Prior to joining Funko, Nave held several executive leadership positions with Walmart.com and Bluestem Brands, including serving as Walmart.com’s Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer followed by serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Bluestem Brands.
“Since joining the Funko team as a consultant, Steve has played an integral role in the development of our operational and financial improvement plan,” said Mr. Mariotti. “We believe his valuable industry expertise and financial acumen will help us capitalize on the opportunities ahead and deliver on our long-term growth and profitability objectives. As we chart our path forward, we believe we now have the right team to strengthen our execution and deliver results for our shareholders. We remain incredibly confident in the fundamentals of our business, our leading brands and our loyal, growing fanbase.”
Mr. Nave added, “Over the past few months, I have worked alongside the Board and management team to undertake a thorough review of the business and our go-forward strategy. The Company has a strong foundation and is committed to enhancing operations that support our financial outlook and growth strategy. I look forward to continuing to work with Brian and the entire team as we work to execute our strategy and drive long-term value for all Funko stakeholders.”
Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Results
In a separate release today, Funko reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. The Company will hold a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time) today to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 results.
About Funko
Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop culture lifestyle brand. Funko designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including vinyl figures, action toys, plush, apparel, housewares and accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with their favorite pop culture brands and characters. Learn more at www.funko.com, and follow us on Twitter (@OriginalFunko) and Instagram (@OriginalFunko).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our anticipated financial results and financial position, including capital resources, the underlying trends in our business, including operational constraints, inflation, interest rates, and other macroeconomic trends, compliance with financial and negative covenants under our Credit Agreement, as amended, and related impacts to our business, demand for our products and our potential for growth, expectations regarding infrastructure investments, expectations regarding inventory levels including future write-downs of inventory, cost savings initiatives and anticipated annualized cost savings, and our strategic growth priorities. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our ability to execute our business strategy and manage growth; our ability to manage our inventories; our ability to maintain and realize the full value of our license agreements; impacts from economic downturns; changes in the retail industry and markets for our consumer products; our ability to maintain our relationships with retail customers and distributors; risks related to the impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial results and financial condition; our ability to compete effectively; fluctuations in our gross margin; our dependence on content development and creation by third parties; the ongoing level of popularity of our products with consumers; our ability to develop and introduce products in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights or those of our licensors; potential violations of the intellectual property rights of others; risks associated with counterfeit versions of our products; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and maintain our corporate culture; our use of third-party manufacturing; risks associated with climate change; increased attention to sustainability and environmental, social and governance initiatives; geographic concentration of our operations; risks associated with our international operations; changes in effective tax rates or tax law; foreign currency exchange rate exposure; our dependence on vendors and outsourcers; risks relating to government regulation; risks relating to litigation, including products liability claims and securities class action litigation; any failure to successfully integrate or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or investments; future development and acceptance of blockchain networks; risks associated with receiving payments in digital assets; reputational risk resulting from our e-commerce business and social media presence; risks relating to our indebtedness, including our ability to comply with financial and negative covenants under our Credit Agreement, as amended; our ability to secure additional financing on favorable terms or at all; the potential for our or third-party providers’ electronic data or the electronic data of our customers to be compromised; the influence of our significant stockholder, TCG, and the possibility that TCG’s interests may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders; risks relating to our organizational structure; volatility in the price of our Class A common stock; and risks associated with our internal control over financial reporting. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release.
Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
