Bill Strauss
CEO- Provide Commerce, Inc.
Mr. Strauss holds a B.A. in Accounting from Syracuse University and is the Chief
Executive Officer for Provide Commerce, one of San Diego's leading Internet companies.
The company's roots are deeply innovative and its employees thrive on "finding a
better way to do it". Provide Commerce operates ProFlowers, which revolutionized
the way Americans send and receive flowers, when it shipped its first bouquet for
Valentine's Day of 1998. Since then, the company has grown its portfolio of brands
to include Cherry Moon Farms, Shari's Berries, and RedEnvelope.
Mr. Strauss has been with the company since its inception in the spring of 1998.
He led the company's initial public offering in December 2003 and its sale to Liberty
Media for $477 million less than 2 years later in February 2006.
Under his leadership, the company has achieved many notable accomplishments including
the highest customer satisfaction scores in the floral industry as measured by third
party sources. Shipping more than 25 million deliveries over the 11 years the company
has been in business, the company has pioneered the 7-Day Freshness guarantee while
delivering a great customer experience and exceptional value. Equally as important
as its customers are its employees. The company was recognized in 2007 as one of
the best medium-sized companies to work for in all of California, and most recently,
as one of the best companies to work for in San Diego by the San Diego Society for
Human Resource Management.
Prior to joining Provide Commerce, Mr. Strauss was part of the senior management
team at ChipSoft, Inc., the makers of TurboTax, which was acquired by Intuit, Inc.
in 1993. In the early 1990s, Mr. Strauss was Vice-President of Operations for Hanover
Direct, a large catalog company. Bill is active in many other local business organizations
and charitable endeavors including UCSD Connect, the San Diego Chapter of Young
Presidents' Organization (YPO), Casa De Amparo, and the MS Society-Pacific South
Coast Chapter.
About Provide Commerce®
Provide Commerce is a leading online provider of high quality gifts backed by superior
customer service. The Provide Commerce family of brands offers fresh flowers, fruit
and sweets from ProFlowers®,
Cherry Moon Farms®,
and Shari's Berries™
. Most recently, Provide Commerce customizable gifts, to its family of brands.
About ProFlowers®
ProFlowers, a Provide Commerce brand, launched its marketplace in 1998 to sell and
deliver fresh cut flowers for everyday and special occasions such as Valentine's
Day, Easter, Mother's Day, birthday and anniversary events, through its website,
www.ProFlowers.com.
The company's platform combines an online storefront, proprietary supply chain management
technology and established supplier relationships to create a market platform that
bypasses traditional floral supply chains of wholesalers, distributors, and retailers.
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