A New Day for New Stand: David Garcia Steps Up as CEO

I’m writing this blog post to announce an exciting change at New Stand. As change is always an invitation for reflection, I wanted to share a bit about my own journey before getting to the news.

I’ve spent most of the last decade building New Stand, but my career before that was in media and advertising. As a fresh-faced college grad, I worked on brands like Coca-Cola and Cheerios at agencies like McCann and Saatchi. With some partners, I later founded an agency called Mother NY, which remains well regarded for its unique culture and award-winning creative output.

Like most who’ve worked in advertising, I loved it for the people. The industry has some of the kindest, smartest, and quirkiest characters on the planet. There was something captivating about building a pure culture and people business. Our competitive advantage at Mother NY was the experience of working there. So, while clients like Target, AB-InBev, and Burger King paid us to help connect them to their consumers, our real business was in creating connection and community with our employees.

I think this is why New Stand’s evolution into a work experience solutions provider feels so natural to me. When we launched nearly a decade ago in the NYC subway, we were focused purely on engaging commuters to build a business in the changing landscape of retail and media. Today, we’re a B2B company using consumer-grade tools to help enterprises better engage their employees at a time when the workplace has been completely disrupted.

Today, we’re a B2B company using consumer-grade tools to help enterprises better engage their employees at a time when the workplace has been completely disrupted.

Employee disengagement was a stubborn problem before the pandemic exacerbated things, forcing us into new work modalities for which we were ill-prepared. And while there are many benefits to remote and hybrid work, it’s also true that people are lonelier and collaboration is more difficult.

Developing solutions to these problems is important, complex work requiring next-level vision and leadership. It’s with this in mind that I announce my transition to executive chairman and David Garcia’s promotion to CEO of New Stand.

Since joining in 2019, Dave has had profound and positive impacts on our business. A strategic thinker and compassionate leader, he has guided New Stand through the global pandemic, steered the development of our employee engagement product, and helped lead our Series B process. He’s beloved by our team, investors, and customers, and he has become my close friend and business partner.

David Garcia, New Stand CEO

Prior to New Stand, Dave led the retail innovation division at Verizon, transforming their 7,000-store fleet from analog to digital with a new store design, upgraded technology, and elevated customer experience. Earlier in his Verizon tenure, Dave was an operations leader with over 800 employees reporting to him. He has also led teams at world-renowned design and strategy consultancies, such as frog. Since 2020, Dave has served as vice chair of the board at WIN: Women in Innovation, a 501(c)3 non-profit that represents over 4,000 women championing innovation.

I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished over the years, and I have total confidence in Dave and the success he will drive as CEO.

As we look to the future, New Stand will advance culture through an experiential take on employee engagement, shaking up conventional ideas about everyday experiences.

The path is uncharted and work-life is ever-changing, but we are firmly rooted thanks to Dave’s strong leadership and our unwavering commitments to everyday joy and convenience.