In this episode of Entrepreneur | Authorities, Demos Parneros walks through the lessons he picked up across three decades in retail and e-commerce. He helped Staples grow from five stores to a national brand, led Barnes & Noble through major change, and now mentors founders who want to build durable companies. You get a clear look at what strong leadership, smart scaling, and founder mindset look like in real life.
What You’ll Learn
• How Staples scaled from a single store to a national chain
• The leadership habits that helped Demos move across HR, marketing, operations, and real estate
• How early e-commerce prepared leaders for the AI wave
• What boards do and what CEOs need from them
• What Demos looks for in a founder
• How first generation experiences shaped his approach to work and leadership
Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
01:00 How Staples started and why the industry needed disruption
03:00 Leaving a stable job at Macy’s for a startup
05:00 Early lessons on scaling stores and fixing problems fast
07:00 Rotating through HR, marketing, merchandising, and operations
10:00 How those moves shaped his leadership approach
11:00 When he knew Staples was a national brand
13:00 Staying connected to 55,000 employees
15:00 How e-commerce changed the business
17:00 Why customers choose stores, online, or both
18:00 AI hype versus consumer reality
20:00 What board work looks like in practice
22:00 What CEOs want from a board
24:00 Startups then and now
26:00 What draws him to a founder
28:00 Why ideas still matter
30:00 How strong founders use AI
32:00 Leadership lessons from his childhood in Cyprus
34:00 How he learned English and why curiosity still drives him
Contact Demos Parneros
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/demosparneros
• Website: demosparneros.com