Honest Company Names New CEO

Honest Company has appointed Nick Vlahos, chief operating officer at Clorox, as CEO of the consumer products company co-founded by Jessica Alba. Vlahos, who has worked at Clorox for 22 years, also joins Honest Company's board of directors and will help steer the baby and personal care products company as it aims to expand distribution and build upon the $300 million in sales it generated last year. Vlahos succeeds Brian Lee, who was a co-founder of Honest and previously two other startups, LegalZoom and ShoeDazzle. Lee will remain on Honest's board and serve as an advisor.

Total Retail's Take: Choosing a candidate from a consumer products company with deep distribution expertise is a good move for the Honest Company as it expands from being an e-commerce pure-play to a multichannel brand. Honest Company products are stocked in more than 13,000 retail stores across North America, and it needs to start thinking of itself as a consumer products player that competes with the likes of Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Vlahos seems perfect for the job. He has been credited in driving global growth for brands like Burt's Bees, and as COO of Clorox he oversaw marketing, sales and research for a variety of business units, including cat litter, water filtration and natural personal care products. Vlahos also serves on the board of the National Productions Association, which advocates for the natural products industry.