The RealReal Appoints Neiman Marcus Vet as CEO and Board Member

The RealReal, Inc. has named John Koryl as CEO, effective Feb. 6. He succeeds the company’s founder Julie Wainwright, who stepped down from her role as CEO, chairperson, and member of the board after 11 years in June.

Koryl joins the the luxury resale company after spending five years at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), where he most recently served as the president of CTC Digital. Prior to that, he worked at Neiman Marcus as the president of stores and online. He also served as the president of Neiman Marcus Direct.

Co-interim CEOs Rati Sahi Levesque and Robert Julian will stay with the company as president and COO, and CFO, respectively.

The RealReal’s lead independent director Rob Krolik said Koryl’s digital and e-commerce experience will be an asset for the RealReal as it looks to streamline operations and move towards profitability. In November, the RealReal reported a net loss of $47.3 million, or 33.1% of total revenue in Q3. Net loss per share was $0.49. Active buyers for the previous 12 months hit 950,000, up 23% to the same period in 2021. At the time, Levesque said in a statement that the company is focusing on optimizing pricing, using new revenue streams, aggressively focusing on costs and changing its consignor commission structure in order to accelerate profitability.

“[Koryl’s] experience, combined with his proven track record of successfully developing and growing online businesses, make him the right person to lead The RealReal,” Krolik said in a statement.

Wainwright founded The RealReal, Inc. in March 2011 and served as CEO and the chairperson of the board of directors since March 2011, until stepping down in June. Previously, Wainwright served as CEO of SmartNow.com, president and CEO of Bellamax, interim CEO of OntheFrontier, and CEO of Pets.com.