Thinx the period underwear brand hired a new CEO hoping to clean up the company’s image.
Former executive with companies like Thompson Reuters, Yahoo, Dow Jones and Fab.com Maria Molland Selby will become the new CEO as of Monday July 31. She is replacing Miki Agrawal who left Thinx in March.
Agrawal, the brash Thinx cofounder, resigned days prior to a published report about the alleged practice of the startup’s below standard wages, failure to carry through on its preaches of feminist ethos and poor benefits.
Thinx, which launched in 2013 via a Kickstarter campaign, is well-known for underwear its designs to kill germs and absorb blood.
However, Thinx did not set up its HR department or employee benefits properly. It also failed to have a clear policy for maternity, something it was harshly criticized for given its brand positioning of female empowerment.
The new CEO will have to implement new policies and processes, along with building out Thinx Inc., which is the Thinx parent company and Icon, which is line of incontinence underwear.
Selby said Thinx adjusted salaries for its underpaid workers, and had distributed its employee handbook during May that detailed protocols for the handling of complaints in the workplace.
The company now is providing healthcare for most of its 35 employees, said Selby, and had increased parental leave to 12 weeks for those that have been employed a minimum of one year.
In the upcoming months, Thinx will hire a manager for human resources said Selby. Prior to accepting the CEO position with Thinx, Selby was a cofounder of Splacer, a startup considered an Airbnb for event spaces.
During March, Agrawal spoke about the allegations made against her. She said might take another role at the business, but Agrawal and Thinx confirmed that she now does not have any active involvement with Thinx or Icon.
However, she maintains ties to Tushy, a bidet-attachment she started.
A spokesperson from Thinx said that the Tushy team was no longer based within the same offices of those for Thinx nor Icon. The three brands had previously operated out of the same headquarters in New York City.
