PHILADELPHIA – Petplan announced that Paul Guyardo will join the company as president and CEO, effective Jan. 28.
Guyardo was tapped to drive massive growth for Petplan, a leading player in North America’s $1 billion pet health insurance subscription business. He will report to Petplan’s chairman, Vernon W. Hill II.
“Health insurance for pets is a big business in Europe but has yet to take off in the U.S. and Canada,” Hill said. “Given Paul’s incredible track record, he is the perfect person to introduce Petplan to millions of pet-loving homes across North America.”
Guyardo said: “Only 1 percent of the 185 million dogs and cats are insured in North America. Petplan is well-positioned to be the brand of choice given its higher-level of coverage and customer service.”
Most recently, Guyardo served as the chief commercial officer for discovery communications. He quadrupled subscribers of Eurosport Player, a Discovery European sports OTT service, from 250,000 to nearly 1 million within one year and introduced nine TV streaming apps that are now viewed over 1 billion minutes per month.
Prior to Discovery, Guyardo was chief revenue and marketing officer at DirecTV. During his 10-year run, Guyardo grew subscribers from 15 million to 20 million, increased revenue from $12 billion to $25 billion, reduced churn to the lowest level in the industry, and developed award-winning advertising that garnered 12 Cannes Lions.
Prior to joining DirecTV, Guyardo was CEO for Kmart Corp. and executive vice president of television and marketing at HSN. During his eight-year tenure at HSN, revenue grew by nearly 50 percent.
Guyardo currently serves on the boards of NutriSystem and Edelman Financial Engines as well as the Northwestern University National Advisory Council for the School of Communication.