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Gary Penn
Partner at Chameleon Collective • Global eCommerce Consultant • Fractional Leader VP eComm / DTC / Marketplaces / CDO
Gary Penn is a prominent figure in the eCommerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sectors, currently serving as a Partner at Chameleon Collective. With over 25 years of experience, he specializes in helping brands enhance their B2C practices through effective digital strategies and operational excellence. His expertise spans various industries, including apparel, footwear, and automotive, where he has significantly contributed to the growth of notable companies such as Quiksilver, Columbia Sportswear, and Nixon.12
Professional Background::
- Current Role: Partner at Chameleon Collective since January 2023, where he focuses on eCommerce consulting and digital transformation initiatives.2
- Previous Positions: He has held several key roles, including Global Vice President of DTC at Nixon and Sr. Director of Digital & Global eCommerce at prAna Living. His extensive background includes implementing B2C and B2B commerce platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Shopify Plus.12
Skills and Achievements:: Gary is recognized for his ability to build high-performing teams and foster cross-functional collaboration. He emphasizes technology fundamentals and human leadership in his approach to business transformation. His accolades include the Distinguished Toastmaster award from Toastmasters International, showcasing his leadership and communication skills.23
In addition to his consulting work, Gary is actively involved in public speaking and mentoring within professional organizations like Toastmasters.3 His commitment to excellence is reflected in his role at Chameleon Collective, where he collaborates with other experts to deliver comprehensive solutions that drive business success.14
Highlights
Do you or your company send any amount of marketing emails? Probably so! Do they want them to stop arriving at Gmail in February? Probably not...
The smallest structural requirements from the tech giants can have massive impacts (good & bad). Remember when we all moved to https from http? Disruptive yet very positive! Starting in February both Google & Yahoo will start filtering bulk emails unless the DNS settings for your source domain (ex: gpenn.com) have a record setup for DMARC. Crud... Gary is already speaking Geek. Yes, however this is super important and super technical but doesn't mean super complex!
Some background: I spent the early years of my career in IT building global networks. I geeked out on DNS and core technologies that are the foundation of the internet we use today. Big changes like this don't come too often; once every few decades for some of this stuff. SPF & DKIM preceded this in 2004 and took years to be universally adopted. So when these shifts come I get stoked that we're making positive change to help real businesses and hinder spammers. Every bit helps. A simple change adopted by the tech behemoths can smooth out the over-taxed SPAM filters of the universe and keep those desired "50% off" promotions flowing.
Klaviyo posted a great summary of the changes needed (https://lnkd.in/dQkt_5DH). Earlier I mentioned needing a DMARC record; equally important is that DMARC itself requires the setup of a dedicated sending domain (ex: send.gpenn.com). This is easy to set up in most email providers. If your SPF/DKIM records are set (they probably are but good to audit and see or ask your IT/Email ninjas) then when you setup DMARC you'll be ready for action. The best news?! You do NOT need to act pre-Holiday. If your business is actively email marketing they have a warmed domain/IP already. Hold the horses until after holiday.
If this all sounds like non-sense to you... forward it to your local IT or Email guru or drop me a line here or Chameleon Collective. I'm happy to help... DNS was once my DNA and there it remains.
#internetmarketing #emailmarketing #marketingdigital #itconsultant #ecommercestrategy #ecommercesuccess #ecommerce #deliverability #dns #geeksforgeeks #geeklife
