Adding More Than 100 Full Time Employees, Including First Chief Marketing Officer
Appoints Paul Appelbaum to Board of Directors
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – TCGplayer, the leading online technology platform for the collectibles industry, today announced that it will be hiring more than 100 new full-time employees over the next year as the Company expands into new collectible lines of business. The additional positions will increase the Company’s employee base by more than 40%. The Company is already recruiting for approximately 50 of these roles, which includes its first-ever Chief Marketing Officer.
TCGplayer’s hiring growth and plans to expand into new collectible product lines was recently featured in Syracuse.com.
In addition, TCGplayer announced that it has appointed Paul Appelbaum, a founder, and former President, of GrubHub Seamless (NYSE: GRUB), to the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Appelbaum is an experienced operator, investor and advisor, and currently serves as a Principal of Rock Ventures LLC, an early stage investment firm focused on marketplaces and foodtech, and as a Director of Slice, the leading technology platform powering local pizzerias transformation for the digital age, which just completed its $43m Series C financing led by KKR.
“We are rapidly growing and excited to add talented people across our organization, with a focus on roles in engineering, marketing and fulfillment support,” said Chedy Hampson, founder and CEO of TCGplayer. “Having built the most dynamic and compelling marketplace for collectible card games in the U.S., we are excited to bring our innovative technologies and customer-focused approach to a great portion of the $25 billion global collectible hobby market. In support of TCGplayer’s expansion plans, we are looking for talented individuals who will help us further improve and advance our platform for the collectibles industry.”
Continued Hampson, “As part of our expansion, we are pleased to welcome Paul to the TCGplayer Board. Paul brings more than 20 years of experience as an investor and developer of technology companies to TCGplayer, and we are confident he will be a valuable addition to our boardroom as we continue to execute TCGplayer’s plan of building the leading online marketplace for the collectible world.”
Following the Company’s expansion, TCGplayer will employ approximately 350 individuals across the United States, with a majority located at the Company’s headquarters in Syracuse, New York.
TCGplayer’s Award-Winning Culture
TCGplayer’s team prides itself on creating a culture that fosters camaraderie, embraces diversity, and exudes passion. What sets TCGplayer apart is the Company’s community mindset, which is ingrained in its operations.
TCGplayer is committed to creating an exceptional workplace environment for every member of its team. The Company has been ranked amongst New York State’s 50 best employers and Fortune.com’s top 100 companies for women in the U.S. TCGplayer offers a flexible and generous benefits program, which includes unlimited paid time off, paid family leave with up to 26 weeks off, and stock options to all employees.
Recently, in the Company’s continued support of Black Lives Matter, TCGplayer designated Election Day 2020 and Martin Luther King Day paid company holidays. In an effort to make these more than just a day off, the Company will be supporting activities and other opportunities that recognize MLK day and create volunteer opportunities and collaborate with “Power the Polls” to help others in the community vote and have their voices heard on Election Day.
Individuals interested in joining TCGplayer’s award-winning team can find out more about the available roles by visiting https://careers.tcgplayer.com/job-openings
About TCGplayer
TCGplayer is the leading online technology platform for the collectibles industry. Founded as a digital media platform within the collectible hobby space, the Company has grown from its initial roots working inside Syracuse-based hobby stores selling comic books, sports cards, CDs, collectible cards, action figures, and tabletop games into an expansive eCommerce marketplace. TCGplayer develops applications and technologies that are revolutionizing the collectibles marketplace by connecting thousands of hobby and collectibles businesses with customers around the globe. The Company’s ecommerce and data management tools power sales through physical stores, websites, mobile apps and the TCGplayer Marketplace.
About Paul Appelbaum
Paul Appelbaum is an experienced operator, investor and advisor, who in 1999 co-founded the pioneering online food ordering service, GrubHub Seamless (merged with Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) and served as its president until Aramark’s acquisition of the company in 2006. Following the sale, Paul was the founding Chief Operating Officer of Teacher U (now Relay / GSE), a non-profit organization transforming how teachers and school leaders are trained. Since 2011, Appelbaum has served as a Principal of Rock Ventures LLC, where he has invested in dozens of early and growth stage tech businesses, with a particular focus on marketplaces and foodtech. He began his career as an associate at Dewey Ballantine LLP. Appelbaum graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from Binghamton University and earned his JD from New York University School of Law. He serves on the Board of Directors of Slice, the leading technology platform powering local pizzerias transformation for the digital age, which just completed its $43m Series C financing led by KKR. Also, Paul is a Board Director of NationSwell, a omni-channel platform supporting our nation’s leading problem-solvers, the education non-profit Blue Engine and Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. Paul lives in NYC with his wife and two sons, and is on a quest to find the world’s best chocolate chip cookie.
