Chief Executive Officer,
Founder & Chairman
Steve is the Chief Executive Officer, Founder & Chairman of WHY Brands Inc., a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands that invent and develop creative products across an array of categories, with its own R&D center – RD8, where it can innovate and launch purposeful, smart products. WHY is the parent company of Munchkin, a leading baby lifestyle company and Curio, a premium brand of finely crafted home goods designed to leave on display.
In 1990, Steve founded the beloved lifestyle brand, Munchkin, in Los Angeles. A young father himself at the time, he aspired to bring smart design into the nursery. Steve continues to spend his days brainstorming with the Product Development and Marketing teams, and he is the primary inventor of the majority of over 350 patents.
He is the Co-Founder of Curio Home Goods, launched in 2023. Steve received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the retail & consumer products category for the greater Los Angeles Area. Before starting Munchkin, Steve was a partner at Idanta Partners, a leading venture capital firm. His prior experience includes an associate position in corporate finance at Bear Stearns. Steve received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of California Berkeley and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Chief Financial Officer &
Chief Operating Officer
As COO and CFO of WHY Brands Inc., Tom is responsible for Finance, Technology, and Operations. He leads our corporate compass goals including diversification of our expanding global supply chain. Previously, he served as the CFO at DineEquity, Inc. and was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Universal Studios Home Entertainment a subsidiary of NBC Universal. Tom is a CPA and a Six Sigma Black Belt. He completed his undergraduate degree at USC and received his Master's degree in Business and Management from Pepperdine University.
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Chief Brand Officer &
Creative Director
Diana Barnes ("DB") serves as WHY Brands' Chief Brand Officer and Creative Director, overseeing global brand partnerships and managing the Public Relations, Social Media and Brand Design teams worldwide – running point on all creative content. DB’s work with the company recently earned her the honor of being named among 20 of the top CMOs in the world by Fast Company.
Under DB's leadership, WHY Brands’ leading baby lifestyle brand Munchkin has won over 120 top international design awards. In 2023, Munchkin ranked 8 out of 300 on Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies list. DB also created and oversees Munchkin’s top-ranked (1%) parenting podcast StrollerCoaster, which recently won a Digiday Content Marketing Award for Best Branded Podcast and was named a Webby Award Honoree.
A passionate advocate for trees, animals and the environment, DB created and leads all Munchkin CSR initiatives, including partnerships with Trees for the Future and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. DB also started the company's Radiant Colors initiative, which funds anti-racist and inclusive education for early learners. These impactful initiatives put Munchkin on Fast Company's Brands That Matter list in 2023.
In June 2023, DB co-founded WHY Brands’ newest brand Curio Home Goods with CEO Steve Dunn. Curio creates innovative consumer lifestyle products for every room of the home. Each Curio product has a creative twist or surprise and beautiful product design that is paired with unique functionality.
More recently, DB concepted and established RD8, a dedicated R&D center for WHY to initiate research for efforts in sustainability and maternal health, among other initiatives, including partnerships, for WHY Brands. The first global clinical trial on breastfeeding is currently underway.
Prior to joining Munchkin, DB worked at top agencies on brands such as PIMCO, Cadillac, PBS and others. Prior to this, she was the Global Director of Brand Design at Dell, Inc. where she led international teams. DB's career began in music and entertainment, where she held creative executive positions at Sony and EMI.
DB holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a B.F.A. in Graphics/Packaging from the ArtCenter College of Design. She has also completed several Executive M.B.A. programs at Harvard Business School and is a founding member of the Los Angeles chapter of CHIEF, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.
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