Anti-counterfeiting authentication startup Proof Authentication has found its new CEO, Dan McKinnon, who joins the tech venture from sneaker giant New Balance.
His appointment was made in connection with the closure of Proof Authentication’s Series A funding round, which was led by VCFA Group. The company plans to use the financing to help iterate on its technology and create more advanced anti-counterfeiting authentication solutions.
Proof’s anti-counterfeiting tech is used by multiple Fortune 100 companies and leverages a combination of a non-duplicatable printed mark and a custom smartphone app.
McKinnon previously served as Head of Global Brand Protection at New Balance, where he led the company’s fight against copycat brands that create clone products. While at New Balance, McKinnon helped achieve a $1.5 million judgment against Chinese company New Boom, the world’s largest counterfeit damages award in China.
“Long gone are the days when counterfeits were relegated to the luxury brands,” McKinnon said in a press release. “The downstream proliferation of counterfeit products is now found across all segments of consumer products, including medicine, food, toys, clothing, and more. We are seeing rapidly changing consumer behavior where customers demand to know with certainty that the items they purchase are authentic. Companies that do not give their customers the power to authenticate their purchases will ultimately see their brands devalued. We are excited to be at the forefront of transforming how people interact with the brands they love.”
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