A Finance Strategic Moment
On Friday the 13 of March 2020, Steven Miller closed Warby Parker’s 280 stores, scrapped the freshly approved budget, and launched PAR—Pause, Adjust, Redeploy. The framework shifted cash to safety and booming e-commerce (up 100 % YoY), granting leadership daily visibility and preserving liquidity until stores reopened two months later.
Made Possible By
Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Steven Miller of Warby Parker
Steven Miller’s path to Warby Parker’s CFO seat runs through strategy consulting, venture capital, and a data-driven fintech exit, giving him a panoramic view of how capital fuels advantage. Joining the eyewear disruptor when it had 20 employees and no stores, he helped scale it to nearly 4,000 people, 280 retail locations, and a 2021 direct listing—raising $500 million across eight rounds along the way. Miller’s PAR framework (Pause, Adjust, Redeploy) guided pandemic decisions, while four-wall EBITDA and inventory turns keep growth tethered to profit. His biggest lesson: credibility often lies in the courage to say “no” to even the CEOs.
| Steven Miller – Finance Strategic Mindset |
|---|
| Data-first metrics drive capital deployment decisions. |
| Unified pricing positions brand for sustainable margins. |
| Constructive dissent strengthens leadership trust and outcomes. |