Exec Edge hosted a fireplace chat on the ICR Conference 2025 with Steve Dunn, founder and Chief Executive Officer of WHY Brands and Diana Barnes, Chief Brand Officer and Creative Director. The in-person interview was joined by Editor-at-Large Jarrett Banks they usually discussed the corporate’s growth and expansion, Munchkin’s award-winning podcast “Stroller Coaster”, and more.
Watch the total recording:
About Steve Dunn
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 might innovate and launch purposeful, smart products. WHY is the parent company of Munchkin, a number one baby lifestyle company and Curio, a premium brand of finely crafted home goods designed to go away on display.
In 1990, Steve founded the beloved lifestyle brand, Munchkin, in Los Angeles. A young father himself on 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’s the first inventor of the vast majority of over 350 patents.
Steve received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Yr Award within the retail & consumer products category for the greater Los Angeles Area. Before starting Munchkin, Steve was a partner at Idanta Partners, a number one enterprise 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.
About Diana Barnes
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 corporate recently earned her the dignity of being named amongst 20 of the highest CMOs on the earth by Fast Company.
Prior to joining Munchkin, DB worked at top agencies on brands comparable to 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 profession 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 accomplished several Executive M.B.A. programs at Harvard Business School and is a founding member of the Los Angeles chapter of CHIEF, a personal network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.
