Proof Authentication Corporation today announced that Dan McKinnon has been appointed as CEO in connection with its recently closed Series A financing. Prior to joining Proof, Dan was the Head of Global Brand Protection at New Balance, one of the world’s largest sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. NYC-based VCFA Group led the round to fund the secondary buyout of DSS Digital, Inc., a leader in anti-counterfeit authentication technology and brand protection solutions, from its parent Document Security Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DSS). The financing will also provide growth capital to help Proof achieve its mission of engineering the world’s premier anti-counterfeiting authentication solutions.

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“We are extremely excited by the technology and the team that Proof has assembled”

“Long gone are the days when counterfeits were relegated to the luxury brands,” said McKinnon. “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.”

Proof’s patented authentication solutions, which aid multiple Fortune 100 companies in their brand protection efforts, use an elegant combination of a non-duplicatable printed mark together with a custom smartphone app. Consumers are empowered to authenticate products in real time, and brands are given a tool that supercharges their ability to enforce against counterfeits.

“We are extremely excited by the technology and the team that Proof has assembled,” said VCFA Group Managing Director Drew Reilly. “We believe that Dan McKinnon is one of the foremost experts in brand protection. When he told us that he had the opportunity to acquire the next evolution in authentication and the best anti-counterfeiting technology he had ever seen, we were eager to get involved. Proof is already positioned where the industry needs to go—their solutions are a simple, accurate and ubiquitous way for brands and consumers to authenticate their products.”

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