News Release:
Management One Welcomes Mike Baranov to Leadership Team and Announces Return of Jeremy Weiss to Lead Peer-to-Peer Community Development
[Tucson, AZ] — [January, 5 2026]
Management One (M1), the leading retail coaching and consulting firm serving the independent retail community, announced today that Mike Baranov has joined the company's leadership team as Integrator for Indie Insights, which M1 will acquire in early 2026. M1 also announced the return of Jeremy Weiss, who rejoins the company to build M1's peer-to-peer community product that will connect independent retailers across North America.
The dual appointments represent a major milestone in M1's vision to become the preeminent leader for retail intelligence and community-driven expertise in North America.
“Mike’s journey from client to team member represents everything we believe about partnership and collaboration. He understands the independent retail landscape from the inside out, and his ability to connect people, systems, and strategy makes him the ideal person to integrate Indie Insights into our expanding ecosystem.”
The planned acquisition of Indie Insights in early 2026 will significantly expand M1's community-building capabilities. Indie Insights is focused on creating a supportive and safe community to help independent retailers achieve personal growth alongside business success, an approach that aligns perfectly with M1's people-first philosophy. Wyatt Travis, who has been working with Marc Weiss over the past year developing Indie Insights' technology, benchmarking, and go-to-market platform, will continue to play a key role in the platform's evolution and integration into M1's ecosystem.
As Integrator for Indie Insights, Mike Baranov will oversee the platform's integration following the acquisition, while also leading Shopify integration projects across the organization.
Jeremy Weiss returns to M1 after previously serving as Director of Planning and Product Development. Weiss will focus on building Indie Insights' peer-to-peer community and benchmarking capabilities that connect independent retailers to share knowledge, solve challenges, and drive collective success.
Together, Baranov, Weiss, and Travis will work with the M1 team to integrate AI as the connective tissue throughout the company's ecosystem, ensuring that coaching, consulting, community, and technology work seamlessly together to serve independent retailers.
"The Indie Insights acquisition represents a major step forward in bringing powerful tools and connections to independent retailers," said Baranov. "I'm excited to help integrate it into M1's ecosystem and work with Jeremy and the team to leverage AI in ways that deliver real value to the retailers we serve."
"I'm excited to return and build the peer-to-peer community product that will fundamentally change how independent retailers connect and collaborate," said Jeremy Weiss. "Working with Mike and the team to weave AI throughout our ecosystem gives us the opportunity to unlock the collective wisdom of the independent retail community in ways that haven't been possible before."
Prior to joining M1's leadership team, Baranov served as CEO and President and GMM of Footwear Etc. an 11-store shoe chain that was also a major Amazon retailer with a successful e-commerce site, giving him deep expertise in both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce operations. Mike has 25 years of buying and executive leadership experience. He worked with Management One as a client, experiencing firsthand the company's methodologies and gaining unique insight into the challenges facing independent retailers. Weiss brings invaluable institutional knowledge from his previous tenure at M1.
Baranov, Weiss, and Travis join a growing M1 team that includes Head of Marketing Nico Cabral and Business Development and Partnership Director Dane Cohen.
About Management One
Management One is the largest and oldest supplier of leading edge merchandise intelligence to the independent retail community. Through an integrated ecosystem of coaching programs, strategic consulting, community connection, and technology solutions, M1 serves independent retailers, major college stores, pro sports teams, and vendor-owned stores across North America with a growing presence in Europe. With the planned acquisition of Indie Insights in early 2026 and the integration of AI throughout its ecosystem, M1 is accelerating its mission to become the preeminent platform for retail intelligence and community-driven expertise. As a people business first, M1 focuses on building lasting relationships, fostering peer-to-peer collaboration, and delivering transformational results for retail entrepreneurs and organizations.
Learn more at: management-one.com