It’s 6:30 a.m. on a weekend, and Sandra Campos — CEO of PetMeds — is already up and running at her Hudson Valley farmhouse: feeding her three dogs, heading down to the barn to care for her nine horses, scooping, grooming, brushing, checking hooves and running inventory on feed, hay and supplements. It’s not the typical morning for most CEOs, but Campos’ world is anything but typical.
“I’m the consumer, I’m the executive, and I have all of my case studies right around me,” she laughs. “My farm is my own personal lab. I’m constantly testing products on my animals — things we sell, things we’re thinking of selling. I’ll take my dog on a walk and think, ‘Do we carry this on the site? We need this!’”
Just a few years ago, Campos was leading a very different kind of boardroom — at the iconic fashion houses of Diane von Furstenberg and Juicy Couture. Since she’s taken the helm of PetMeds, the 28-year-old online pet pharmacy has dramatically transformed under her leadership. And she’s never felt more aligned.
From first-generation Latina to repeat CEO
Born and raised in Texas as a first-generation Mexican-American, fashion wasn’t part of her upbringing. “We had no Vogue, no Cosmo, nothing like that in the house,” she shared. “But at a very early age, I was going to the fabric store … making clothes for my siblings, then friends. I thought, ‘Well, surely I’m talented enough to be a designer,’ which I was not,” she laughed. “But I knew if I was going to go anywhere [in the industry], it would be New York or LA.”
By the time Campos was 20, she settled in New York City and quickly rose up the fashion ranks, leading brands like Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Oscar de la Renta.
She even cofounded a celebrity brand management company, which partnered with Selena Gomez to launch her first lifestyle brand in Kmarts around the country. “I knew no one was going to hand anything to me,” she said. “I had to make it happen.”
Campos’ pivot from fashion to pet health started quietly, on a farm in upstate New York. Inspired by her own long-held dream and the encouragement of her boss, Diane Von Furstenberg, she bought the property in 2019.
“I always wanted a horse farm. My grandfather had a ranch in Mexico. I’ve been riding since I was two — I literally have a photo of me on a donkey as a toddler,” she said. “Diane reminisced about her own farm and I would hear her tell me, ‘Don’t wait. Do it now.’ So I did.”
Along with her three kids and her partner, Sandra made the farm their home, with the dogs and cat they rescued in 2015. And then came the rescue horses — all nine of them.
Leading with heart and innovation
When Campos was approached to join the corporate board at PetMeds, she had three requirements: “I had to be passionate about the business, believe I could add value, and be able to keep learning.”
Once she joined, the connection deepened. “Ultimately, it was the board itself — their respect, our alignment — that led me to take on the CEO role.”
Now, she brings her brand-building and business acumen to an industry she cares about deeply. “Whether it was fashion or consumer products, it’s always about delivering something meaningful to the customer,” she said. “In this case, it’s about keeping pets healthy longer.”
Under her leadership, PetMeds is expanding health care accessibility for animals. “The veterinarian sits at the center of our ecosystem, and we are expanding by partnering with telehealth and insurance providers for people in rural areas — or those who just can’t get time off work — where accessibility and availability is everything.”
She’s a vocal advocate for pet insurance. “I’ve spent tens of thousands on my animals. I wish I’d bought insurance earlier,” she shared. “Now we’re integrating telehealth and insurance options into our site to offer a one-stop solution for easier access.”
Campos’ connection to rescue animals has also infused itself into the company’s DNA. “Last summer, after hurricanes in Florida and then later the wildfires in California, we quietly started donating products, funds, our time — anything to support shelters,” she said. “If our mission is to help pets live longer, healthier lives, we can’t do that if they don’t have homes … If you can make a difference for one pet, give them a second chance at a loving home, that’s everything.”
A changing definition of success
Campos’ view on success was influenced by the hardships she saw in her upbringing. She was one of six children, raised by driven immigrant parents who owned a tortilla factory.
“We were the minority … so my version of success was title, money and respect. It was a very unsophisticated view of what success would mean, in part because I didn’t know any better, wasn’t exposed to anything better.”
As she reached the top of the career ladder, that view changed. The rooms of power she inhabited were opportunities not just for influence, but impact. “Titles give you invitations, but once you’re in the room, what matters is how you fill it,” she said. “Success today is measured in how many people I can impact.”
It was Diane von Furstenberg who helped unlock that clarity. “Diane encouraged me to be my authentic self. I come from a long line of hard-working Latinos — that’s a big part of who I am. And she told me to tell my story, to own it. That changed my view on everything.”
Knowing her value – and paying it forward
For the single mother of three, knowing her value fully is not just about reaching one lane of success. “It’s more complete,” she said. “My farm, my family, my team — my life is all integrated now. It’s all encompassing.”
It’s also about paying it forward. In 2022, she launched Latina Disruptors, a cross-country initiative to elevate underrepresented Latina entrepreneurs.
“I kept seeing these incredible women creating innovative businesses and scaling, but they weren’t being featured [in media], weren’t raising capital, weren’t on magazine covers,” she said. “I had access, I had a network — so I decided to use it.”
These rooms were filled with key stakeholders that could make the difference for those women founders: investor groups, board advisors, and members of the media. “We’re everywhere now,” Campos explained. “We just need to be seen.”
The four-time CEO also knows that — Latina or not — finding purpose and success means being comfortable with risk and she’s no stranger to that.
“All the decisions I’ve made, whether it’s in my personal life, or in my business life, I take risks,” she said. “I’m a big risk taker, and I don’t mind getting beaten up on that roller coaster ride.”
The twists and turns of her career are paying off, and Campos’ new mission is clear: “If I’m at my farm and looking at my animals, when I can see the greenery, and I can see the horses galloping, and I just know they’re so happy — that they’re in retirement, and they didn’t go to slaughter — that just fulfills me so much. And when I know that we’ve done the same thing [helping animals live longer and healthier] for another pet owner, it feels much more complete.”
Daniela Pierre-Bravo
Daniela Pierre-Bravo is a journalist and author and founder of Acceso Community. She is a co-author of “Earn It” with Mika Brzezinski. Her solo book, “’The Other: How to Own Your Power at Work as a Woman of Color,” is out now. Follow her on X and Instagram @dpierrebravo.