The American Cancer Society has hired Philly-based Rob Muller to transform its fundraising

The American Cancer Society has hired longtime retail executive Rob Muller to be the organization’s first chief business transformation officer. He started this week in the new position based in the ACS’s Philadelphia office.

Muller spent more than two decades with the Qurate Retail Group, which runs a portfolio of live-shopping and media brands. Most recently, he served as the president of HSN (formerly the Home Shopping Network).

Muller wants to use his business background to explore new ways to support the society’s cancer research, advocacy, and support for patients and their families. For example, the ACS could partner with food companies whose products it assesses as part of its efforts to reduce the risk for cancer. The society could certify the product and share some of the revenue.

“That could be really meaningful for the American Cancer Society, and we aren’t doing anything like that today,” Muller said.

In his new role, he is tasked with growing the nonprofit’s revenue streams. The ACS, based in Atlanta, has annual revenues of around $700 million a year, tax documents show.

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Muller’s business background is also seen as valuable to helping the ACS reach more people with its programs, Karen Knudsen, the society’s CEO, said in a statement.

Muller thinks the ACS can better focus on the areas where it can have the most impact. Sometimes that means “doing less, much much better,” he said.

He is also undertaking his own transformation to work for an organization driven by a greater purpose than his previous corporate positions.

“That is something that really motivates me,” Muller said.