Hickory Springs Promotes 3

June 5, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on June 6, 2011

Furniture and bedding component vendor Hickory Springs has promoted Stephen Ellis, Lee Lunsford and Dwayne Welch to executive vice president and corporate officer.

All three report to Hickory N.C.-based Hickory Springs President Don Coleman.

Ellis, executive vice President and chief financial officer is responsible for finance, treasury, accounting, information technology functions, manages acquisition and joint venture work, and serves on the company's board of directors as treasurer and assistant secretary.  He started with the company in 2006 after 18 years with publicly traded and privately held domestic and international corporations.

Ellis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from The University of Memphis. He also holds an active Certified Public Accountant license and has earned additional qualifications as a Certified Management Accountant, is Certified in Financial Management, and is a Certified Information Technology Professional.

Lunsford, now executive vice president and chief operations officer, assumes the responsibilities of ensuring that operations are efficient in terms of manufacturing products, meeting customer requirements and maintaining strong communication with the executive management team.

Lunsford came to Hickory Springs with an extensive background in both operations and manufacturing. Prior to joining the company, he was the president of Guilford Mills' apparel division; vice president of operations at Dyersburg Corp.; and worked with Dan River Mills for over 18 years. Lunsford holds a Business Administration and Marketing Management degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Welch, now executive vice president and chief sales & marketing officer of Hickory Springs, is responsible for development of sales and marketing strategies to open up new growth markets for Hickory Springs throughout the nation and worldwide.  He will oversee all aspects of sales and marketing corporate wide. All national product managers will now report to him.

Welch is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte with a degree in business. He has a proven background as a business executive with more than 20 years involvement in the home furnishings industry. An 18-year veteran at Hickory Springs, he has served as executive vice president of sales and marketing since 2009. He also served five years as president of the Hickory Furniture Mart, one of the largest retail attractions in the state of North Carolina.

"Each of these executives has demonstrated tremendous experience and leadership skills valuable to the ongoing success of Hickory Springs," Coleman said. "This team will focus on further alignment with key management personnel to develop a strong internal organization to plan for new growth and diversification opportunities."