Berkline/BenchCraft Names Smith CFO

February 28, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on March 2007 Steven M. Smith has been named chief financial officer of Berkline BenchCraft Holdings.

Smith succeeds Mark A. Roberts, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal, who assumed the position in July 2006 and remains with the company in a senior advisory role. Smith’s appointment marks the culmination of a reorganization of the company’s management team that began last summer when Berkline/BenchCraft retained Alvarez & Marsal to assist in an operational reorganization.

“We are delighted to have Steven Smith join our management team,” said Bill Wittenberg, president and chief executive officer of Berkline/BenchCraft. “Steven brings many years of experience in consumer products, manufacturing, distribution, and retail. He also brings an international expertise at a time when our industry is undergoing accelerated change as more and more of our operations are being conducted in a global environment.

“We now have in place one of the strongest executive management teams in the furniture industry that will drive the implementation of our strategic business plan,” Wittenberg said.

Prior to joining Berkline Benchcraft, Smith was a financial executive for MTD Products, Inc., a privately held consumer products company based in Ohio. Smith’s responsibilities included chief financial responsibility for MTD’s international business unit as well as the company’s worldwide corporate and strategic development operations. In addition, he redesigned management reporting and provided leadership focused on key financial and operational measures.

Smith joins Jeff Hale and Larry Smith, whose appointments as executive vice president and COO and senior vice president of sales and marketing, respectively, were announced earlier.

Together they form an executive management team including Wittenberg, Dal Eckard, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, and Dennis Carper, senior vice president of human resources.