Mitchell Gold Named Business Leader of the Year

March 20, 2014  by in Community / Charitable Support, Industry, Special Events   

Gold will be honored Monday at an awards luncheon at the Lake Hickory Country Club. 

In October 2009, the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams company was honored with the Public Visibility Award at the first annual GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising. The company is also a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, on whose board Gold serves.

While many businesses were forced to drive down labor costs throughout the 1990s, Gold and Williams invested in people through the development of an on-site, not-for-profit, education-based daycare center (the first in the residential furniture industry). They also provide a trained corporate chef who manages a health-conscious gourmet café at the company’s headquarters, time-saving concierge services, annual health fairs for employees, an on-site nurse, and scholarships for children of employees.

The company, which started with the manufacturing of dining chairs, today provides upholstery, case goods, lighting, accessories, rugs, bed linens, and artwork. There are currently 20 Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Signature Stores in cities including New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, and Portland, Ore., as well as Toronto, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Mexico City. In 2014, the company will be expanding with Signature Stores in top markets including Beverly Hills, Manhasset, N.Y., Tysons Corner, Va., and the Design District in Miami. The company also has an e-commerce division and sells select product from its collection online.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has boutique shops in Bloomingdale’s  (including Bloomingdale’s Dubai) and Robb & Stucky International. It is in the finest home furnishings specialty stores throughout the country and as far from its North Carolina headquarters as Seoul and Taiwan. Private label customers include Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and Restoration Hardware. The company also has a hospitality division www.mgbwhotel.com selling to top hotel chains such as the Ritz Carlton, and eateries including Starbucks. From an initial investment of $60,000, the company, now in its 25th year, has grown to $100 million in annual sales.

Gold is founder of Faith in America, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about religion-based bigotry and how it is used to justify discrimination against LGBT Americans. He also served on the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for gay rights, for seven years.