Hayneedle Promotes 3

June 18, 2014  by in Executive Changes, Industry   

Rebecca Gray has been named vice president of merchandising; Ryan Paulson, vice president of technology; and Tammy VanDonk, vice president of customer care and advocacy. All report to Jon Barker, president and CEO. 

“Rebecca, Ryan and Tammy bring a wealth of industry knowledge and talent to their new roles, and I am pleased they have accepted the challenge to help guide Hayneedle into our next phase of growth,” Barker said. “Together we will build on the company’s many successes and continue to champion Hayneedle’s customer-focused culture.”

In her new position, Gray oversees all product offers, category development, assortment expansion and vendor relationships. She joined Hayneedle in 2004 and has served in a variety of management roles throughout her tenure and has been instrumental in leading the merchandising strategy to expand assortment to millions of products and more than 3,000 brands. Gray has also championed Hayneedle’s private brand strategy developing exclusive product lines always keeping the customer in mind. Prior to joining Hayneedle, Rebecca oversaw product development, marketing and key manufacturing relationships as a director for a leading global retailer.

As vice president of technology, Paulson is responsible for Hayneedle’s retail and e-commerce systems, IT infrastructure, program management, quality assurance and IT security. Since joining Hayneedle in 2004, Paulson has played an integral role in developing and implementing the company’s proprietary systems and best-in-class technology. His prior experience includes Web development, software engineering and database administration for the energy and insurance industries.

In her position as vice president of customer care and advocacy, VanDonk ensures Hayneedle customer perspectives and voices are supported throughout the entire organization. VanDonk has been instrumental in developing the company’s customer experience while directing Hayneedle’s  customer care center since bringing her expertise to Hayneedle in 2008. Before joining Hayneedle, VanDonk held managerial and senior customer care and engagement positions with Williams-Sonoma,  Hanover Direct and Spiegel.  

“With the scale of abilities and experience now represented on our leadership team, I’m really excited about the successes we are having as we continue to build the Hayneedle brand,” Barker said. “Working together we will never stop listening to our customers as we provide the best online shopping experience in the industry. That means finding and offering the right product assortment, using best-in-class technology to ensure products are easy to find and just what a customer wants, and continuing to enhance our personalized, end-to-end customer service experience to help shoppers whenever they need it.”