Dittmer Joins Flexsteel as President and CEO

December 21, 2018  by Laurie Northington in Executive Changes, Industry   

An accomplished leader in the office furniture industry, Dittmer is a veteran of HNI Corporation, a publicly traded company and leading global office furniture manufacturer.

“After conducting a thorough search and interviewing many qualified candidates, Jerry Dittmer was the clear and unanimous choice of our Board of Directors to become the eighth corporate president in Flexsteel’s 125-year history,” said Thomas M. Levine, chairman. “Jerry’s industry knowledge and operational leadership at one of the largest and most successful U.S. furniture companies will uniquely position our company for enhanced growth, performance and shareholder value creation while maintaining the culture that has been the hallmark of Flexsteel since its inception.”

“I am honored to join an organization that has a long history of product innovation and customer service,” said Dittmer. “I am excited about the prospects for growth within the furniture industry and am confident that Flexsteel is well positioned for continued growth and shareholder value by exceeding our customer’s expectations with a quality product.

Dittmer most recently served as president of the Hon Company, a large office furniture designer and manufacturer. Appointed president of Hon Company in 2008, Dittmer successfully positioned the $1+ billion business to weather the recession and grew Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) and gross margins to greater than pre-recession levels by realigning the manufacturing footprint and transforming go-to-market capabilities resulting in significant profitable sales growth in a three-year period.

Prior to his assignment as president of the Hon Company, Dittmer served as the CFO for HNI. In the role, he held full responsibility for the company’s domestic and international finance, accounting, treasury, tax, shared services enterprise risk management, internal audit, IT, procurement, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and strategic planning. During his tenure as CFO, HNI moved to ranking second in the office furniture industry from fifth place.