Arhaus Taps Thompson as President/COO, Names Phillipson to CFO

February 13, 2019  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

In addition to finance, Thompson’s direct reports included logistics, IT, real estate, legal and HR. In his new role, he will also be responsible for overseeing marketing, ecommerce, buying, planning and sourcing and will continue to report directly to Reed.

Thompson's early career was focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. In the 1990s, he became the CFO of Lexford Residential Trust, a NYSE-listed real estate trust. After selling Lexford to Equity Residential, he served as CEO of NASDAQ-listed International Total Services, and later as financial advisor and CRO to several restructuring companies, eventually owning a London-based manufacturing concern with operations in the U.K. and China. He has also served on numerous boards at the request of leading private equity investors.

Dawn Phillipson, formerly the senior vice president of finance for Arhaus, will replace Thompson as CFO. Phillipson joined the company in 2016 and has played a leading role in developing Arhaus' financial services team and competencies.

In her prior role at Arhaus, Phillipson oversaw financial planning and analysis, budgeting, operational finance, accounting/audit, tax, and fraud prevention. As CFO, she will also assume responsibility for all other finance-related functions, including treasury and risk management.

Phillipson began her career in accounting, working both domestically and overseas for a U.K.-listed company, then transitioned into financial roles after earning her MBA. She also spent several years handling investor relations for Signet Jewelers, a NYSE-listed S&P 500 retailer.   

"I am thrilled to see Mark and Dawn promoted into these critical leadership roles. They have been trusted advisors to me throughout their years here. They have committed themselves to the Arhaus brand and their promotions are a testament to their hard work, innovative thinking and leadership,” said Reed. “Over the course of Arhaus' 30+ year history, I have found that many of our strongest leaders are those who rise from within. Mark and I will work closely to continue to optimize our business and position us for success within the complex and ever changing retail environment."

Reed will continue in his active role as CEO and Arhaus' visionary for product development as well as all store design and experience. He will also continue to oversee all retail sales for its 70 store locations across the country.