SSB Announces New Leadership Promotions

April 12, 2021  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Huet and Huff will maintain their former titles of chief marketing officer and CEO of Tuft & Needle, respectively, continue to serve on the company's executive leadership team, and report to SSB Chairman and CEO David Swift.

"We are relentless in our pursuit of helping people sleep better through consumer-inspired innovation, a digital-first mindset, our commitment to exceptional service and an outstanding team who always strives to set the bar higher," said David Swift, Chairman and CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding. "Both Melanie and Shelley have made a tremendous impact on our business in their time with the company. I look forward to partnering with them as we continue in that pursuit and accelerate our strategy for growth." 

Huet has been instrumental in developing SSB's portfolio of brands over the last two years and has led the company's transformation to a consumer-centric organization. As chief commercial officer, she will lead an expanded, unified team which brings together sales, marketing and innovation functions. She will work in partnership with chief sales officer Derek Miller to accelerate e-commerce growth, strengthen SSB's omnichannel approach and increase speed to market. Huet joined SSB in 2019 after spending time in a variety of marketing and sales roles with The Kraft Heinz Company, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. 

Huff has played a critical role in building the SSB's direct to consumer (DTC) business across its portfolio of brands and growing the Tuft & Needle brand. As chief operating officer, she will oversee the company's supply chain and enterprise-wide customer experience teams, and will continue to lead the company's (DTC) business and the Tuft & Needle brand. Under Huff's leadership, this expanded operations team will bolster the company's digital-first mindset and better leverage data and technology to drive growth across the business. Huff joined SSB in July 2020 as CEO of Tuft & Needle and EVP of DTC after serving in a number of leadership roles across Walmart U.S. and Walmart e-commerce, including as president and CEO of Hayneedle.com.  

Bob Hellyer, formerly chief supply chain officer, will take on a new role as EVP of Strategic Initiatives designed to leverage his deep industry expertise and strong relationships throughout SSB's value chain. He will also support the Commercial team in accelerating breakthrough innovation.