The division will report to global CEO Sandi Cesko and industry veteran Jon Stowe has been named CEO of the new business unit. Prior to the change, Stowe had been COO for Dormeo.
As a part of the management realignment, several other management changes have been announced. Chad Megard is executive vice president of retail sales, promoted from vice president of sales in the central region; Michael Carter was promoted to vice president of operations from director of manufacturing; and Morgan Baker was promoted to vice president and general manager of Dormeo Canada from head of key Canadian accounts. Chief Marketing Officer Dany Sfeir and Chief Financial Officer Jason Broyles will also report to Stowe.
Chris Henning, president of North American retail sales, has left the company to pursue other interests.
“As North American operations of our company grow, we have a sharper retail and consumer strategy that requires a different structure in this market,” Stowe said. “Several months ago, for example, we started to manufacture Octaprings in the U.S. We also passed an important milestone of 24 key retailers across North America giving us a true footprint across the U.S. and Canadian markets. This presents new opportunities that also require a different approach to servicing the business here.”
Prior to this announcement, U.S. operations reported to the U.K. division of the company.
Stowe has held senior positions at major bedding manufacturers for the past 25 years. He began his career at Kingsdown in 1988 where he rose through the ranks to become vice president of sales and ultimately vice president of corporate development. Before joining Dormeo Octaspring last year, Stowe was president of Comfort Coil.
Before joining Dormeo Octaspring, Megard was senior vice president of sales and business development at Comfort Solutions where he was responsible for sales management, direct sales, new business development and strategic marketing. Prior to that position, he was vice president of sales for Spring Air. In 2001, Megard was vice president of national accounts at Serta. His first position in the industry was with Sealy, where he was a key account manager.
Carter began his career in 1998 at Kingsdown where he rose through the manufacturing and operating ranks over the past 15 years, before joining Dormeo Octaspring last year.His last position was as director of quality systems, where he implemented the company’s Total Quality Management program. Prior to that appointment, he was an international operations manager, training licensees around the world on the correct quality and construction methods required by Kingsdown. Carter was also responsible for overseeing the quality system at the company’s domestic facilities. Previously, he led manufacturing operations in the United Kingdom and prior to that he ran the research and development division in Mebane, N.C.
Baker joined Dormeo Octaspring in October 2012 as key account manager leading the Sleep Country Canada team. She has more than a decade of experience in the mattress industry. beginning her career at Sleep Country Canada as a sales coordinator and then moving to Spring Air Sommex where she managed key accounts.
Henning helped launch the Dormeo Octaspring brand in North America. With more than 25 years of experience, he has held senior positions with some of the best-known consumer brands in the industry including Simmons, International Bedding Corp. (IBC), Tempur-Pedic, King Koil and Kingsdown.
“We are grateful to Chris for the many contributions he made to help build our organization over the past few years. He assembled a wonderful team of professionals, help build our manufacturing platform and opened key accounts that serve as the basis for a strong business today,” Stowe said. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors”