From C-suite additions to design firm hirings, read on for BOH’s monthly roundup of arrivals and departures in design, manufacturing, media and more.

Retail & Manufacturing
Modern fireplace manufacturer Ortal has hired Liz Margles as CEO. Margles joins from Material Bank, where she was executive vice president and head of community; she previously held leadership roles in marketing at Caesarstone and Humanscale.

Furniture company Uma Home Decor appointed Andy Stein as CEO. He was most recently the owner and CEO of Coast to Coast Imports, as well as the founder and former president of furniture specialist Stein World. Stein replaces Naval Bansal, who was in the role for seven and a half years.

Lighting brand Vaughan welcomed Nicholas Hodson-Taylor as its new creative director. Hodson-Taylor hails from architecture and interiors firm Guy Goodfellow, where he was design director. Prior to that, he was a project manager at Waterworks.

Blu Dot appointed Sam Grawe as chief creative officer. Grawe has a decadeslong career in the industry, most recently serving as chief brand and marketing officer for the Eames Institute, with prior stints as the global brand director for Herman Miller and editor in chief of Dwell.

Stylex, the commercial furniture company, hired two leadership positions. Based in New York, Daniel VonderBrink has been appointed vice president of sales for the eastern U.S. after serving in a similar role at Safehinge Primera Inc. Chicago-based Jonathan Pugh joins the company as vice president of sales in the central U.S. and comes from BuzziSpace, where he was sales manager for North America.

Luxury appliance company Miele has appointed Catherine Grayson-Roper as vice president of marketing for its U.S. and Mexico operations. Grayson-Roper had been the global marketing and PR director for MillerKnoll’s retail arm.

Lighting company Luxxbox welcomed back Ben Cantu as the vice president of business development and western regional sales. Cantu, who had previously served as an independent contractor for the company from 2016 to 2017, joins from LumenWerx, where he was the director of specification market development.

Cosentino has promoted four employees in leadership positions to its North America operations: Alvaro Chomon is now the executive director of commercial accounts; Gary Andler is vice president of retail channels; Ignacio Paniagua is the new executive director of kitchen and bath; and Massimo Ballucchi is vice president of institutional relations.

Outdoor home brand Tuuci hired Theresa Quintong as the new contract sales representative for the New York tristate area. Quintong comes from contract sales positions at Harbour and Janus et Cie.

To The Trade
Swavelle Group, the textile and fabric company, promoted Erin Tsucalas from design director to vice president of design. Tsucalas arrived at the company earlier this year, and before that was product merchandising manager for Lexington Home Brands for a decade.

Industry Organizations
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has announced its 2024–2025 national board of directors, which is made up of a chair, a chair-elect, a past chair, and seven directors at large, as well as an industry partner representative as ex officio. David Euscher, the vice president and interiors studio leader of design firm Corgan, is the chair; Elizabeth Von Lehe, the interior design director at HDR, is chair-elect; and John Cialone, a partner at Tom Stringer Design Partners, is past chair. The directors at large include Sarah Colandro, the director of interiors at Aecom; Margi Kaminski, the co-director of CannonDesign’s health interiors practice; Ken Wilson, a design principal at Perkins&Will; Ruju Jasani, founder of Jasani Studio; Shundra Harris, founder of Shundra Harris Interiors; Caroline Gama, principal at Caroline Gama Design; Kendra Ordia, an assistant professor of interior design in the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Teresa Humphrey, the director of commercial specifications for Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces; Lauren Corbin, the senior manager of the architect and design segment of Benjamin Moore. Sheryl Connelly, the recently retired Chief Futurist for Ford Motor Company, is the ex officio.

The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame welcomed Anna McGaha as the vice president of marketing. McGaha brings 20 years of experience in the industry, including a four-and-a-half-year stint as marketing director for Fine Furniture Design.

The International Textile Alliance has appointed two new leaders, Tammy Covington Nagem and Tom Notaro, to its board of directors. Nagem is the current president and CEO of High Point Market Authority, a role she began last year after two decades with the company. Notaro is the senior sales director for furnishings at Glen Raven Material Solutions Group. The two succeed Patrick Shelton, the senior vice president of sales and marketing at Valdese Weavers; and Kathryn Richardson, the vice president of sales and strategic engagement at Verellen.

Design & Architecture
Architecture firm Perkins&Will welcomed Karen Krauskopf as a principal and its new director of operations for its Austin studio. Krauskopf was previously a project manager and architect at Gensler. The firm’s Philadelphia studio has also hired Matthew Krissel as principal. Krissel is an adjunct faculty member in the graduate architecture program at Carnegie Mellon University and for eight years served as a partner at KieranTimberlake.

Stitch Design Shop, an architectural and interior design firm located in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Boone, North Carolina, has added two members to its team. Rebekah Laney is the new director of business development after serving in the same role at Kasper Architects + Associates. Hayden DeShazer is the new procurement lead following three years as senior purchasing specialist at the design collective Rios.

Design studio BHDM Design has promoted three team members. Stephanie Metzger moves up to senior director of concept and experience after serving five years as director; Sheila Cahill is the new senior director of design and development after being director for nearly four years; and John Doyle, a designer with the firm since 2020, is now director of design and development.

Media & PR
Emerald Expositions, the developer of live events and market platforms, has promoted Keisha Byrd to vice president and brand director of Hospitality Design Group, which oversees Boutique Design New York and associated non-trade events. Byrd has been with BD for more than 11 years (starting before its parent company, Hospitality Media, was acquired by Emerald), and she recently served as its brand leader/associate show director.

Helena Madden joins Martha Stewart Living as senior editor. She was previously with Elle Decor for nearly three years, first serving as associate market editor and then market editor.

Asad Syrkett has stepped down as editor in chief of Elle Decor after four years at the helm. Prior to joining the magazine, Syrkett was the New York business development lead at Swedish furniture brand Hem and spent four years at Curbed, where he started as editor and worked his way up to deputy editor.