The design industry is ever-evolving with new and changing faces. To keep track of who’s coming and who’s going this month, Editor at Large has compiled the list below in manufacturing, media and PR, interior design and architecture and not-for-profit .

Manufacturing/Retail

After 22 years with Kohler, Rachel Kohler will step down as Group President-Interiors in June 2014. She plans to pursue a new endeavor, which has not been announced. She will remain on the board of directors for Kohler.

Nambé has appointed board member Wayne Badovinus as President and CEO. Badovinus succeeds Bob Varakian, who left the company in January. Badovinus was the first CEO at Design Within Reach. He is also the former president and COO of Williams-Sonoma and former president and CEO of Eddie Bauer.

Hansgrohe North America has appointed Erik Christensen as President/GM of the company. Formerly a Vice President at Armstrong World Industries, Christensen will build on the company’s growth, overseeing a team of 250 employees and the manufacturing facility in Alpharetta, GA.

Brent McDaneld has been named the Chief Executive Officer of Lladró USA. He joins Lladró from Rogaska America Inc., the luxury crystal company where he served as VP of Sales and Marketing since 2010. 

Alex Caceres has joined Farrow & Ball as Executive Vice President. Caceres most recently worked at Lladrό USA Inc. as its Executive Vice President where he led the North American operation.

Vic Carlson has joined Hunter Douglas as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Jim Mathews, who previously held the position, is retiring after 25 years with the company. Prior to his appointment, Carlson was Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Digital Commerce at Panasonic Corporation of North America.

Donghia, Inc. has appointed Laine Alexandra to the position of Visual Merchandising Director. Working closely with Chuck Chewning, creative director, and Andrea Rubelli, president and CEO, Alexandra will have the responsibility of creating the visual brand experience for the luxury manufacturer of textiles, furniture and lighting in their 12 domestic showrooms. Prior to joining Donghia, Alexandra was manager of merchandising and new business projects at F. Schumacher & Co.

Rick Lovegrove has joined Four Hands as the Design Director of Upholstery. Lovegrove was previously VP of design, creative and sales for G Romano, where he oversaw the brand’s direction and management, from product design and development to manufacturing and sales direction.

Sferra has appointed Douglas Fechter as its Chief Financial Officer, a new position within the company. In the new role, Fechter will report to President Steve Schneider. Fechter previously served as Chief Financial Officer for Palyon Medical Corporation in Santa Clarita, Calif., a startup devoted to the creation of innovative drug delivery systems.

Doug Diemoz has joined Restoration Hardware as Chief Development Officer. In this newly created position, Diemoz will be responsible for developing and leading the company’s future international growth and global expansion efforts. He will also be responsible for the development and management of emerging new businesses. Diemoz has nearly 20 years of operational, financial and international experience in the retail industry at MEXX, Williams-Sonoma, Inc, and Gap, Inc.

Crestron has named Fred Bargetzi Chief Technology Officer, where he will continue to oversee the technology and engineering aspects of the business. Bargetzi joined Crestron 25 years ago and has been instrumental in growing and shaping the company. He has served a number of key positions in the company, from his beginnings as an applications engineer to creating and managing a wide variety of departments, including Technical Sales, Training, and R&D.

Artistic Tile has announced the appointment of Michael Epstein to the role of Vice President of Marketing. Michael, son of CEO and Founder Nancy Epstein, was formerly Special Assistant and Advance Lead in the Office of Scheduling and Advance at The White House, responsible for managing presidential trips and events worldwide.

Surya has appointed Jim Curtin as Vice President of Sales, National Accounts. Prior to joining Surya, he worked for Shaw Industries for more than 22 years in a variety of sales management roles within the floor covering, furniture, rug specialty and buying group channels.

Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair has promoted Steve Oblak to Senior Vice President and General Manager of Wayfair.com, a new position. Oblak will spearhead strategy and execution for the company’s flagship brand. Previously, he was Wayfair’s Vice President of Category Management, overseeing catalog management and all supplier relationships.

Mike Heath has left his post as President of upholstery and occasional furniture manufacturer Pearson, a company under the Heritage Home Group umbrella. He is now Senior Vice President and General Manager of Theodore Alexander upholstery.

Jeff Nichols has also been hired as Chief Financial Officer at Theodore Alexander. He will work at Theodore Alexander’s headquarters in High Point, NC and comes to the company from Mickey Truck Bodies, where he was controller.

Former Thomasville Furniture president Ed Teplitz has been named Chief Commercial Officer of Natuzzi Americas. In the newly created position, he is responsible for sales and operations in the Americas and reports to Marco Saltalmacchia, Natuzzi's Worldwide Chief Commercial Officer.

After working with Stylex for the past three years, Aodh O'Donnell has been appointed the brand's new Director of Design. In the new role O’Donnell will focus on the conception and engineering of products that will influence the brand’s future and growth.

Media/Publishing

Sue Crewe, editor in chief of House & Garden’s U.K. edition for more than two decades, will retire in October 2014.

After 17 years at Time Inc. with the last four as editor in chief Southern Living, Lindsay Bierman is leaving publishing for academia at the University of North Carolina. He will be replaced by Sid Evans, who has been overseeing Southern Living and four other titles as part of his role as group editor.

Kelley Carter has been named Lifestyle Editor of Refinery29. She was formerly the Senior Market Editor at Real Simple magazine.

Country Living has moved into its new headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama with a series of new hires and promotions. The magazine’s masthead includes: Eva Spring, Design Director, previously served as art director at Real Simple; Steele Marcoux, Executive Editor, had been Design Editor at Southern Living; Amy Lowe Mitchell, Managing Editor, was previously in the same position at Coastal Living; Jami Supsic, Style Director, was promoted from Deputy Style and Market Editor; Caroline McKenzie, Deputy Editor, comes from Southern Living, where she was an Associate Editor working on features, travel, and style; Jennica Johnstone, Deputy Art Director, had been a designer at Real Simple; Erynn Hassinger, Deputy Art Director, had been a Senior Designer at Southern Living; Mackenzie Craig, Photo Editor, joins the brand from Every Day with Rachael Ray, where she was most recently Deputy Photo Editor; Page Mullins, Decorating Editor, served as Assistant Style and Registry Editor at Brides; Katie Bowlby, Copy Chief, spent 12 years as Assistant Copy Chief at Southern Living; Caitlin Miller, Assistant Managing Editor, was a Production Coordinator at Cooking Light; Jeanne Lyons, Editorial Assistant, was an intern at Southern Living and worked at New Orleans Weddings Magazine; Kevin Delgado, Style Assistant, was a Style & Market intern at Country Living.

Public relations firm VP+C has named Lisa Jasper, a seven-year veteran of the SoHo-based agency, Senior VP, and Michelle Shen to Account Supervisor.

Progressive Business Media has hired Doug Dauray as publisher of Casual Living, a sister publication of Furniture/Today devoted to outdoor home furnishings. Dauray was co-founder and executive publisher of Home Resource Magazine, executive publisher for True North Customer Media in Tennessee, publisher of Delta Sky Magazine at Pace Communications in North Carolina, and advertising director for Worth Media in New York.

Interior Designers/Architects

Interior designer and stylist Emily Henderson has partnered with Target to be the new Home Style Expert for the company. In the new role, Henderson will serve as a spokesperson and resource offering design ideas, styling tips and more to Target customers.

Poulin + Morris has promoted Meaghan Tirondola-Button to Senior Designer at the firm. Tirondola-Button joined the firm in 2008 as a Staff Designer. As a Senior Designer she is responsible for project design, management and coordination.

Wright Heerema Architects has appointed Christopher Liu as the firm’s Director of Interior Design. With nearly 30 years of knowledge in the design industry, Liu will oversee the planning, design and management of all WHA interior design efforts.

Gensler Chicago promoted David Broz, Todd Heiser and Kyle Davis to Principals in the firm. All three individuals exemplify key leadership attributes, personify Gensler’s Guiding Principles, and are always looking for creative ways to service clients.

Design Organizations

The Board of Directors of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) has selected Peter W. Lyden as the organization’s new President. He replaces Paul Gunther, who resigned in August 2013. Previously, Lyden was the Chief Philanthropy Officer of the American Museum of Natural History.

The Van Alen Institute, an organization dedicated to advancing innovation in architecture and urban design, has welcomed Andre Kikoski and Robert Richardson to its Board of Trustees at the start of the Institute’s 120th anniversary year. Kikoski is the founder of Andre Kikoski Architect and Richardson is the Senior Director of Strategy at Control Group.

Viveca Bissonnette, College of Fellows Chair for the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), has inducted two IIDA Members to its prestigious College of Fellows. Honorees for 2014 include Joan Blumenfeld, FIIDA, and sitting President Felice Silverman, FIIDA. Both will be introduced and celebrated at the IIDA Annual Meeting to be held Sunday, June 8, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation has elected new officers and board members. Star Furniture’s William D. Kimbrell is the new board President while Michael Amini, AICO/Amini Innovation Corp., is First Vice President; Roger D. Friesen, Casana Furniture, Second Vice President; and Bill Markowitz, The Veneman Group, Secretary-Treasurer. George Cartledge III, Grand Home Furnishings, will continue to serve on the executive committee as board chairman. New directors serving a three-year term are Kevin Castellani, President of Progressive Business Media and publisher of Furniture/Today; Robert J. Maricich, International Market Centers; Todd Wanek, Ashley Furniture Inds; and Bill Wittenberg, Klaussner Home Furnishings. Joining the Legacy Board is Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy.

Miscellaneous

Sotheby’s has appointed Joshua Holdeman as Senior Vice President and Vice Chairman, Americas. He will work closely with the specialist community across categories offering 20th Century Art, and with the global team of senior executives. Holdeman began his career at Robert Miller Gallery in New York and also worked at Christie’s as International Head of Photographs and 20th Century Design.

Arne Petersen is the new Vice President in charge of the Koelnmesse business unit Trade Fair Management 2. He will be responsible for managing the Cologne trade fairs for interior and facility design, including imm cologne, LivingKitchen®/LivingInteriors®, interzum, ORGATEC, FSB, and aquanale. Prior to joining Koelnmesse, Petersen worked as Sales Director at Fachausstellungen Heckmann GmbH, which is part of the corporate group Deutsche Messe AG in Hanover.

Comings and goings we missed? Drop us a line at ssnowden@editoratlarge.com and let us know!