Autumn is officially here, and industry players are getting down to business with a fall flurry of new hires and promotions. Read on for Business of Home’s monthly roundup of arrivals and departures in design, manufacturing, media and more.
To the Trade
Dallas Market Center has selected Jo Ann Miller Marshall as senior vice president of leasing for the temporary home and gift division. Marshall has worked in related roles for more than 25 years, serving in leadership roles with AmericasMart Atlanta and most recently as executive vice president of trade shows for International Market Centers.
Home management platform Thumbtack has tapped Amanda Reierson as head of marketing. Reierson brings more than 20 years of marketing experience, most recently as chief growth officer for Farmers Insurance, where she led the company’s digital transformation, and previously at Yahoo, where she oversaw all advertising marketing.
Fintech homebuying startup Tomo has hired Skylar Olsen as principal economist. Bringing experience gained from holding the same position at Zillow, Olsen will lead financial and economic literacy efforts geared at helping homebuyers make financial decisions based on their local markets, and will operate within the company’s new research arm, Tomo Economics.
Design & Architecture
International architecture firm SB Architects has appointed Keith Houchin, Harris Christiaansen, Matt Peterson and Krystal Solorzano to the role of associate principal. Houchin, Christiaansen and Peterson each currently serve as vice presidents, and have worked on such projects as the St. Regis Quivira in Los Cabos, Mexico; the Crescent Hills Resort in Xiamen, China; and the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas, respectively. The promotion of Solarzano, the current director of marketing and business development, marks the first time in the firm’s history that an individual who is not an architect has been elevated to the ownership level.
Washington, D.C.–based architecture and design firm //3877 has welcomed Beth Brenner on as the team’s newest interior designer. Brenner’s background lies primarily in hotel interior design, and she brings extensive knowledge of ADA requirements, matrix quantities and value engineering products, among other skills.
Architecture, design and strategy firm Nelson Worldwide has appointed Todd Chitester as senior vice president of global solutions. Prior to joining Nelson, Chitester built up more than a decade’s worth of experience in the corporate real estate industry, serving as executive account director for the Southeast market at Cushman & Wakefield and overseeing global corporate procurement strategies for all Bank of America facilities.
Olson Kundig has announced several promotions, instating Romie de Hillary as director of legal affairs, while boosting several architectural design staff members to the associate level, including Senan Choe, Simon Clews, Meghan Griswold, Jesse Kingsley, Laura Sinn, Hallie Terzopolos, Todd Walbourn and Brian Walters.
Wildwood House has announced a new procurement director, Melissa Bailey. An interior designer with nearly two decades of industry experience, Bailey joins the team from Spanish surfacing brand Cosentino, where she grew sales 25 percent in her territory within the first year.
Design, procurement and project management services firm Premier has announced the expansion of its procurement team with the addition of Richard Palagano as director of strategic procurement and Cathy Jennings as director of procurement. With a combined 30 years related experience, the pair will assist the firm as it expands into the student housing and multifamily markets.
Pembrooke & Ives has named former design director Francis Nicdao as the company’s newest principal and chief creative officer. Nicdao has served the firm for nearly 15 years, specializing in high-end residential design on properties such as urban apartments and town houses and seasonal and weekend homes.
Media & PR
Anna Logan is Country Living Magazine’s newest senior Homes & Style editor. Logan joins from a position as market editor for One Kings Lane, building off of an extensive editorial career established through roles such as Traditional Home market and social editor and Southern Views Magazine assistant editor.
Alyssa Clough has joined the social media team at West Elm. Clough most recently served as director of content and growth at Semihandmade, and prior to that, held the role of senior social media editor at Domino Media Group.
Gabby Manzari has joined the team at The Consultancy PR in the role of PR coordinator. A 2020 graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Manzari brings previous experience working with international design and architecture clients at Camron PR. Also in the position of PR coordinator, TCPR welcomes Sarah Tornatore, who joins the team from an internship at Kenneth Cole Productions.
Novità Communications has announced the expansion of its Atlanta team with the addition of several new team members, signaling the firm’s recent efforts to further expand into the Southeast. The round of new hires includes Angela Staten as director of client services and integrated marketing, Avery Schroeder as senior account executive, Neal Irby as junior account executive, Abby Clark as junior account executive and Lauren Hoggan as account assistant.
New York–based communications firm McGraw PR has brought on two new additions to the team, announcing Holly Beal as the group’s newest account manager and Robyn Smith as a newly appointed account executive. Beal brings more than a decade of PR experience working for a national design firm, while Smith (a former BOH team member!) joins the team from Brooklyn publisher Turtle Point Press, where she served as a marketing and production assistant.
Retail & Manufacturing
Sattler Outdura, a division of the Austria-based performance fabric company Sattler Group, has announced an addition to its North Carolina team, welcoming Chris Caldwell as product manager for Outdura casual furniture and Sattler shade fabrics. Caldwell will be responsible for product, sales and business development in the new role, applying experience gained from previous roles as sourcing director for ECMD Inc. and senior product line manager at Avery Dennison.
Decorating Den Interiors has named Ellen Cherwien as a new franchise support in its Easton, Maryland, corporate office. According to the company’s vice president of retail sales, Jennifer Manley, the brand’s recent sales increases and subsequent additions of new franchises created the need for the new position, to which Cherwien brings 30 years of retail experience. Most recently, she served as a division head with the Phillips Van Heusen Corporation, supervising the operation of seven stores.
Lee Boone has left his position as president of Home Meridian International, a division of Hooker Furniture Corporation. Boone served the company for more than nine years in a variety of executive positions, and now departs during a time of financial challenges for the company, though he still plans to remain in the industry. “I am going to take a little time and assess my options; I believe there are a lot of opportunities out there in winning situations, and I will take some time to explore what they are,” he told Home News Now.
Laura Hutchinson-Sax has joined the team at Texas-based outdoor furniture, fire pit and accessories manufacturer O.W. Lee. In the new position, Hutchinson-Sax will serve as an independent sales representative for the New England territory, building on 19 years spent in the outdoor industry in that region along with previous experience serving as a designer in a furniture store.
International appliance manufacturer Miele has appointed Kelly Lam as vice president of marketing for Miele USA. Lam most recently held the same position for Miele Canada for more than a decade, during which time he tripled the size of business and developed the brand’s product portfolio.
Surfacing materials provider Nemo Tile + Stone has recently appointed Frank Kimmerling as new chief financial officer. In the new role, Kimmerling will apply more than 20 years experience in high-growth public, private equity and venture equity-owned businesses, including having served in the same position for businesses such as Lamina Lighting Inc., Medical Nutrition USA Inc and DermaRite Industries LLC.
Liebherr Appliances welcomes Anne Kirchhoff to the marketing team in the role of trade marketing specialist, where she’ll support related activities in showrooms across North America. Kirchhoff, a graduate of Florida State University, was marketing manager for Monark Premium Appliance, where she managed events, social media, digital marketing and sales support for the company’s South Florida showrooms for three years.
Hooker Furnishings has tapped company veteran Stephanie Penn as vice president of supply chain operations, a newly created position. In the new role, Penn will provide oversight of corporate sales and operations planning to bolster the company’s supply chain efforts. After initially joining Hooker in 2005 as a logistics assistant, she has served the company for more than 15 years since, and will retain responsibilities for her most recent role as director of supply chain operations.
At Design House Stockholm, the board of directors has tapped Daniel Hansson as the organization’s next chief executive officer effective December 1. Hansson worked in various leadership roles with the H&M group for 15 years, and succeeds Design House Stockholm’s founder and creative director, Anders Färdig, who served nearly 20 years at the helm.
Industry Organizations
Dessa Goddard has been appointed new chairman for Asia Week New York, the weeklong event created in collaboration with international Asian art galleries, auction houses, museums and cultural institutions. As the head of Bonhams’s U.S. Asian Art Group and vice president and global head of business strategy for Chinese paintings, Goddard oversees all company specialists and consultants in the fields of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Himalayan, Indian and Southeast Asian Art in North America, serving as one of the region’s leading experts in her field. At the organization’s helm, she plans to solidify the program’s digital platform and expand its year-round experiences.
The Interior Design Association’s New York chapter has announced its executive board for the 2021–2022 term, electing interior designer and founding member of IIDA NY’s Equity Council, Elsie St. Léger, as chapter president. The rest of the newly appointed positions include ZGF’s Sarah Levine as president-elect; designer Erin Ruby as immediate past president; Perkins&Will NYC’s Jennifer Graham as vice president of action; SWBR’s Corina Folts as vice president of advocacy; VS America’s Larry Cohen as vice president of city centers; Gensler’s Leonardo Caion-Demaestri and OFS’s Vanessa Perry as vice presidents of communications; Herman Miller’s Suzette Rhodes and TPG’s Samantha McCormack as vice presidents of events; CFI’s Stephen Blau and HDR’s Amy Mays as vice presidents of member services; Gensler’s Haeyoung Shin and KI’s Jason Lazarz as vice presidents of professional development; Macro Consultants’ Ginger Gilden and IA Interior Architect’s Alexandria Davis as vice presidents of sponsorship; and HKS’s Elisabeth Mejia and Robin Reigi as vice presidents of student development.
The Savannah College of Art and Design welcomes Tony Purvis as professor and associate chair of interior design at SCAD Atlanta. A graduate of Florida State University with a Master of Fine Arts in interior design, Purvis joins the university from his previous role as studio director and senior designer for the Atlanta-based interior design firm Carson Guest Inc., and currently serves as president of the Georgia chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.
The Design Leadership Network has found a new marketing director in Claire Evans. A graduate of Purdue University, Evans has previously held marketing roles with organizations such as Uhuru Design, Baker Furniture and the New York Design Center.
Homepage image: Caroline Selfers
