From creative direction to CEO hirings, read on for BOH’s monthly roundup of arrivals and departures in design, manufacturing, media and more.
Retail & Manufacturing
Outdoor furniture brand Polywood announced that current chief operating officer Brady Maller has been appointed CEO. Maller has been at the company for more than 20 years and replaces Polywood founder Doug Rassi, who retired from his role after 25 years.
Eichholtz will welcome Albert van der Veen as its new chief executive officer on June 1. He replaces Michiel Herkemij at the Netherlands-based company, and joins from XD Connects, the Dutch promotional gifts supplier he led for 16 years as CEO.
The Rug Company hired designer Will Cooper as its new creative director. Cooper is the founder and creative director of lifestyle brand William White, and former chief creative officer of Ash NYC.
Quartz surface company Cambria welcomed Elizabeth Hurley as its chief commercial officer. Hurley was formerly senior vice president of retail sales at Shaw Industries.
Spanish stone surface company Neolith welcomed Nieves Contreras as chief brand officer, a newly created role. Contreras was previously the creative director at Lladró.
Bassett Furniture announced a flurry of executive promotions. Tony Chivari has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing; Nick Gee, the current senior VP of Bassett Retail, will have an expanded role overseeing licensed Bassett Home Furnishings stores; Anne Spilman Souter has been promoted to VP of product development while also continuing as creative director; Robert Spilman is the new VP of sales; Heather Petersen has been promoted to VP of marketing and e-commerce; Manika Smith is now VP of retail merchandising; and Tyler Bassett has been promoted to VP of financial planning and analysis. The company also announced that Bruce Cohenour, the senior vice president and chief sales officer is retiring at the end of May.
Kitchen manufacturer Nobilia U.K. has appointed Ntola Obazee as its group marketing director for Kütchenhaus, Nobilia Projects and Kube Kitchens. Previously, Obazee ran her own consultancy firm, TO LA, and served as the CMO-in-residence at TechFoundHer.
Rugs USA welcomed Wendy Reiss as the new vice president of sales for The Annie Selke Companies. Reiss joins from Kas Rugs, where she was the VP of sales and national accounts.
Ultraleather by Ultrafabrics hired Diane Pressler as its national residential sales director. She was previously a regional director at The Rug Company.
Design & Architecture
National design firm KTGY announced that Will Bate is its new CEO. Bate joins from Boston Consulting Group, where he was managing director and partner at the company’s Washington, D.C., office.
Architecture, engineering and construction firm KAI Enterprises hired Conni Morey as its new vice president of marketing. She will be based out of the Dallas–Fort Worth office. Morey was previously director of marketing and communications at Faulkner Design Group, creative director at D2 Architecture and creative marketing director at Austin Commercial. The company also hired Tim Vaughan as senior vice president of KAI Build, the St. Louis, Missouri–based construction arm of the company. Vaughan was previously VP of operations at Wright Construction Services.
Media & PR
Business of Home founder Julia Noran Johnston is now the general manager of the Ziff Davis Lifestyle Group, which includes Dwell, Domino and BOH, the three titles the media company acquired from Recurrent Ventures last week.
Architectural Digest welcomed Bebe Howorth as its digital senior design editor. Howorth was previously the interiors director at Elle Decor.
The Consultancy PR welcomed Alyssa Handschuh as managing director. Her prior experience includes eight years as managing director of media relations at Moxie Communications.
PR firm Sharp Think has made several new hires, including vice president Caroline Burns—who was previously director of PR and communications at HomeToGo—plus two account directors: Grace Hedges, who came from We Communications, and Caitlyn Mailley, who was previously associate director at Head & Hand PR.
Industry Organizations
The Judd Foundation named Alexandra Cunningham Cameron as its director of design, a newly created role that will be at the crossroads of the organization and its company, Donald Judd Furniture. Cameron was previously the curator of contemporary design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
The Dallas Market Center promoted Amy Harper to executive vice president of marketing. Harper has been with the company since 2021, and most recently served as senior VP of retail development and market services.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art appointed Oluremi C. Onabanjo as curator in the Department of Photographs. She joins from The Museum of Modern Art, where she currently serves as the Peter Schub Curator in the Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography. She will begin at The Met later this summer.
