Bob Sherman, CEO of Serta International steps down after a quarter century of leading top ranked mattress company.
Gary Fazio, the CEO of Simmons Bedding Company became the CEO of the Serta Simmons Holdings.Mark Baron to lead operations for Serta Simmons Holdings.
Barbara Bradford, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising also steps down. Jay Patel takes her office.
[HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL] — Serta Simmons Holdings announced that Bob Sherman, CEO of National Bedding Company (d/b/a Serta International), has decided to leave the company to pursue other interests, effective October 1.
During his 25-year tenure, Mr. Sherman drove a combination of groundbreaking product innovation, strong customer relationships, and operational excellence that led Serta to become the top mattress brand in the United States. Among the many accomplishments under his leadership, Serta’s famous “Counting Sheep” advertising campaign was named Advertising Icon of the Year in 2008 and Serta’s revolutionary iComfort product line set an industry record by being the fastest brand to reach $1 billion in retail sales. His career in bedding spans 45 years, from delivering mattresses in his home state of Minnesota at the age of 16 to leading the top-ranked U.S. mattress brand.
Barbara Bradford, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising, has also decided to leave the company to pursue other interests. Ms. Bradford, an icon in the industry herself, has 42 years of industry experience and is the wife of Mr. Sherman. Ms. Bradford played a key role in the development of the iComfort series and was responsible for developing Serta’s branded collections, including Trump HomeTM, among many other accomplishments.
“Bob has been a true leader in the mattress industry,” said David Swift, the company’s chairman. “On his path to building the leading brand in the mattress business, he also delivered one of the most successful product launches and some of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. We thank Bob for developing such a strong and lasting brand in Serta, and we’ll endeavor to build upon his legacy as we move forward.”
Gary Fazio, the CEO of Simmons Bedding Company became the CEO of the Serta Simmons Holdings. He will be responsible for overseeing both the Serta and Simmons businesses, which will continue to maintain separate product development, marketing and sales divisions.
Mr. Fazio has 41 years of bedding manufacturing and retail experience. He joined Simmons in 2010 after the company’s restructuring. Prior to joining Simmons, he was the CEO of Mattress Firm for nine years before being named Chairman in 2010. “We have great people at Serta and Simmons. Together we will continue to lead the industry delivering innovative products, investing in all of our brands and providing differentiated services to our channel partners and end consumers,” said Mr. Fazio.
Mark Baron to lead operations for Serta Simmons Holdings as Jay Patel Promoted to SVP of Manufacturing
Serta Simmons Holdings announced on November 5 the appointment of Mark Baron to the new position of Executive Vice President of Operations for Serta Simmons Holdings (SSH), where he will oversee the operations functions for both the Serta and Simmons brands.
For more than three years, Mr. Baron has served as Executive Vice President of Operations at Simmons and brings significant leadership experience in operations from his previous positions at GE, Lockheed Martin, and Hill-Rom. Mr. Baron will be responsible for planning and executing a strategic transformation in operations to create greater efficiency and effectiveness through a combination of shared resources and an allocation of distinct resources dedicated to each brand.
“We are very fortunate to have Mark on board to lead this change in our business. The creation of a shared operations team is an integral part of our vision of making a common corporate group supporting the Serta and Simmons brands, each of which will continue to be managed independently, keeping the focus on delivering innovative products and differentiated service to our customers,” said Gary Fazio, CEO of Serta Simmons Holdings. “Mark possesses a vast knowledge of manufacturing operations. His previous experience leading successful organizational transformations will be invaluable in his new role at Serta Simmons Holdings.”
“I’m excited about this opportunity to bring together two of the very best groups of operational leaders in this industry and create one united, winning team,” said Mr. Baron. “We will focus on developing a world class operations model that supports the delivery of innovative products for each brand and will continue our tradition of exceeding consumer expectations.”
Serta Simmons Holdings also announced today the promotion of Jay Patel to Senior Vice President of Manufacturing for Serta Simmons Holdings, responsible for all 40 SSH plants across North America and reporting to Mr. Baron.
“Jay has led Operations for Serta for more than 24 years, and his knowledge and experience will be crucial as we move forward,” said Mr. Fazio. “With Mark and Jay, as well as the rest of our leadership team, we intend to deliver enhanced service levels to our channel customers, which we believe will give us the leverage we need to grow as the leader in our industry.”
“I look forward to the opportunity to work with Mark to achieve the next level of manufacturing excellence for Serta Simmons Holdings,” said Mr. Patel.
