Universal adds sales VPs
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, May 11, 2009
HIGH POINT — Universal Furniture has named Don Essenberg as vice president of sales for the western region and Steve Lush as vice president of sales for the eastern region.
The case goods and upholstery resource said it created the positions as part of a reorganization announced in March, which eliminated the post of senior vice president of marketing and sales, formerly held by Dave Pinamonti. Also in March, Universal eliminated the position of senior vice president of merchandising, held by Stephen Giles, and named Kevin Miller to the newly created position of brands manager.
Essenberg comes to the company from Magnussen Home, where he was most recently executive vice president and chief marketing officer. A 30-year industry veteran, Essenberg also has held sales, management and marketing roles at Broyhill, Bernhardt and Berkline.
Lush, a 26-year industry veteran, was most recently vice president of sales for Hickory Chair and has held sales roles at Bernhardt, Thomasville and La-Z-Boy. He also has held management positions with retailers including Thomasville Home Furnishings of New Jersey, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries of Philadelphia and Hendricks Furniture Group.
Miller has worked for Universal for five years as an operations manager in the upholstery division and as national sales administration manager. He will oversee the Better Homes and Gardens and Paula Deen Home brands.
Essenberg and Lush will report to Universal president and CEO Jeff Scheffer.
“In developing our strategic plan, we determined that we need a personal presence in the field in order to reach out to retailers with a fresh perspective and greater brand authority,” Scheffer said in a statement. “These moves will enable Universal to become more relevant and to better relate to our retail customers of all sizes.”
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Universal Furniture names regional sales VPs
May 6, 2009
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