People Today
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 22, 2007
Executives
Fortunoff
Uniondale, N.Y.— Michael Geraghty has been named chief financial and administrative officer at retailer Fortunoff.
He most recently was chairman of Filene's/Kaufman's, a division of former The May Department Stores, which was acquired last year by Federated Department Stores.
Geraghty also was chief financial officer there and held other senior positions in the May organization and at department store retailers Marshall's and now-defunct Abraham & Straus.
"He has had tremendous success overseeing the operations and finance functions of a major retailer, and Fortunoff will certainly benefit from his expertise in a variety of areas," said Fortunoff CEO Arnie Orlick.
World Market Center
Las Vegas — Three World Market Center executives, Nith Sisombath, Pedro Garcia and Jessica Ranftl, have received Certified Exposition Manager designations from the International Assn. for Exhibitions & Events.
Sisombath and Ranftl are operations managers, and Garcia is exhibits manager. They have completed the nine-part CEM learning program, designed to help exposition professionals excel in their careers.
"We are extremely proud of the members of our operations team for earning this prestigious designation," said Harvey Dondero, World Market Center CEO.
Marketing/Sales
Luana Living
San Diego — Custom upholstery specialist Luana Living has expanded its sales force with the appointment of four sales representatives.
The new reps who have joined the 18-month-old startup company, and their respective sales regions, are: Bernie Sacharski, California and Nevada; Debra Sandvold, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas; Marc Blaustein, southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington and Virginia; and Mark Holman, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
Luana Living continues to seek representatives to cover the Northeast, Southeast, New England and Pacific Northwest regions.
Westgate by ADF
New York — Fabric supplier Westgate by ADF (formerly American Decorative Fabrics) has added Bill Sousa to its international business sales team.
Sousa, based here, will be responsible for the company's expanding international operations. He reports to Jack Cobb, president of the division.
Sousa most recently was in sales with Bru, a Belgian fabric source, and prior to that was with Quaker Fabric for several years.
Awards
Distinguished Service
Sioux Falls, S.D. — William Hinks, founder and CEO of Top 100 furniture chain Furniture Outlets USA, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Sioux Falls Cosmopolitan Club.
The award, given annually since 1929, is one of the oldest awards presented in the community.
The honor is based on the Cosmopolitan Club's philosophy that what matters most is not one's wealth, but one's character. The award is presented to a person from the community, who has fully given of their time and knowledge for the benefit of the community.
Each year's winner is selected from nominations received from various civic clubs and organizations. The selection of the winner is based on his or her accomplishments within their business and/or profession, as well as accomplishments in the community.
