New team hitting its stride
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 21, 2007
Hinsdale, Ill. — As he looks at the roster of veteran bedding executives he has assembled at Comfort Solutions, Dave Roberts uses a sports analogy.
"I'm like the manager of a baseball team," said Roberts, president of the bedding licensing group. "I guide and motivate, but the players have to make it happen. Our guys are very capable of making it happen."
Roberts, himself a 14-year industry veteran, has been president of Comfort Solutions since October. Working with the company's owners and its licensees, he has brought in a strong team of veterans.
"I don't mind sitting in a room with this team and being the dumbest guy in the room," he said. "The team will be the better for it."
His team members say they embrace their opportunity at Comfort Solutions.
"I came here for a couple of reasons," said David Binke, executive vice president of sales, whose past experience included stints at two Spring Air licensees and one Comfort Solutions licensee. "There is an enormous opportunity to expand our distribution. And there is a strong desire from our licensees for leadership. The licensees are entrepreneurial. They want to do things differently."
He said Roberts "is the type of leader who allows you to do your thing. ... We are all growing into our jobs."
Mike Rakauskas, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has worked for three of the four largest bedding producers in his 30 years in the bedding industry. He said the new team at Comfort Solutions is hitting its stride.
"We are learning where things are and people are starting to call us," he said. "We are involved in solving the issues. Dave is the diplomat and the ambassador. He's made good progress. He's wearing the president's hat well."
Binke said the new team at Comfort Solutions "will be more customer-centric." He has established a new sales structure, dividing the country into East, Central and West regions. Chad Megard is heading sales in the Central region, while Binke, who worked in the Los Angeles market for many years, is heading the West. A senior sales executive will be hired to oversee the East.
Binke said the new structure provides a "streamlined and focused" approach to the market.
Rakauskas said that a key to success is for the senior management team to deliver solutions for the licensees. "They are our customers," he said. "We exist to serve them." He plans to bring best practices from some of the larger bedding companies to the Comfort Solutions group.
Another new executive at Comfort Solutions is Mark Wozniak, executive vice president of marketing. A 10-year veteran of Sealy, Wozniak said the new team has varied strengths and experiences, and all have retail experience.
"The synergy between us is really terrific, and since three out of the four of us are new to Comfort Solutions and moving to Chicago, we are sharing many common experiences related to the transitions from our prior lives," he said.
