Holliman to step down as Furniture Brands CEO on Jan. 1
Wrigley executive Scozzafava tapped as successor
Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, June 14, 2007
ST. LOUIS — Mickey Holliman has announced his plans to retire next year as chairman and CEO of Furniture Brands International.
The FBI board of directors today said they had hired Ralph Scozzafava, an executive of gum and candy supplier Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., as vice chairman and CEO designate of the second-largest U.S. furniture manufacturer and importer.
Scozzafava will immediately be vice chairman, a new position for the company, and will become CEO on Jan. 1 when Holliman, 69, relinquishes that role. To ensure a smooth transition, Holliman will remain chairman until May 1, 2008. The board will elect a new chairman at that time.
Tom Foy will remain president and chief operating officer of FBI, the board said. He also leads the Lane division. The company’s other divisions are Broyhill, Thomasville and HDM – which includes Henredon, Maitland-Smith and Drexel Heritage.
At Wrigley, Scozzafava has been vice president of worldwide commercial operations. He joined the company in 2001 and also has been vice president of sales and marketing and general manager. Earlier, he worked in sales, marketing and merchandising at Campbell Soup, Clorox and Johnson & Johnson.
“Ralph is a proven leader and he brings extraordinary breadth and depth of experience in branded consumer products, which will translate well to the furniture industry,” said Holliman. “Ralph and I will work closely together to ensure a successful transition of executive duties.”
“I am excited to join Furniture Brands at this important time in the company’s history and I look forward to working with Mickey in the coming months to gain the benefit of his many years of experience in this business,” said Scozzafava. “Under Mickey’s leadership, Furniture Brands has remained a powerful force in this industry.”
Holliman, a member of the American Furniture Hall of Fame, has been Furniture Brands’ CEO since 1996 and chairman since 1998. Before becoming a corporate officer, he was president motion specialist Action Inds., now part of Lane.
He began his furniture career at Futorian Furniture in 1960, and he and Alvin E. “Bo” Bland founded Action in 1970. He was named vice president of Action in 1975 and president and CEO in 1994.
Furniture Brands had a rocky start this year, with sales down 13.3% and earnings down 90.5% in the first quarter. The company has closed a number of its U.S. plants in recent years and has taken other measures to cut costs. Holliman took a voluntary 25% reduction in salary this year, to $694,000.
In reporting first-quarter results, Furniture Brands said it continuing to pursue cost cuts and expected to announce other strategic changes over the next several months.
