Three-executive team set for Southerland bedding
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 1, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
Two presidents are better than one, according to the co-presidents set to run independent bedding producer Southerland. And three leaders are even better yet.
That's the thinking of the new leadership troika that will be in place after the company is acquired by its employees in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan recapitalization led by the two co-presidents, David Corbin and Steve Russo, and by current Southerland executive Bryan Smith.
“Three heads are better than one,” Russo said.
Corbin, Russo and Smith will divide management duties at Southerland. Corbin will head sales and marketing, product development and customer service, while Russo will head operations, logistics, support services and international sourcing. Smith will lead the finance, domestic sourcing, administrative and information technology areas.
Corbin and Russo have been working as consultants with Southerland since the middle of last year and have seen the potential the company has to gain position in the crowded bedding marketplace, Corbin said.
He said the co-president structure is new to the bedding industry, but has been adopted by a number of companies in other realms, including Google, Guess, Research-in-Motion (which launched the Blackberry), Imax and Fortis.
Corbin said he and Russo will be hands-on leaders who will be active in the field and will bring strong management and marketing skills to the Southerland leadership group.
The two have Ivy League credentials and backgrounds that complement one another, they said.
Corbin has an undergraduate degree from Princeton and an MBA from Harvard. He helped lead companies like Chromcraft Revington and Pulaski in the home furnishings industry and was a brand manager at Procter & Gamble. He has 26 years of industry experience.
Russo, who formerly led Latex International, Consolidated Bedding and Restonic, has an undergraduate degree from Yale and a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He has 28 years of business experience. In the bedding industry he is known for his low-key, analytical style and strong focus on operations.
Smith has more than 20 years of managerial accounting experience and has been at Southerland for 12 years. He will be executive vice president and chief financial officer of the company. Smith is currently president of Southerland and serves as its CFO.
Russo said that he, Corbin and Smith are well suited to work together. “Each of us has been the No. 1 person in a company,” Russo said. “We've been in that seat. And we know what it's like to be part of the team.”
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