McIlquham resigns as Sealy CEO
Rogers to take post on interim basis
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 17, 2008
ARCHDALE, N.C. — Bedding major Sealy announced today that David McIlquham has stepped down as chairman and CEO and has been replaced on an interim basis by Larry Rogers, a 29-year Sealy veteran who has been president of Sealy’s North American operations since 2006.
The company also said board member Paul Norris has been named non-executive chairman. Norris is former chairman and CEO of W.R. Grace & Co. and is a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Sealy’s largest shareholder.
A statement from Sealy said that McIlquham, along with the board of directors, “has determined that it is in the best interest of the company to seek new leadership to achieve the company’s long term goals and initiatives.”
The statement said McIlquham “will pursue new opportunities and spend more time with his family.”
McIlquham had been with Sealy for 18 years and was named CEO in 2002.
Sealy has been the bedding industry sales leader since the early 1970s, but has struggled in recent months as the economy softened and business conditions deteriorated at retail. Last week, the company said sales for its first fiscal quarter, which ended March 2, would be down in the mid- to high single digits amidst continued weakness in its domestic business.
After that announcement, Sealy’s stock price fell to its lowest level since the company went public in April 2006.
