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NARDA names Papasadero interim executive director

Succeeds Drake until permanent replacement is found

Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, April 7, 2008

LAS VEGAS – Buying group veteran Otto Papasadero has been named interim executive director of the North American Retail Dealers Association (NARDA) and its service division, Service USA.

The announcement was made at the organization’s third annual Service and Retail Convention here.

“Otto, an icon in the industry, has assisted countless independent retailers and services in their businesses and we look forward to his leadership role in the association,” said Rosemary Jacobshagen, NARDA’s executive vice president.

Papasadero succeeds Tom Drake, who resigned as president and CEO late last month to take a similar position with L3, a start-up organization that addresses second-half-of-life issues for high net-worth individuals.

Papasadero served as president and CEO of Mega Group, the cooperatively owned Canadian buying and marketing group based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for almost a decade. For the past seven years, he has undertaken a number of assignments for NARDA, including assisting with the association’s professional development and performance group programs and making presentations at conventions and seminars.

Papasadero also has served as an executive coach for several retailers. He has also taken up acting, appearing in several commercials. He will make his feature film premiere at a Los Angeles area film festival later this weekend in a movie called Trainmaster.

“I have accepted this position based on the intention of finding a qualified person to serve in fulfilling this position on an ongoing basis,” Papasadero said. “Our desire is to fill this in a reasonably short term, while at the same time putting forth a conscientious effort to find the best person to fit the role.”

Headquartered in Glenview, Ill., NARDA is a 65-year-old, not-for-profit trade association for independent big ticket retailers. Its membership includes more than 3,500 furniture, appliance and consumer electronics retailers across the United States and Canada with combined annual sales of about $11 billion. In addition to education, the group provides a variety of financial, insurance, transportation and other business services.

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Papasadero leading NARDA

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