Las Vegas Design Center appoints Wells vice president
Former Valtekz president will direct the center's growth
Staff Staff -- Furniture Today, August 22, 2008
LAS VEGAS - Industry veteran Randy Wells has joined the World Market Center as vice president of its Las Vegas Design Center.In this new position, Wells will manage the Las Vegas Design Center, a year-round, professional design and hospitality resource with 70 showrooms featuring furniture, fabric, lighting, floral, accessories, rugs and wall decor.
Wells joins the World Market Center from Valtekz Composite Fabrics, the decorative fabrics division of Valley Forge Fabrics, where he served as president.
Previously, he was a manager in the upholstery division for Century Furniture, where he oversaw product development, pricing and sales.
"I want to see the Las Vegas Design Center go far beyond what you traditionally see in American design centers," Wells said. "We will be able to bring fresh, innovative design on a scale that has not been done before in America. What we want to do is bring the best of every part of the world into one centralized location."
Wells reports to Bob Maricich, president and CEO of the World Market Center. Wells and Maricich were colleagues at Century.
"Randy is an excellent addition to our growing team and joins us at a time of positive change with the opening of Building C, and the addition of a whole new range of designer resources now available at the Las Vegas Design Center," Maricich said. "We are poised for continued growth, and Randy's unique combination of skill sets will play an integral role to furthering this evolution which will be focused heavily on building our brand and elevating the experience of our customers."
Wells will relocate to Las Vegas from Charlotte, N.C.
William Grenewald, formerly general manager of the Las Vegas Design Center, is now vice president of leasing for the center. In that role, Grenewald will oversee leasing and business development for the Las Vegas Design Center and its new hospitality initiative.
Gerry Seibel, Paul Watson and Mary Thompson complete the center's leasing team.
At Valtekz, Michael Dobin, senior vice president of development, said, "Randy is leaving Valtekz after having built it into a powerhouse in the high-end composite fabric field. With Randy's help, we have found a new managing director, and we will be making an official announcement in the near future."
