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Spring Air decentralizes management

Cumbow acting CEO; three other top execs leave

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, September 29, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. — Bedding producer Spring Air, whose CEO resigned less than three weeks ago, has decentralized its management structure and named Steve Cumbow as acting CEO.

Cumbow

Three other senior managers — Kevin Damewood, executive vice president of sales and marketing; Al Podratsky, vice president of supply chain management; and Greg Moore, vice president of human resources — have left the company.

Spring Air said the positions held by Damewood, Podratsky and Moore were eliminated as the company shifts to a more decentralized management structure.

Instead, four regional sales and marketing divisions have been created, each headed by a sales executive. The company said the regional sales executive, along with plant managers, would have responsibility operating results in each region.

"When we had a CEO change a few weeks ago, the board began a comprehensive strategic review ... and the outcome of that review process was the need to decentralize the organization and to make manufacturing more responsive to the needs of the sales organization," Cumbow said.

"When sales makes a promise to a customer that a product will be delivered on time, they also need the assurance that they can deliver on time," he added. "This new structure give them that mandate."

Named to the new positions of senior vice president of sales were Charles Dietiker, who will oversee the Lacey, Wash., and Salt Lake City plants; Howard Galant, who is in charge of the Los Angeles plant; Chad Megard, who is responsible for the Columbus, Ohio, and Dallas plants; and Robert Patten, who will oversee plants in Chelsea, Mass., New Brunswick, N.J., Atlanta and Tampa.

Dietiker

Galant

Megard

Patten

The new regional leaders report to Cumbow, as do Jim Wettergren, senior vice president of manufacturing, and Katie Sems, vice president of human resources.

Plant managers report to Wettergren, but have dotted-line reporting relationship to the regional sales leaders, Cumbow said.

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Spring Air decentralizes management structure

Oct 5, 2008

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