Former Simmons CEO Bob Magnusson dies at 79
Helped strengthen company's position in market
David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 23, 2011
ATLANTA — Former Simmons CEO Bob Magnusson, who died earlier this month, is remembered as a skillful leader who helped the company strengthen its position in the market.
Magnusson, who joined Simmons as president in 1979 and retired from the mattress manufacturer as chairman and CEO in 1993, was 79.
His former colleagues said he was a strong, effective leader at Simmons.
"Bob was approachable and friendly," said Rocco Poliseo, a strategic account manager at Simmons who worked closely with Magnusson. "I have fond memories of him. He was a good leader for the Simmons Co. I respected him very much. You always knew where you stood with Bob."
Poliseo said Magnusson enjoyed meeting with dealers over dinner and on the golf course.
Tony Saliture, the former plant manager for the Simmons facility in Janesville, Wis., who is now a consultant to Simmons, recalled that he had lost his job in the late 1970s when Simmons closed his bedding plant in Munster, Ind. But when Magnusson headed the company in 1980, he rehired Saliture and "gave me the opportunity to select my own plant site in Janesville, Wis., for a start-up operation."
That was a wise choice. "Bob patiently and skillfully nurtured and guided our Janesville team into becoming one of the largest and most successful bedding plants not only in Simmons Co., but in the United States," Saliture recalled.
The Janesville plant remains one the largest bedding plants in the country and is a key performer for Simmons.
Saliture said Magnusson was "a caring person who taught and motivated me to reach out and strive to attain goals which I thought at the time were impossible. He was a wonderful man."
Magnusson was vice president of sales at Stearns & Foster earlier in his career and then became president of the Stearns & Foster Home Furnishings Division.
He joined Simmons in January 1979 as president of Simmons Co., which then consisted of Simmons USA, Simmons International and Selig Upholstery. He was named chairman and CEO of Simmons in 1989.
Among the awards he received was the Humanitarian of the Year Award presented by the City of Hope in 1988.
Magnusson is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son, and six grandchildren.
-
Bob Magnusson, Former Simmons CEO
Apr 6, 2011
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
