Tom Dixon has a new CEO, Yardzen’s recent hire from Meta and more
Comings & Goings | Oct 2, 2023
As autumn begins, a fresh slate of industry professionals is gearing up for a new chapter of their career journey. Read on for BOH’s monthly roundup of arrivals and departures in design, manufacturing and media.
To the Trade
British design brand Tom Dixon named Henry Jones as CEO. Jones previously served as managing director at Hay and senior vice president at parent company MillerKnoll, in addition to similar positions held at textile giant Himatsingka and renowned British brand Designers Guild. As leader of Tom Dixon, he will oversee the brand’s next chapter, returning to his home city of London for the role after several years of leading internationally based companies in the design field. “Henry is an industry leader and I’m delighted to welcome him to the hyper-mobile world of Tom Dixon,” company founder and creative director Tom Dixon said in a statement. “Even after 20 years, we still feel like the industry upstart, brimming with ideas and opportunity. Henry’s proven commercial leadership, along with a deep knowledge of our industry and a global network, is just what we have been seeking for the next chapter of our story.”
Heller announced the appointment of Paolo Cravedi as vice president of wholesale. An industry veteran, Cravedi most recently served as president of Calligaris Group Americas, prior to which he held positions across a variety of design and lifestyle brands, including managing director of Alessi U.S. and president of Moleskine America. He also serves as the current secretary of the nonprofit advocacy group Be Original Americas. In the new role, Cravedi will oversee product sales and distribution to the brand’s independent specialty stores.
True Residential tapped Wes Lind as the showroom manager of the company’s new flagship showroom in New York. Lind brings more than 15 years of industry experience to his new role, most recently as showroom manager for luxury Spanish surface company Cosentino. His responsibilities will include establishing the location as a hub for educational programming for trade, product training and demonstrations, as well as events for the design community and customers.
Elk Home promoted three team members: Lauren Heamon, Kerry Rader and Sophie Sallinger. Heamon, who has been the national sales manager since joining the company in 2020, will now serve as vice president of sales, and will continue to oversee and drive sales for the company’s home decor category. Rader, who joined the company in 2014 as the Atlanta showroom manager, has been promoted to national showroom manager, overseeing all of Elk Home’s permanent showrooms across Dallas, Las Vegas and High Point, North Carolina. Sallinger, who has served as national account manager since 2021, will step into the role of vice president of sales for national accounts, continuing to expand the brand’s key account portfolio.
Glen Raven welcomed Charlie Withers as its new shade and marine sales director. With more than 20 years of experience in both sales and engineering, Withers will oversee sales and customer relationships for Glen Raven’s shade and marine markets.
Wexler Gallery welcomed Lana Masor as the new gallery manager of its showroom at the New York Design Center. Masor most recently headed up her own two-pronged company Maison Masor, consisting of a specialty service for artists, art enthusiasts and collectors, as well as a dedicated home and commercial interior design firm.
Design & Architecture
Outdoor design and build platform Yardzen announced several changes at the top, naming Sara Brooks as the company’s new chief marketing officer and Tara Syed as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Brooks brings more than 18 years of experience to her role, most recently serving as senior vice president of growth marketing at The RealReal, and will oversee lead growth, sales and marketing. Syed, a data-driven technology executive, has served as senior director of commerce at Meta and head of data science at Pinterest; in her new position, she will lead Yardzen’s operations, finance and product engineering.
Atlanta-based architecture firm Moody Nolan welcomed Garfield Peart as its director of operations. Peart’s experience consists largely of projects in aviation and government—industries he plans to champion in his new role—as well as a position as program management officer for the City of Atlanta and a seven-year tenure as a member of the Urban Design Commission, where he advocated for preservation, particularly within Black and underserved communities.
Morris Adjmi Architects recently brought on Helen Billson as its new director of operations. A trained architect and associate member of the American Institute of Architects, Billson joins the firm with more than two decades of experience in the industry. In her role, Billson establishes and manages project staffing resources, and ensures the standards of design deliverables, while bringing expertise in flood resiliency planning.
Casey Kent joined the Austin studio of global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will as its new corporate, commercial, civic and cultural practice leader. In the new position, Kent will focus on identifying opportunities for the studio, particularly those that advance sustainability and wellness in the Central Texas region. He brings more than 15 years of experience in the industry and is a specialist in sustainable building strategies.
Retail & Manufacturing
Italian lighting manufacturer Flos named Barbara Corti chief creative officer. Since 2017, Corti has served as global chief marketing officer at the legacy Italian lighting house—now she will step into the newly created CCO role, tasked with setting Flos’s creative strategy for the development of product lines in every division, as well as leading content creation strategies throughout the brand’s online and offline channels.
BSH Home Appliances Corporation announced Stefan Koss as president and CEO of North America—a position previously held by Christofer von Nagel, who has retired from his 33-year tenure. Koss brings more than 24 years of experience at BSH to his new role, having most recently served as vice president of controlling, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate at the global headquarters within Robert Bosch GmbH, the parent company of BSH Home Appliances Group. As president and CEO, Koss will also serve on the board of management for the North American region, and will be responsible for driving the company’s growth and managing business operations.
Bonhams auction house expanded its modern decorative art and design team with the addition of Derya Baydur, who joins the business as head of sales in New York. Bringing more than 12 years of experience in the decorative arts field, Baydur previously worked at Sotheby’s as vice president of sales for the auctioneer’s e-commerce marketplace Buy Now. In her new role, Baydur will collaborate with Bonhams’s global team to expand the modern decorative art and design department’s network and offerings in New York.
Industry Organizations
The Sustainable Furnishings Council welcomed new board member Amy Lynn Schwartzbard, founder of The Kaleidoscope Project. Schwartzbard’s experience in the industry includes more than 25 years as a residential interior designer and 16 years as a home furnishings retailer through Hollywood, Florida–based shop Over the Moon.
Jon Jacoby was named the new CEO of nonprofit organization GoodWeave International. In assuming the role, Jacoby will replace Nina Smith—the organization’s founding CEO, who led GoodWeave for the past 24 years before announcing her planned departure earlier this year. Jacoby brings significant expertise in responsible business to the role, having previously led grant-making at the Open Society Foundations, which advances human rights for vulnerable workers in corporate supply chains, as well as managed U.S. and global teams at anti-poverty coalition Oxfam. To ensure a smooth leadership transition, Smith will continue serving GoodWeave in an advisory capacity through the end of the year.
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