Serta’s Sherman and Bradford leave the company

Serta Simmons Holdings—formed in 2012 when Boston-based private equity firm Advent International purchased a majority stake in AOT Bedding Super Holdings, the parent company of National Bedding Co. (the majority owner and licensee of Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Serta) and Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Co.—has announced the sudden departure from mattress major Serta of husband and wife team, Bob Sherman, chief executive officer, and Barbara Bradford, senior vice president of marketing and merchandising. The two have left to pursue other interests, a news release from the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company said.

Gary Fazio, Simmons chief executive officer, was named chief executive officer of Serta Simmons Holdings. He is responsible for overseeing both the Serta and Simmons businesses, which will continue to maintain separate product development, marketing and sales divisions, according to a news release.

Sherman has spent his career in the mattress industry, getting his start at 16 delivering mattresses in his home state of Minnesota. He spent more than 25 years with Serta driving “a combination of groundbreaking product innovation, strong customer relationships, and operational excellence that led Serta to become the top mattress brand in the United States,” Serta Simmons Holdings said.

During Sherman’s tenure, Serta unseated rival Sealy as the No. 1 mattress brand in sales, thanks in large part to the wildly successful iComfort specialty sleep collection that launched in 2011. iComfort set an industry record by being the fastest bed brand to reach $1 billion in retail sales, the news release stated.

Bradford has a total of 42 years in the mattress industry and played a key role in the development of iComfort and other Serta branded collections, including Trump Home.

“Bob has been a true leader in the mattress industry,” said David Swift, Serta Simmons Holdings chairman. “On his path to building the leading brand in the mattress business, he also delivered one of the most successful product launches and some of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. We thank Bob for creating such a strong and lasting brand in Serta, and we’ll endeavor to build upon his legacy as we move forward.”

Fazio, a 41-year mattress-industry veteran who joined Simmons in 2010, said, “We have great people at Serta and Simmons. Together we will continue to lead the industry delivering innovative products, investing in all of our brands and providing differentiated services to our channel partners and end consumers.”

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