Bringing creativity, business savvy and cutting-edge practices to a new era at the bedding giant
Change has been the engine of Jim Ross’s life since childhood. As the son of an Air Force pilot, he relocated with his family 23 times by the time he started college. His career in the home furnishings and mattress industries spawned additional moves, all of which, Ross says, he embraced enthusiastically.
“I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to live in a variety of places,” he says. “I love change and (finding out about) things that are new and different.”
It was this penchant for change that served Ross well as he embarked upon the business career that, in his mind at the time, was a clear second choice for his life’s work.
“I thought that I wanted to be in performing arts, but my father took me by the shoulders and explained that I needed to be able to support myself,” he says.
| BRIEFLY | |
| Name | Jim Ross |
| Company | Simmons Bedding Co. |
| Location | Atlanta |
| Education | Ross studied performing arts at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., from 1975 to 1978. In 2009, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in management from Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC. |
| Family | Ross and his wife Dawn have been married for 15 years. He has a daughter who is a student at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. |
Ross’s first job out of college, working for Gordon Segal, the co-founder of Crate & Barrel, set the stage for a business career that embraced creative change as much as he did.
“Crate & Barrel wasn’t a powerhouse yet and Segal was just thinking about opening a furniture store,” says Ross. “His thing was to create theater in the retail (environment) and I developed my passion for design (while working for him).”
Indeed, it was his flair for design that paved the way for his entry into the mattress industry.
“I had gone to work for Breuners, a high-end furniture store, in 1982, because I wanted to get back to California,” says Ross. “Stearns & Foster noticed me and recruited me in 1985.”
Shortly thereafter, Sealy purchased Stearns & Foster, and Ross spent the next 10 years moving up the ranks. In 1996, he became vice president of marketing for Stearns & Foster and began an odyssey that would make his name in the mattress industry.
Ross’s task was to transform Stearns & Foster from a mainstream brand into a luxury one — and he was given carte blanche to do it.
“I was told that I had nothing to lose and to swing for the fence,” he says. “I did just that.”
Ross’s approach was to study European luxury brands and to take his time revamping the line. His success was dramatic: When Sealy acquired Stearns & Foster, the company was posting $45 million in sales; six years later, the brand was bringing in upward of $250 million annually.
In 2006, Ross left Sealy for Kingsdown, where he worked as vice president of marketing for four years. In May 2011, he joined Simmons.
Although to date he is most proud of his Stearns & Foster success, it is clear that Ross thinks Simmons offers him the opportunity to do even greater things.
“What I did at Stearns & Foster had an impact on how beds are designed (industry-wide),” says Ross. “People say: ‘That looks like something Jim did,’ and it makes me smile. My goal, however, is to come up with a mattress design that’s so iconic that it is (added to) The Museum of Modern Art.”
Six months after Ross joined Simmons, the company’s research and development function was reorganized and a new Sleep Insights and Innovation Department formed.
Ross, who had been senior vice president of sales operations, became senior vice president of design and Innovation, and was charged with managing all product aesthetics and design, and with sourcing emerging innovations. He sees it as the right move at the right time.
“We are at a watershed moment in product development,” says Ross. “Companies like Apple have really changed the game, and consumers are expecting innovation in areas where they may not have expected it before.”
To foster innovation, Ross developed a creative space at the Simmons Technology and Advanced Research Center (STAR) at the company’s Atlanta headquarters.
Ross relaxes in the Simmons Technology and Advanced Research Center
“We wanted to drive innovation and creativity, but when I looked around, every meeting place was corporate conference space,” he says. “We created a space that looks like someone’s really cool living room and is all about having conversations. It’s a safe place to talk about cutting-edge products. The conversation doesn’t always have to be rational. If you start with the rational, you may miss what will delight and surprise.”
Ross has also taken a page out of European manufacturers’ playbooks by creating a “purpose driven” design department.
“We’re trying to look at design differently from the way our industry usually does,” he explains. “Instead of picking from available fabrics, we’re going to our fabric partners with a design brief. We’ve also begun working with our suppliers (to develop components that give) the benefits consumers are looking for.”
The approach has been productive. The team has already brought Beautyrest Recharge and Recharge World Class mattresses to market. Ross says that he plans to “bring out three new product lines and a couple of new technologies” at the January 2014 market in Las Vegas.
Jim Ross, it seems, has found a path through life that merges the creativity of his right brain with the analytical strengths of his left.
“I look at my job this way: I’m still performing, just on a different stage,” he says. “I see a mattress as a 60-inch by 80-inch canvas that will elicit a response from a consumer.”
| Travel perspectives Ross travels extensively both for business and pleasure. He enjoys spending time immersed in other cultures and learning how perspectives differ throughout the world. While he’s been to most of the places on his “have to see” list, he says if there was one destination he’d like to experience that he hasn’t, it would be Mt. Everest. “Great view and great accomplishment all in one!” he explains.
His true fantasy is to travel with the president, however. “It would be fascinating to have that inside view of how the U.S. and other countries interact at that level,” he says. “You could witness history in the making and travel on Air Force One. How cool would that be!” |
|
| Cherished possessions Ross’s most cherished possessions include pictures of his father from his early days in the Air Force.“I have wonderful pictures of him on the flight line getting ready to fly B-52s off the coast of Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis,” he says. | |
| Taking the stage Having a creative outlet has always been important to Ross. He has performed with the Boston Symphony Chorale, participated in community theater productions, and has performed in Handel’s ‘Messiah’ more than 100 times. | |
| Defining success Ross thinks people who are able to merge with their jobs are destined to be professionally successful.“Professional success (comes from having) a real passion for what you’re doing and a real ownership for it,” he says. “For me, the ownership is the most important. Folks whose identity is expressed through what they’re trying to accomplish — those are the successful people.”
He defines personal success quite differently, however. “I feel successful when the folks around me are realizing their goals,” he says. “I want my daughter to find as much success and enjoyment in her career as I have in mine. My goal is to help her. That’s exciting!” |
|
| Getting the job done Ross goes after every goal he has in the same way.“You set a goal, make a plan, develop a strategy, and you’ll get there,” he says.
He points to two examples from his life to prove his point. As a young man, he was very nervous about flying, and his plan to cure that was to get his pilot’s license. And when an ACL injury at 40 ended his basketball playing days, Ross took up running. Within a year of the injury, he ran his first marathon. “I told myself that if I was going to do marathons, I had to qualify for the Boston Marathon,” he says. “I set my goal, made my plan (and now) I’ve done 13 marathons.” |
|
| A surprise “I’ve never eaten a donut,” he says. “That may not surprise people who know that I’m very fitness-minded, but I’ve managed to get through life without a Krispy Kreme.” |
