Serta Simmons Holdings LLC today announced the appointment of Mark Baron to the new position of executive vice president of operations. Previously, Baron was Simmons Bedding Co. executive vice president of operations. Baron assumes oversight of operations functions for both the Serta and Simmons brands, effective immediately. He is responsible for planning and executing a strategic transformation in operations to create greater efficiency and effectiveness through a combination of shared resources and an allocation of distinct resources dedicated to each brand, a news release said.
“We are very fortunate to have Mark on board to lead this change in our business,” said Gary Fazio, Serta Simmons Holdings chief executive officer. “The creation of a shared operations team is an integral part of our vision of creating a common corporate group supporting the Serta and Simmons brands, each of which will continue to be managed independently, keeping the focus on delivering innovative products and differentiated service to our customers. Mark possesses a vast knowledge of manufacturing operations. His previous experience leading successful organizational transformations will be invaluable in his new role at Serta Simmons Holdings.”
Commenting on his new role, Baron said, “I’m excited about this opportunity to bring together two of the very best groups of operational leaders in this industry and create one united, winning team. We will focus on developing a world class operations model that supports the delivery of innovative products for each brand and will continue our tradition of exceeding consumer expectations.”
Concurrently, it was announced that Jay Patel, former Serta vice president and chief manufacturing officer, was promoted to senior vice president of manufacturing for Serta Simmons Holdings. He has responsibility for 40 North American mattress manufacturing plants and reports to Baron.
“Jay has held key leadership roles at Serta for more than 24 years, most of which have been as head of operations, and his knowledge and experience will be crucial as we move forward,” Fazio said. “With Mark and Jay, as well as the rest of our leadership team, we intend to deliver enhanced service levels to our channel customers, which we believe will give us the leverage we need to grow as the leader in our industry.”
