Derek Ritzel
Mattress manufacturer Blue Bell, which has headquarters in East Windsor, Connecticut, and is majority owned by Landon Capital Partners, has named bedding veteran Derek Ritzel president and chief executive officer.
Ritzel succeeds Mark Kolovson, who has been named chair of Blue Bell’s board of directors.
Ritzel joined Blue Bell from Colonial LLC, where he was president. Prior to that, he was CEO of Pride Family Brands. Previously, Ritzel spent 24 years at Tempur Sealy International Inc. and at the former Sealy Inc. In his final post at the mattress major, he was chief operating officer of Tempur Sealy’s Canadian unit. Earlier, he held a number of sales, marketing and product development posts.
Chris Sullivan, managing partner of Landon Capital Partners and a Blue Bell board member, said: “The experience Derek brings to Blue Bell is very exciting. He is uniquely qualified to be the president and CEO at this inflection point of the company’s development. He’s played every important role in a large mattress company prior to his most recent CEO experience, and he has multiple decades of experience in the bedding category in sales, operations and managerial roles.”
Kolovson, a company principal who joined Blue Bell in 1982, had been CEO since 2000. He said: “Blue Bell has undergone tremendous growth and change during my 37 years here, and the company’s momentum will surely continue under Derek’s leadership. The company is in great hands, and I look forward to seeing new initiatives and continued growth with him at the helm.”
Commenting on his new position, Ritzel said: “This is a tremendous opportunity to lead a company that is a key player producing branded products, with its partnerships with King Koil, Laura Ashley and Natura, and has robust private-label bedding capabilities.”
