Serta Simmons Bedding Announces New Supply Chain and Operations Roles
Doraville, GA – September 23, 2021 – Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC (“SSB”), one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of mattresses in North America, recently announced two organizational enhancements that will accelerate its industry-leading Supply Chain journey.
Heather Decker now serves as the company’s newly created Senior Vice President of Central Operations. Heather, who joined SSB in 2020, is responsible for centrally driving the processes, systems, capabilities, and investments across 27 plants in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, she continues to serve as Chief of Staff for the company’s Direct-to-Consumer business and Operations organization and leads its Partnerships, Data Science and Analytics, and Transformation teams.
Heather has over 20 years of experience in merchandising, buying, product development, digital transformation, and direct-to-consumer operations. Prior to joining SSB, she served as Chief Merchant of Hayneedle, a digitally-native Home Specialty retailer that was acquired by Walmart in 2017.
Rory O’Kane joins SSB as its new Vice President of Operations for the Southeast. Rory is responsible for driving operational excellence, safety, quality, service, and cost across eight manufacturing facilities. He oversees continuous improvement, lean manufacturing initiatives, and talent development for the region.
Rory joins SSB with over 30 years of extensive Supply Chain experience in domestic and international supply chains for billion-dollar organizations. Rory recently served as Senior Vice President of Operations for Cornerstone Building Brands, where he was responsible for Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Engineering.
“The world continues to rapidly change and it’s critical we drive operational excellence in everything we do, which starts with great leadership and role models,” said Shelley Huff, COO, Serta Simmons Bedding and CEO, Tuft and Needle. “I’m confident Heather and Rory’s expertise and industry knowledge will help us deliver even better on our mission to provide innovative sleep solutions to our consumers, all while creating a great workplace where our employees can grow their careers.”
ABOUT SERTA SIMMONS BEDDING, LLC
Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC is one of the largest manufacturers, marketers, and suppliers of mattresses in North America. Based in Atlanta, SSB owns and manages two of the best-selling bedding brands in the mattress industry: Serta®, which has five other independent licensees, and Beautyrest®. The brands are distributed through national, hospitality, and regional and independent retail channels throughout North America. SSB also owns the Simmons® brand and Tuft & Needle® direct-to-consumer mattress brand. SSB operates 27 plants in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about SSB and its brands, visit www.sertasimmons.com.