Chief Executive Officer
Charlie Eitel is the CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding, a leading global sleep company with a 150-year heritage and owner of the Serta, Beautyrest, Tuft & Needle and Simmons brands. Charlie leads SSB’s thousands of associates as the company executes its strategy to regain market leadership with a focus on leading with innovation and investing in its brands, enhancing retail partner relationships, and providing industry-leading quality and service.
Charlie is an experienced industry leader with deep retailer and supplier relationships and an appreciation for SSB’s competitive environment. He joined SSB as CEO in July 2023, marking the beginning of his second tenure with the company as he had previously served as CEO of Simmons Bedding from 2000 to 2008 and as Vice Chairman from 2008 to 2010. Under Charlie’s leadership, Simmons experienced significant growth and established its position as a global sleep solutions pioneer.
Throughout his career, Charlie has held CEO, COO and Chairman roles at private and public companies, and has a proven track record in driving company turnarounds and delivering sales growth. Prior to returning to SSB, he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for Cenergistic, an environmental services company that partners with organizations ranging from educational institutions to healthcare companies to facilitate utility savings. Prior to that, he was CEO and Chairman of WS Packaging Group, one of the largest printing and label-converting operators in North America. Previous roles include serving as President and COO of Interface, Inc., where he oversaw the worldwide expansion of the company to become the innovation leader in carpet tile, and as President and CEO of Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings, Inc.
Charlie currently is on the Board of Directors of American Fidelity Assurance Company and is active in many civic and professional organizations including World Presidents’ Organization and Points of Light Foundation. He is the former Chairman of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) and previously held board positions at Mattress Firm Holding Corp and City Mattress, a leading retail innovator.
Charlie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University.
Chief Sales Officer
Dominick (Dom) Azevedo is the Chief Sales Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In this role, Dom oversees SSB’s commercial operations across North America.
Dom joined SSB in June 2023, bringing more than 30 years of bedding marketing, merchandising, and sales experience to the company. He most recently served as VP of Merchandising and New Business Development at City Mattress, a regional mattress retailer with a presence in Florida and New York. Prior to that, he held several additional senior leadership roles in the industry including EVP of Sales and Marketing at E.S. Kluft & Company and CEO and President of Advanced Sleep Concepts.
Dom’s appointment to Chief Sales Officer of SSB marks his return to the company. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at Simmons Bedding Company in various sales leadership positions ultimately serving as EVP of Sales, overseeing the division.
Dom attended Jersey City State College and completed the Executive Retail Management Training Program at High Point University.
Chief Operations Officer
Robert (Rob) Burch is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Serta Simmons Bedding. In this role, Rob is responsible for leading all aspects of the operations team, including the company’s manufacturing network.
Rob brings decades of operations leadership experience to SSB. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Operations for Simmons Bedding Company responsible for manufacturing, logistics and sourcing, and new product development. In this role, he architected the Simmons Production System – with a focus on lean manufacturing – which drove significant improvements in lead times, quality, and cost performance.
Rob came to SSB from Kindel Grand Rapids Furniture Company, a luxury residential furniture brand, where he served as President and CEO and led a turnaround strategy to reenergize its brands. He began his career at Steelcase Inc., a leading global producer of office furniture, where he spent more than 25 years in positions of increasing responsibility across product development and North American manufacturing. Throughout his career, Rob has also held senior leadership roles at several management consulting companies.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is also certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM).
Chief Innovation Officer
Brian Dengler is the Chief Innovation Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) and is responsible for innovation strategy, R&D and product development, aesthetics, and advanced engineering.
Brian has more than 30 years of innovation and product development experience. He has held senior leadership roles at Yeti, where he owned the product roadmap, driving the company’s future vision and path beyond coolers, as well as at Newell Brands, where he led global development and innovation, and paved the way for new technology for the Calphalon brand.
He joined SSB in 2023 from Instant Brands, a global manufacturer of kitchen and homeware appliances, where he served as Senior Vice President, Product Development and led global product development and quality for Instant Pot, Pyrex, Chicago Cutlery, Corelle and CorningWare. Brian earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the University of Cincinnati.
Chief Financial Officer
John Linker is the Chief Financial Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In this role, John is responsible for all of SSB’s financial functions, inclusive of accounting, financial planning and analysis, internal audit, tax and treasury. He also oversees the company’s information technology and information security functions.
John joined SSB in April 2022, bringing more than 25 years of finance leadership experience to the company. He came to SSB from JELD-WEN Holding, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of windows and doors, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. While at JELD-WEN, John led 15 acquisitions, coordinated the company’s initial public offering, and built a high-performing team.
Prior to JELD-WEN, John held corporate development and finance leadership roles in the Aerospace Systems Division of United Technologies Corporation and its predecessor Goodrich Corporation. Earlier in his career, John was an investment banker with Wells Fargo Securities and a consultant for Accenture.
John serves on the board of directors of HC Government Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust focused on federally leased properties. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and international studies from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
Kristen McGuffey is the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In her role, Kristen oversees all legal responsibilities for SSB’s operations, as well as corporate governance, compliance, intellectual property, litigation and privacy. Kristen become Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of SSB in 2010 following the merger of Serta and Simmons. Previously, she held the same role at Simmons, which she first joined in 2001 as Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary.
Prior to joining Simmons, Kristen was Executive Vice President, General Counsel at Viewlocity, a global supply chain management software company. Before that role, she served as a Partner at Morris, Manning & Martin in its Technology Law Practice. Earlier in her career, Kristen was an associate at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker, where she worked on corporate legal and litigation matters.
Kristen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Kettering Institute (formerly GMI Engineering Management Institute), a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Esther Ni is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In this role, Esther is responsible for all human resources functions including compensation and benefits, diversity, equity and inclusion, employee culture and engagement, leadership development, organizational design and talent management. She joined SSB in 2019 and has held a variety of leadership roles most recently serving as Senior Vice President of HR for the company’s operations division.
Esther came to SSB from Acuity Brands, an industrial technology company that provides lighting solutions, where she served as Vice President of HR among other HR leadership roles. Esther began her career in HR working at Target and General Mills.
Esther earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Chief Marketing Officer
Tim Oakhill is the Chief Marketing Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In this role, Tim is responsible for leading the SSB portfolio of brands, along with brand marketing strategy and activation, insights, creative and media. He also oversees the company’s licensing business.
Tim rejoined SSB in July 2023, having previously served in several marketing leadership roles at Simmons Bedding from 1998 – 2011, culminating in his role as Chief Marketing Officer. While in this role, Tim drove significant growth of the product and brand platforms including the development of the non-flip product design that ultimately changed the entire industry, and the introduction of Beautyrest Black collection.
Tim is a seasoned marketer with extensive experience building brands and driving product development in the bedding industry. Tim founded one of the industry’s first direct-to-consumer brands, Yogabed. He also served as EVP, Brand Management at Mattress Firm.
Outside the bedding industry, Tim has held several additional senior marketing leadership roles including as Chief Marketing Officer at Cenergistic, an environmental services company that partners with organizations ranging from educational institutions to healthcare companies to facilitate utility saving, and as Worldwide Chief Marketing Strategist at IBM Watson Marketing.
Tim earned his Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Carolina and his M.B.A from the University of Virginia.
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