Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Swift is the current Chairman and CEO of Dawn Holdings, Inc. (Serta Simmons Bedding). Mr. Swift became Chairman of SSB in April of 2013 and was appointed CEO of the Company in April of 2019. Previously, Mr. Swift served as Executive Business Partner at Advent International from August 2014 to August of 2019. Prior to this, Mr. Swift was President and Chief Executive Officer, and Board Member, of Goodman Manufacturing from April 2008 to April 2014.
Following Daikin’s acquisition of Goodman, Mr. Swift was a member of the Board of Directors of Daikin Industries, Limited (TSX: 6367), for over two years. Before joining Goodman, Mr. Swift served in a variety of senior leadership roles at Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR), most recently as President, and Board Member, of Whirlpool from December 2005. Before joining Whirlpool in October 2001, Mr. Swift served as the President of Eastman Kodak Company’s Professional Group, prior to which he served as the Chairman and President of Kodak’s Greater Asian Region based in Shanghai, China for more than four years. Mr. Swift was non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cotiviti (NYSE: COTV) from 2014 through its sale in 2018 and non-Executive Chairman of ATI Physical Therapy from June 2016 through July of 2019.
He holds a B.A., with Honors, in Physics and Mathematics from Amherst College, a Master’s degree in Engineering from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and an MBA, with Honors, from Harvard Business School.
Chief of Staff
Ed Babrich was named Chief of Staff for Serta Simmons Bedding in October 2019. He leads development and implementation of the company’s business system that will help SSB achieve its strategic business priorities.
Ed joined SSB from Advent International, the private equity firm that is majority owner of SSB. Ed served as Director in the Portfolio Support Group and had been the primary Advent support lead for SSB since 2018. Prior to joining Advent, Ed spent 11 years in transformation leadership roles, helping drive turnarounds at companies in the United States and Europe, including Bridgestone and Philips.
Earlier in his career, Ed held operational business roles at Thales Avionics, Arris, and Thomson CSF. He began his career as an officer in the United States Air Force and is a decorated Desert Storm veteran.
Ed earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Western New England College. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has a wealth of experience in Lean continuous improvement and program management.
Ed and his wife reside in Atlanta.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Barry Canipe joined the Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) leadership team as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in August 2019. In this role, Barry serves as strategic business partner to the CEO and is responsible for all aspects of the Company’s finances, including planning and analysis, accounting, risk management, treasury, tax and internal audit, as well as IT functions.
Barry is an experienced and operationally-oriented CFO with 30 years of finance experience. He has a strong track record of value creation and driving large-scale transformation. Barry most recently served as chief administrative officer and chief financial officer of Carestream Health, an international medical imaging systems company.
Prior to his roles with Carestream Health, Barry served in increasingly progressive finance roles with Allied Signal, Honeywell and American Standard Brands, among other organizations. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from James Madison University and a Master of Business Administration from the Darden Graduate Business School at the University of Virginia.
Executive Vice President of HR
Dan Goldblatt joined SSB in January 2019 as Executive Vice President of Human Resources and is responsible for the HR strategy supporting SSB’s business plan and strategic direction. He provides leadership and support for SSB’s transformation and growth.
Prior to joining SSB, Dan served as senior vice president of Human Resources for Acuity Brands Lighting, and was the key strategic business partner to President, CEO and CFO. He led the development of all HR strategies for key business functions and provided strategic guidance to the Board of Directors Compensation Committee.
Dan has specialized in HR for more than 20 years. Prior to Acuity, Dan held progressive HR leadership roles with Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Trucolor. He also has experience in manufacturing and distribution.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and United States History from Brown University of Providence, Rhode Island.
Chief Commercial Officer
Melanie Huet serves as Chief Commercial Officer for Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) with oversight of the company’s Marketing, Innovation and Sales organizations. Melanie and her team set and execute the strategies that bring SSB’s portfolio of brands to life—from concept to commercialization—and are also responsible for domestic and international licensing. Melanie joined SSB in January 2019 as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer responsible for all marketing and advertising initiatives for SSB’s house of brands and for delivering cutting edge products and technology across the portfolio.
Melanie has extensive marketing experience across multiple categories and disciplines within consumer packaged goods. She has a track record for building high performing teams, developing long-term strategies and consistently architecting and executing turnarounds in declining mature businesses. Most recently, Melanie was Vice President of Marketing, Beverages & Snack Nuts at Kraft Heinz Corporation, where she was responsible for a $4B portfolio including iconic brands like Planters, Capri Sun, Kool-Aid and Maxwell House.
Prior to Kraft Heinz, Melanie progressed through brand management roles at Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. While at Kimberly-Clark, she architected a transformation of PULL-UPS® training pants in North America that reversed several years of declining sales and share and returned the category and the brand to sustained healthy growth. During her tenure at Unilever, Melanie held various roles in Sales including head of Hair Care Sales overseeing a portfolio of 12 brands.
Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and German from the University of St. Thomas and a Master of Business Administration from the William E. Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.
Chief Operating Officer and CEO of Tuft & Needle
Shelley Huff serves as Chief Operating Officer for Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) and CEO of Tuft & Needle. In this role, Shelley oversees the company’s full Operations organization inclusive of Supply Chain, Direct to Consumer (DTC) and enterprise Customer Experience, and also leads the day-to-day management of Tuft & Needle. Shelley first joined SSB in July 2020 as Executive Vice President of Direct to Consumer (DTC) and CEO of Tuft & Needle and in her brief tenure has bolstered the company’s direct to consumer business across its portfolio of brands and significantly grown the Tuft & Needle brand.
Shelley has more than 15 years’ experience leading retail businesses, consulting with small businesses and startups, and serving on retail education boards. She is known for her passion for consumers and emerging trends in digital integration, building and leading high performing teams and delivering financial results. Prior to joining SSB, Shelley served as the president and CEO of Hayneedle.com, a Walmart company.
Prior to her role with Hayneedle.com, Shelley served in a variety of leadership roles within Walmart’s U.S. division and at Walmart eCommerce. She served as the vice president of Operations at Walmart eCommerce and as general manager of Home & Apparel at Walmart.com. In these roles, Shelley helped set the foundation for the future of Walmart’s eCommerce strategy by designing a new structure, building new capabilities and launching new brands. Prior to joining Walmart’s eCommerce division, Shelley was the vice president of the Housewares division for the continental U.S. in a portfolio she grew significantly, inclusive of Walmart’s first omnichannel brand launch in 2015. Shelley began her merchandising career with Walmart where she led a diverse set of businesses in her time as a buyer. In 2009, Shelley was promoted to director of strategy for seasonal merchandise where she led the go to market strategy for Walmart stores as well as reimagined small format prototypes.
A native Arizonan, Shelley serves as chair of the University of Arizona Alumni Association Governing Board, where she remains an advisor to the Terry J Lundgren Center for Retailing and the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is passionate about advocacy for public schools and, in addition to her board work at the University of Arizona, is a philanthropist for the Amphi Public School Foundation.
Shelley earned her bachelor’s degree with a technology emphasis in Retailing and Consumer Sciences from the University of Arizona, and her master’s degree from the Sam M. Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas. She was selected to participate in Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Next Generation conference (2016-2019) and is a former member of the Network of Executive Women.
Chief Sales Officer
Derek Miller serves as Chief Sales Officer for Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB). In this role, Derek directs all sales channels, leads and develops the Sales organization and drives SSB’s sales strategy to expand relationships with customers.
A 20+ year veteran of SSB, Derek first joined the company in 1998 in accounting for our Dallas, Texas factory. Derek became part of the SSB Sales organization in 2000 and rose through the ranks in various account management roles. In 2002, he became a Territory Manager for the north Texas region, and was later promoted to Strategic Account Manager in 2006. In 2011, Derek became a National Account Director. He was then promoted to Vice President of Sales in 2012, responsible for a division of SSB’s national accounts. In 2016, Derek was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales, with continued focus on driving SSB’s performance in the national account channel.
Derek holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications Studies from the University of North Texas.
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
Kristen McGuffey was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) in 2011 and Chief Legal Officer & Secretary in 2020. Kristen is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Serta, Beautyrest, Simmons and Tuft & Needle brands.
Kristen joined Simmons in November 2001 as Vice President, General Counsel & Assistant Secretary. Over the next ten years she served in positions of increasing responsibility including Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary in August 2002 and Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Simmons beginning March 2007.
Prior to joining Simmons, Kristen was Executive Vice President, General Counsel at Viewlocity, a global supply chain management software company. Before this role, she was a Partner at Morris, Manning & Martin in the Technology Law Practice. Kristen spent her early legal career as an associate at the firm of the Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker working on matters pertaining to complex litigation, white collar crime, and general corporate law.
She 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
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