American Leather Promotes Three Executives To Vice President

Furniture World News

AMERICAN LEATHER, design leader and manufacturer of custom upholstered premium leather furniture, announced the promotion of three Vice Presidents this week, a move which strengthens the executive leadership of the company.    Matthew Hayward has been named Vice President of Marketing. In this capacity, Hayward will be responsible for managing the company’s marketing team as well as implementing the strategic direction of all marketing initiatives for American Leather and au (American Upholstery), the fabric division Hayward helped found in 2004.  He will continue to be based in Dallas at the American Leather headquarters, and reports to Cary Benson, president and Chief Marketing Officer.  Hayward, who has worked in various sales and marketing capacities for American Leather for 11 years, was named National Sales Manager of the new au division in the spring of 2004.  In this role, he has been responsible for establishing new accounts and managing the national sales of this new division for American Leather.  Hayward will continue to support this function in his new position as well. "Matthew has been with American Leather for more than a decade, and therefore brings tremendous internal experience and a continued enthusiasm for the growth of the company," said Benson.  "From the earliest days of the company to the established consumer brand that we are today, Matthew has been instrumental is helping American Leather and au achieve their marketing and sales objectives. He has earned the opportunity to take the national marketing program to a new level, both with consumers and with our retail customers."                 Martin Gibson has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, following his previous role as Operations Manager.  Having joined the company in October 2004, Gibson brought more than 12 years experience in the semi-conductor industry, which included the startup and initial staffing of two production facilities, and operations management experience in Europe and California.   He was involved in the production of highly customized equipment used to manufacture semi-conductor chips for such companies as Intel and AMD.   In his position for American Leather, Gibson is responsible for overseeing all factory operations and maintaining quality standards throughout the manufacturing process. He reports to CEO Bob Duncan. Under Gibson’s leadership, American Leather experienced record shipment levels in 2005 while achieving the highest efficiencies and quality levels in the company’s history, according to Duncan.       “Martin has brought tremendous operational efficiency to the manufacturing operations of American Leather,” said Duncan. “His strong background in mass customization and range of manufacturing experience has allowed him to introduce new systems and processes that have helped us improve our production capacity and also continue to improve the quality of product that we provide to our customers worldwide.”     Kelly Montgomery has been named Vice President of Finance and Administration for the company.  As former Controller, Montgomery has been with American Leather for more than seven years.   Montgomery will continue to have responsibility for accounting including accounts receivable and credit, accounts payable, financial reporting and oversight of human resources and benefits.  He also manages the company’s banking relationships, insurance, tax filings and treasury functions.  He reports to Sanjay Chandra, President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to American Leather, Montgomery was with Price Waterhouse in public accounting and in the building materials industry with Standard Gypsum, a subsidiary of Temple-Inland and Caraustar.   He holds a BBA in Finance and a Masters in Professional Accountancy both from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a CPA since 1984.   Montgomery represents the company as a director for the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s finance division. “Our company has enjoyed steady growth each year through the use of prudent financial management and successful utilization of our balance sheet,” said Chandra.   “Kelly has been instrumental in managing the financial and administrative parts of the company through an extended period of tremendous growth, and will continue to play a critical role in the future growth of both American Leather and au.”   Founded in 1990, AMERICAN LEATHER is a manufacturer of custom upholstered premium leather furniture, and is recognized as one of the leaders of high quality, custom designed and innovative leather furniture.  Its fabric division, au (American Upholstery) was founded in 2003 with the purpose of tapping into the enormous fabric upholstery furniture market, while focusing on the durability and longevity of producing made-to-order furniture that meets the lifestyle demands of today’s busy consumer.  The company manufactures and ships its line of contemporary, transitional and traditional leather, Ultrasuede® and fabric upholstery worldwide.  AMERICAN LEATHER and au showcase its line in Dallas and at the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, NC