Joseph D. Harris Named Director of Business Development – Residential Furnishings at Leggett

Furniture World News

Fortune 500 diversified manufacturer Leggett & Platt announced the appointment of five individuals to newly created business development positions. These appointments are consistent with the company’s intent, as disclosed on September 6, to dedicate additional staff and resources toward growth and innovation. These individuals will report directly to their Segment President, and will dedicate 100% of their time toward ensuring that the segment achieves profitable growth, through both internal expansion and external acquisitions. Collectively, this group of five brings a set of impressive backgrounds and credentials to their new roles. All five individuals possess significant M&A and / or business development experience. In addition to their work while at Leggett, they bring transactional knowledge from previous roles as investment bankers and legal advisors, as well as experience within other corporate M&A departments. These five individuals collectively hold 8 advanced degrees – three possess an M.B.A.; three have a degree in law. Four of the five achieved their undergraduate degrees with honors (e.g. magna cum laude, summa cum laude) in fields of study that include economics, accounting, management, law and philosophy. Joseph D. Harris, age 33, was appointed Director of Business Development – Residential Furnishings, reporting to Paul Hauser. For the past 7 years Joe has worked in Leggett’s M&A Department, advancing to the position of Assistant Director while gaining experience in all phases of domestic and international acquisition and divestiture transactions in the manufacturing sector. Since early 1999, Joe has evaluated over 150 acquisitions with combined revenues in excess of $4.5 billion. Prior to his work at Leggett, Joe worked in M&A roles for Sprint Corporation and Koch Pipeline Company. He also has experience with Koch Oil Company as a market analyst. Joe possesses both an M.B.A. (1996) and a B.S. in Management, With Honors (1995), from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. Jay M. Thompson, age 34, was appointed Director of Business Development – Commercial Fixturing & Components, reporting to Dennis Park. Jay joined Leggett & Platt in 2003 as an attorney in the Legal Department at the company’s Carthage headquarters. In 2005 he accepted a position within operations, becoming a Staff Vice President in the Fixture & Display Group; earlier this year he became General Manager at one of the fixture manufacturing facilities. Prior to joining Leggett, Jay spent 2 years as inside counsel for Centex Development Company, L.P., and 3 years practicing law, with a concentration in real estate acquisitions, development, leasing and financing, for the Dallas law firm of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. Jay earned a B.A. in Economics (1994) from the University of Missouri, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and a J.D. (1997) from the University of Pennsylvania. Steffan B. Sarkin, age 46, was appointed Vice President of Business Development – Aluminum Products, reporting to Dan Hebert. For the last decade Steffan has overseen all segment-level merger, acquisition, and divestiture activity for Leggett’s Aluminum Products segment. He possesses significant global transactional knowledge, with “on the ground” experience in China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, Europe, Canada and South Africa. Steffan’s prior work experience includes 6 years with the investment banking firm Llama Company as Senior VP of M&A, 2 years with investment bankers Copeland, Wickersham, Wiley & Co. as VP of Corporate Finance, and 2 years as an attorney with the law firm Webber, Wentzel & Co. in Johannesburg, South Africa. Steffan has a Master of Laws LLM degree in Economics and International Law (1986) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He possesses three degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg: a Masters in Corporate Law (1984), a Bachelor of Laws LLB (1982), and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Law and Philosophy (1980). C. David Brown, age 34, was appointed Director of Business Development – Industrial Materials, reporting to Joe Downes. Prior to this appointment David worked for one year as an analyst in Leggett’s Investor Relations Department, supporting the company’s communication and strategy efforts. He also spent two years as an analyst in Leggett’s M&A Department, where he worked on several key transactions and strategic studies. Prior to joining Leggett, David worked for 4 years in the derivatives trading operations of Koch Industries, Inc., a $60 billion privately held diversified industrial company. In that role, David managed valuation and modeling of large derivative positions, and executed derivative transactions. David’s prior work experience also includes 3 years of service as a police officer for the city of Wichita, Kansas, where he was awarded the Department’s Bronze Wreath of Merit. David earned a B.S. in Accounting (1994) from Missouri State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University’s Honor College, and an M.B.A. (2000) from the University of Arkansas. J. Mitchell Dolloff, age 41, was appointed Director of Business Development – Specialized Products, reporting to Jack Crusa. Mitch began work with Leggett in 2000 as a Director in the M&A Department. In 2002 he moved to operations, where he currently serves as President of the $200 million Tubular Products Unit (in the Industrial Materials segment). Prior to Leggett, his experience includes 3 years in senior operating and corporate development positions with UnionTools, Inc.; and, 6 years in New York with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, during which he completed over 30 M&A and securities transactions. Mitch possesses both an M.B.A. (2004) and a J.D. (1991) from Vanderbilt University, and a B.A. in Economics (1988), Magna Cum Laude, from Westminster College. COMPANY DESCRIPTION: Leggett & Platt is a FORTUNE 500 diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, retail store, and automobile. The company serves a broad suite of customers that comprise a “Who’s Who” of U.S. manufacturers and retailers. The 123-year-old firm is composed of 29 business units, 34,000 employee-partners, and more than 300 facilities located in over 20 countries. Leggett & Platt is North America’s leading independent manufacturer of: a) components for residential furniture and bedding; b) retail store fixtures and point of purchase displays; c) components for office furniture; d) non-automotive aluminum die castings; e) drawn steel wire; f) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; g) carpet underlay; h) adjustable beds; and i) bedding industry machinery for wire forming, sewing and quilting. Primary raw materials include steel and aluminum. Main operations include metal stamping, forming, casting, machining, coating, welding, wire drawing, and assembly.