Lauren West
Natuzzi Americas, SVP of Sales and Marketing, Brad Cates announced that Lauren West as the new Communications Director for Natuzzi Americas.
Natuzzi Group offers three distinct and separate branded product lines in North and South America. Previous to this appointment, Lauren developed and implemented a highly effective Retail Sales Training System reaching over 2000 associates to date.
Additionally, Lauren has pioneered international instructional training programs for Natuzzi Group which include a range of course materials for conducting educational seminars, workshops and events, allowing retailer’s and partners to maintain on-going educational efforts.
Supplementing the overall education strategy within the Natuzzi Group, Lauren assumed a leadership role in the development and execution of Natuzzi America’s social media strategy. Her expertise in communication and content development has been vital to launching Corporate Social Media Strategy and its execution, including management, implementation, community engagement, reputation measurement and monitoring.
Lauren has been recognized by the industry for Excellence in Education – Withit nomination 2010, and she is now responsible for managing and directing internal and external communications for all three Natuzzi Group brands; communication strategy, public relations, content production, and media contact for the Natuzzi America's organization.
Also, Natuzzi Italy’s SVP of Sales and Marketing for the America’s, Brad Cates has appointed a team for Natuzzi Italy, Natuzzi Group’s premium, Italian lifestyle brand.
In this new role, the regional “BBDM’s” will have responsibility for creating, communicating and delivering value and assuring growth for Natuzzi Italy partners in key market segments in the Americas.
"We're transforming the Natuzzi Italy platform from a product-focused organization to a lifestyle-focused one," Cates said. "Natuzzi Italy’s marketing leadership and experience position our new team very well to lead that transformation for us." Cates and his new team will develop and deploy best practices, processes and tools for Natuzzi Italy’s sales and marketing strategies.
Cates has named the following appointments to his Americas Natuzzi Italy BBDM leadership team:
Jennifer Williams - Southeastern US
- Previous experience as a factory sales representative, showroom / tradeshow manager and executive positions with American Leather
- Most recently served in an executive role with Natuzzi Americas
Tim Luscher - Northeastern US
- Previous experience as owner operator of furniture manufacturer and in retail design
- Currently holds several product design awards and is a guest professor for a university level interior design course
Kendra Keller - Western US
- Previous experience working with small business development as part of the Federal Reserve
- Most recently managed a territory level business development for RJ Reynolds
"As we transform our platform from a product line focus to a lifestyle focus, these highly capable professionals and their teams will provide a complete offering of strategic sales and marketing services for our partners and markets", said Cates. "Jen, Tim and Kendra are the best at what they do to grow our business, and we look forward to the significant impacts they will bring to our Natuzzi Italy partnership programs reach for excellence.”
About Natuzzi Group: Founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, Natuzzi S.p.A. designs and manufactures a broad collection of residential upholstered furniture. With consolidated revenues of EUR 515.4 million in 2009, Natuzzi is Italy's largest furniture manufacturer. Natuzzi Group exports its innovative high-quality sofas and armchairs to 123 markets on five continents. Cutting-edge design, superior Italian craftsmanship and advanced, vertically integrated manufacturing operations underpin the Company's market leadership. Natuzzi S.p.A. has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 1993. The Company is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.