Lee Houston Joins Everest Group International As New Partner

Furniture World Magazine

As part of its expansion, Everest Group International LLC (EGI) is pleased to announce that longtime furniture and lumber industry expert Lee Houston is joining our existing Group of seven partners and twenty-seven associates as a new partner. EGI specializes in turnarounds-- including workout and bankruptcy, restructuring, M&A, raising capital, co-investing, and overseas business development. EGI has recently completed several projects in the furniture and home furnishings industry and is currently involved in a project to place product off-shore. "As the U.S. furniture industry continues to change, EGI believes a variety of expertise will be required to manage these changes," says Larry Hughes, CEO of EGI. "We are therefore quite excited that Lee Houston has joined our firm and we look forward to aggressively broadening our activities in the furniture industry." Lee Houston has a long and rich history in the furniture industry. In 1971, with a degree in Furniture Manufacturing and Management from North Carolina State University, Lee embarked on his prolific career in furniture manufacturing management. He first served as Plant Manager and Vice President of Vaughan Furniture Company, where he oversaw the construction of a new plant and expanded production from just wall units to full manufacture of bedroom furniture. Lee then joined Danecker Clock Company as Vice President of Production. The Company was in Chapter 11 and within 12 months, Lee assembled a team that brought Danecker out of bankruptcy, manufacturing completely new product at record capacity. Next, Lee moved to Gravely Furniture Company as Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing, during which time Gravely had two of the most profitable years in its 59-year history. Responsible for all production, personnel, lumber sourcing and purchasing, and customer service at Gravely, Lee developed a highly successful quality assurance program as well as expanded export sales. He also played a key role during the acquisition of Gravely by Pulaski Furniture Corporation and then led the merger team changes in personnel, product, and reorganization, during which time record sales and profits were achieved. After the successful Pulaski merger, Lee returned to North Carolina State University as a Furniture Extension Specialist, while simultaneously completing his Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina. In this role, he liased between the University and the entire furniture and lumber industries. Upon completion of his Master's degree, Lee joined Ladd Furniture in 1993, serving as Senior Vice President of Operations of the American Drew division and then President of Daystrom Furniture Company. During his tenure at Ladd, Lee ran profitable operations, turning around the American Drew division so that it realized its first profit in three years. He was then tapped by ChromCraft-Revington, Inc., to serve as Executive Vice President of their Cochrane Division. Cochrane was financially troubled and Lee was part of the team that put the management and plan into place which turned the company profitable, increasing sales by 25% and manufacturing output by 20%. In 1999, Lee formed his own consulting company, Dunn & Houston. He has since worked on a variety of consulting assignments in the furniture and lumber industry. Lee has also served on numerous Boards, both in industry and public service. He has published numerous articles on business and communication, which have appeared in diverse trade and business journals internationally. Lee is working with EGI from his office in Abingdon, Virginia, while consulting extensively internationally. During his career, Lee has consulted to and visited over fifty foreign furniture manufacturers in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and Russia, as well as numerous domestic and several overseas lumber companies.