LacquerCraft – Universal and Legacy Classic Furniture Announce Management Changes

Furniture World Magazine

Kevin O’Connor, President and CEO of Samson Marketing (Holding Company of LacquerCraft Marketing Companies – Universal and Legacy Classic Furniture) announced the following reorganizational changes effective immediately: Richard Mihalik, V.P. of Operations at Legacy Classic, will become V.P. of Operations for Samson Marketing. In his new role, Richard will strategically oversee the Warehousing and Quality Control administration areas of both Legacy Classic and Universal. He will report to Kevin O’Connor. Loren Morse, currently Manager of Supply Chain at Legacy Classic, will become Director of Quality Control for both Universal and Legacy Classic. Loren will oversee both companies’ quality functions in the U.S. and in China and will coordinate packaging and engineering standards. He will report to Richard Mihalik. Jerry Word, currently V.P. of Information Technology (IT) for Universal, will now become V.P. of IT for Samson Marketing reporting to Victor Hsu, CFO of Samson Marketing. The entire IT staff will be consolidated in one location at the new Samson Marketing offices in High Point. Kevin O’Connor explained the changes in this manner. “As a corporation we remain totally dedicated to a lean operational structure and maintaining the independence and autonomy of each marketing company which address distinctly different niches in the market. Each company has its unique “personality” and culture and we believe that is critical to their future success.” “However, there are certain functions such as warehousing administration, quality control and information technology, which make sense to standardize for operational efficiency. Furthermore, it shows our commitment to our current management team by cross training and promoting from within.” O’Connor said, “Richard Mihalik, one of the original founding members of Legacy Classic, has an excellent background of manufacturing, warehousing, quality control and operations administration, which uniquely positions him to help both Marketing Companies.” “Loren Morse has proven to be an excellent manager in Supply Chain for 3 plus years at Legacy Classic. He has earned the opportunity to grow and assume new and broader responsibilities with both companies.” “Finally, consolidating the I.T. Management and Staff personnel under Jerry Words leadership in one location will eliminate redundancy and provide clarity of direction. Jerry and the IT teams from both Legacy Classic and Universal have been working on many collaborative projects over the past few years. They have shown their well rounded dedication and professional experience to our management teams and also the quality of our systems to our customers.”