WILLOWBROOK, Ill.-Comfort Solutions has appointed David Wachendorfer to vice president of business development for the Midwest region, and Thomas Sliwa to brand development manager.

Wachendorfer, who reports to company President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Roberts, is responsible for sales to new and existing retail accounts in that region. Before joining Comfort Solutions, he served as vice president of sales development and retail training at Tempur-Pedic.

LEXINGTON, Ky.-Matthew Clift, Tempur-Pedic’s executive vice president of global operations, has announced that he will retire from the specialty mattress manufacturer.

HIGH POINT, N.C.-Mark Hobson has been promoted to president of Colonial LLC, the mattress display and branding specialist.

The position is a new one for the company. Previously, Jim Keever Sr., Colonial’s chairman and CEO, had been handling the responsibilities of president. Keever remains in his post, and Hobson reports to him.

Hobson is now responsible for expanding and implementing Colonial’s sales, marketing, operations and business strategies. He leads all client functions as the company seeks to grow both domestically and internationally.

HOUSTON-Joseph Fortunato, chairman, president and CEO of General Nutrition Centers, has been elected to the Mattress Firm board of directors.

Fortunato joined GNC in 1990, and was appointed to his current posts with the company in 2005. Steve Stagner, Mattress Firm’s president and CEO, cited Fortunato’s “deep experience in the retail industry, particularly as it relates to building a strong national brand.”

Fortunato will also serve on the board’s audit committee.

WILLOWBROOK, Ill.-Comfort Solutions has promoted Owen Shoemaker to the newly created position of senior vice president of its international King Koil licensing business.

In his new role, Shoemaker is in charge of increasing King Koil’s presence and ensuring the brand’s marketing consistency throughout the world. He also retains his responsibilities in product innovation and marketing. He reports directly to Dave Roberts, Comfort Solutions’ president and CEO.

TRINITY, N.C.-Daniel Calderwood has joined Sealy as brand director of Stearns & Foster.

In his new role, Calderwood is responsible for managing the Stearns & Foster brand with a focus on continuing its growth. He reports to Jody Allen, chief marketing officer, and has succeeded Brent Pfister, who has become brand director for Sealy’s Posturepedic brand. Before taking his new post at Sealy, Calderwood was product manager of commercial fixtures and water conservation with Kohler.

WILLOWBROOK, Ill.-Comfort Solutions has upped three executives to newly created positions within the company.

Dan Thigpen Jr. and Glenn Kobylarczyk have each been named vice president of business development. Thigpen, previously director of sales technologies, oversees marketing and branding technologies and related technology applications. Kobylarczyk is in charge of sales, account development and services.

MEBANE, N.C.-Mattress manufacturer Kingsdown has promoted Frank Hood, senior vice president, chief information officer and president of its Sleep to Live Institute, to president of the company.

Hood has succeeded Bob Hellyer, who was named president last year and who left the company on Feb. 7. Hood joined Kingsdown in 2008, and along with his previous posts was involved in Kingsdown’s marketing efforts.

MEDIA, Pa.–FXI, formerly known as Foamex International, has named Diane Adams senior vice president and head of its newly created consumer products division.

Adams is in charge of the company’s efforts toward developing consumer products using the company’s polyurethane foam, health-care foam and specialty comfort innovations. She is also responsible for Anatomic Global, the mattress manufacturer acquired by FXI last year. She reports directly to John Cowles, president and CEO.

ATLANTA–Brad Hill and Scott Smalling have been appointed to new positions within Simmons’ specialty division.

Hill has been named senior vice president and general manager of specialty products North America, putting him in charge of the division. Smalling has become chief of specialty innovation, responsible for the development of new foam specialty products. Both executives report to Simmons’ CEO, Gary Fazio.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.-John Steele, a decade-long veteran of Jamison Bedding, has been promoted to the newly created position of director of sales.
 
In his new post, Steele, formerly sales manager, will concentrate on building and supporting current Jamison business, expanding into new markets and directing field sales operations in the southeast. He also will be responsible for implementing strategies that support the company’s newly established brand direction, “We Make Sleep Different.”  
 

YUBA CITY, Calif.–Walt Bader, president of Organic Mattresses Inc. (OMI), has been appointed to the California Department of Consumer Affairs Advisory Council.

MEDIA, Pa.–FXI, formerly known as Foamex, has appointed John Cowles as president and CEO, succeeding Jack Johnson, who is retiring.

In a company statement, Johnson cited Cowles’ supply-chain, innovation and general industry experience. Most recently, Cowles served as CEO of Touchstone Wireless. Prior to this, he was president of George Weston Bakeries, and served in executive positions with Kraft Foods and Campbell Soup Co.

Johnson will remain with the company as non-executive chairman. He served as president and CEO for six years and in two tours of duty.

FRIANT, Calif.-Karrie Knopf, market specialist for retailer Innovative Mattress Solutions, has been selected to the board of directors of the Specialty Sleep Association.

Knopf replaces Dale Read, former president of SSA and president and CEO of The Marketing Arm Group, who is retiring. Innovative Mattress Solutions was founded by Knopf’s mother, Kim. SSA, whose membership consists of more than 100 manufacturers and retailers in the specialty-mattress category, is spearheading its environmental and safety initiative for bedding products at retail.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–Rick Robinson, president of Spring Air International, has been elected to the board of directors of the Specialty Sleep Association.

MCLEAN, Va.–Doug Sullivan has been named executive director of the CertiPUR-US certification program for flexible polyurethane foam.

CertiPUR-US is a program of the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam, which tests foam for ozone depleters, formaldehyde, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, prohibited phthalates, lead, mercury and other materials that affect indoor air quality. Sullivan is a more than 30-year veteran of the polyurethane foam industry, having served in executive posts with Hickory Springs, Union Carbide and Dow Chemical Co.

HOUSTON–Mattress Firm has named Ken Murphy national vice president of sales, a new position for the company.

Murphy oversees the company’s sales team, which totals about 1,000 associates through its 500 stores. He reports to Steve Stagner, chief executive officer.

Prior to taking on his new role, Murphy served in several executive positions with Mattress Firm including vice president of field and talent organization performance, vice president of multichannel sales and regional sales vice president for the Gulf Coast.

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.–Sleep Innovations has added to its executive ranks in key sectors of its operations.

The basic-bedding manufacturer has named Mark Wooters executive vice president of sales, in charge of all of the company’s retail sales. In addition, Michael Loomis has joined the firm as vice president of business/product development, overseeing all product development activities. Sharon Miller has been appointed director of marketing communications, responsible for all of Sleep Innovations’ non-channel marketing communications.

ATLANTA–Simmons has put Gary Fazio, previously chairman of Mattress Firm, in charge as its chief executive officer.

Fazio officially begins his new post today. He is succeeding Steve Fendrich, president and chief operating officer, who is leaving Simmons. The hiring of Fazio is the first major move by Ares Capital Management and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which closed their acquisition of Simmons in January.

The two parent companies are also the owners of Serta.

MINNEAPOLIS-Jean-Michel Valette has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of Select Comfort.

Valette, who has been a member of Select Comfort’s board for more than 15 years, succeeds Ervin R. Shames, who will continue to serve as a member of the company’s board. Currently, Valette is also chairman of Peet’s Coffee and Tea and is a director on the board of The Boston Beer Co. Previously, he was non-executive chairman, president and managing director of Robert Mondavi Winery.

Valette also continues on the Select Comfort board’s audit committee.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.–Ryan Trainer has been named president of the International Sleep Products Association.

Trainer succeeds Dick Doyle, who resigned from the post last August. Trainer joined ISPA in 2002 and had served as executive vice president and general counsel. Before joining ISPA, Trainer had spent more than 20 years in private law practice and with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, serving as an advocate for business in public policy debates.

CORONA, Calif.--Patrick Johnson, former chief executive officer of medical device manufacturer Pro-Dex, has been appointed executive director of the WorldBed program of Anatomic Global.
In this newly created position, Johnson reports to David Farley, CEO of Anatomic Global. He will oversee fundraising efforts to enable the delivery of 200,000 emergency field beds to Haitians displaced by the Jan. 12 earthquake, and will also focus on strategic growth opportunities for the mattress manufacturer.

BOCA RATON, Fla.–Hollander Home Fashions has appointed Tim Landers as vice president and business manager for mattress pads and comforters.
Landers is responsible for the management of the company’s mattress-pad and comforter product lines, including developing and implementing merchandise strategies focused on creating new products. He reports to Beth Mack, chief merchandising officer, and succeeds Raoul Lopez, who has left the company.

LAS VEGAS–World Market Center Las Vegas has appointed trade-show industry veteran Phillip McKay to a new position created to oversee leasing in the gift, lighting, rugs and decorative accessories segments, said Robert Maricich, president and CEO, in a statement.
McKay, who joins World Market as its new senior vice president, will also be responsible for launching new product line categories, and the development of existing and future trade-show events at World Market Center. He will report to Maricich.