ATLANTA–Steve Fendrich, president and chief operating officer of Simmons, will oversee all aspects of the operations of the nation’s number-two mattress manufacturer, effective tomorrow.
Charlie Eitel, who had been chairman and chief executive officer of Simmons since January 2000, will become vice chairman of the board of directors and retain an active role in Simmons’ management, in terms of maintaining Simmons’ relationships with its retailers and suppliers. Fendrich will report to a newly formed executive committee of the board of directors, which consists of David Jones, Joseph Messner and Scott Schoen, all members of the board of directors.
At this time, Fendrich will remain president and chief operating officer, and will not assume the chairman and CEO titles. In an interview this afternoon with HFN, Eitel said the two positions will remain vacant for the time being. “It’s my wish and Steve’s wish that he gets the titles eventually,” he said. “But ultimately it will be the board’s decision as to when that happens.”
Fendrich said one of the issues behind this move was the weak state of the mattress industry in particular and the economy in general. “Simmons needs to adapt to this macroenvironment,” he said. Also, given that he and Eitel had been sharing many of the same duties, “the board felt it was better to have clarity as to who is in charge,” Fendrich said. He added that there are no further management changes in the works at this time.
Fendrich joined Simmons in February 2003 as president of Sleep Country USA, which Simmons acquired that year. He became executive vice president of sales in August 2005, where he served until his appointment as president and chief operating officer.