BJI reorganizes contract division

Staff -- Casual Living, 11/1/2004

Brown Jordan International has reconfigured its contract hospitality and commercial sales divisions.

The company named Josh Goldman as vice president, eastern region sales; Eric Parsons as vice president, central region sales; and Kenny Henry as vice president, western region sales. Each will lead the sales efforts for multiple BJI brands, including Brown Jordan, Pompeii, Charter, Loewenstein and Woodsmiths.

"This is a tremendous and much needed change for our contract division in order to become a more unified, co-branded sales management team," said Bill Echols, BJI's president, specialty retail and contract markets. "BJI has a powerful selection of brands, and this reorganization allows us to leverage the many brands, product lines and categories we have to offer commercial and hospitality customers."

Benay Unger, BJI's former director of contract sales, has assumed the role of director of contract brand management. In this newly created position, Unger will be responsible for overseeing the brand managers and working with the various departments, including sales, operations and marketing, to ensure equal attention and support is given to each brand. She will also work to ensure that BJI's go-to-market message and strategy are consistent and influential.

Amy Forseth with Brown Jordan and Pompeii, Natasha Funk with Charter, and Kari Baker with Loewenstein have been named brand managers. Each will be charged with the responsibility of working directly with the plant managers and customer service representatives on order-related issues and processes and also will be the point person driving product and collateral development.

Ken Jones has maintained his role of vice president of hospitality, focusing on the industry's premier purchasing firms, chain accounts and top commercial designers around the country.