Dive Brief:
- Serta Simmons Bedding appointed Cesar Perez as its chief financial officer, effective Monday, according to a company press release. Perez replaces interim CFO Lisa Wyn, who has served in the role for the mattress company since October.
- Perez joins Serta Simmons Bedding with nearly two decades of experience from companies like Electrolux, where he served as CFO for North America, and GE Appliances, where he spent more than 10 years in financial management positions.
- Perez will report to CEO Jim Loree, who stepped into the chief executive role last week. Loree is the fourth person to have held Serta’s CEO position in less than year.
Dive Insight:
Perez’s appointment marks the second major executive change in a week for Serta Simmons Bedding’s C-suite.
Perez’s “success as an executive leader, coupled with his extensive operational and finance experience, will be critical in strengthening our organization, driving profitable growth and increasing free cash flow,” Loree said in a statement.
The appointment is also the latest in a series of executive leadership shakeups Serta Simmons Bedding has undertaken over the past year following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2023. The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 after butting heads with several of its lenders regarding repayment terms related to rescue financing it received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its Chapter 11 filing allowed Serta to reduce its funded debt to about $315 million from $1.9 billion, which also enabled it to cut its annual cash interest expense by more than $100 million. The reductions freed up more resources for the mattress manufacturer, which announced a turnaround plan focused on new products, sales growth, marketing and supply chain investments.
While Serta has taken several steps toward executing its turnaround plans — it announced two new mattress collections this May — it has also faced turmoil in its executive leadership team, naming four CEOs in a little less than a year.
Former CEO Shelley Huff left approximately a month after the restructuring, with company veteran Charlie Eitel appointed in Huff’s stead only to resign three months after he took the role. Serta Simmons Bedding appointed Mark Genender to serve as interim CEO until Loree was tapped for the seat two weeks ago.
Amid its restructuring, Serta has made numerous other changes to its top leadership team, including appointing new operations and marketing leaders.
Both Perez and newly-appointed CEO Loree will assume their respective roles at a time when Serta is not only looking to successfully manage its turnaround strategy, but is facing challenges in the broader mattress industry.
The global mattress market is expected to grow by $30.6 billion between 2024 and 2028 amid a surge in demand for high-quality products, research firm Technavio reported last month.
Regulators have been keeping an eye on competition in the growing space. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission voted to block a $4 billion merger between Serta competitor Tempur Sealy International and Mattress Firm, claiming such a deal would hamstring competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.
Serta declined to comment beyond the statements included in its Monday press release.
