Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) has promoted Shelley Huff—previously COO of SSB and CEO of Tuft & Needle—to CEO, effective Dec. 1, 2021.
Huff succeeds David Swift, who will retire from his post after serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dawn Holdings, Inc., SSB’s parent company, since 2013 and as Chairman and CEO since 2019. Huff will also join the Board of Directors of Dawn Holdings, Inc. on Dec. 1.
“When I stepped into the CEO role two and a half years ago, I had a clear objective—to set the foundation for the company’s transformation from a heritage mattress business into a digital-first, consumer-centric sleep company,” says Swift. “One key focus was on ensuring we had the right people in place to drive the business forward and, from day one, Shelley has been a critical addition to the team. Her outstanding track record and deep expertise in omnichannel retail, as well as her consumer-centric and team-first approach, are unmatched. She is uniquely qualified to lead Serta Simmons Bedding into the future.”
Huff joined SSB in July 2020 as executive vice president of direct-to-consumer of SSB and CEO of Tuft & Needle, and was promoted to COO in April 2021. She came to SSB from Hayneedle.com, a Walmart-owned online home furnishings destination, where she served as President and CEO.
Prior to that, Huff held a variety of leadership roles within Walmart’s U.S. division and at Walmart eCommerce, including serving as the vice president of operations at Walmart e-commerce, general manager of Home and Apparel at Walmart.com and vice president of housewares at Walmart U.S.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the Serta Simmons Bedding team into the next phase of our company’s transformation,” says Huff. “Dave has put in place the critical building blocks to set the company up for growth. With this foundation, in addition to our unwavering commitment to quality craftsmanship and innovation, portfolio of power brands, top retail and supplier partners, and most importantly, incredible talent across the organization, we are well-positioned to become the trusted authority on sleep.”
The company has also appointed David Porter as non-executive Chairman of the Board. Porter is a retail executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience at companies including Walmart, DreamWorks Animation and Microsoft, where he currently serves as corporate vice president responsible for the company’s direct-to-consumer global retail business.
Since 2016 SSB has lost over a billion in annual sales, dropping from $3.144 billion in 2016 to $2.068 billion in 2021. That decline led to Serta losing its slot as the number one brand in the U.S., though it’s still in the top three.
