HIGH POINT — The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation will recognize five rising young stars with the Paul Broyhill Future Leaders Award during a reception and dinner at the April High Point Market.
This year’s Paul Broyhill Future Leaders are:
Andrew Bernard, senior director of supply chain and customer service at Glen Raven Materials Solutions Group, leads the customer service, corporate planning and customs compliance teams for the company’s North American and Asian businesses. Since joining Glen Raven in 2008, Bernard has progressed through nine roles of increasing responsibility in 15 years, including quality engineer, research and development engineer, manufacturing manager, plant manager, business development analyst and commercial operations director. After assuming his current supply chain role in 2023, he achieved record lead times for customers’ orders within the first six months.
Renae Brown, senior vice president, customer insights, Andmore, oversees the omnichannel wholesale market maker’s Buyer Services and Customer Relations teams. Working cross-departmentally with her teams, Brown has created a 360-degree view of the Andmore customer and is using data, including a new, more robust CRM system she implemented, to better manage customer feedback and to better understand marketing channel impact. Brown has worked with for more than 11 years, steadily expanding her role; she also directs the registration process for Andmore’s markets in Atlanta, High Point and Las Vegas.
Eric Nyman, vice president of sales-retail and design, Surya/Global Views, is responsible for managing the retail and design team, including the outside field team, national account team and inside team, to achieve sales targets. Over the past several years, he has led the company’s transition from independent sales representatives to a team of full-time employees, as well as building the national account team, capturing a larger market share at Top 100 retailers. Nyman also played a vital role in the acquisition of Global Views. Nyman joined Surya in 2008 and has held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility during that time.
Gerardo Ornelas, vice president and general manager of Joybird.com, since joining Joybird in 2018 has led the strategic integration of the hand-crafted case goods and upholstery producer into La-Z-Boy Inc. He started with Joybird as director of finance, and recently, his focus has been to improve customer reach and brand awareness through innovative marketing and technology applications. In addition, he is leading the expansion of this innovative, digitally oriented brand into brick-and-mortar stores in top markets across the U.S.
Shannon Williams, chief operating officer, Home Furnishings Assn., is taking on the role of CEO at the association on June 1 of this year. She oversees operations, performance and strategy for a network of more than 1,500 furniture retailers across North America. After joining HFA in 2018, Williams executed a five-year organizational restructure of five departments that resulted in a 25% increase in revenue, 30% decrease in expenses, 7% membership growth, 77% increase in net assets and 1,500% increase in member engagement.
The Paul Broyhill Future Leaders Award is given annually to five emerging leaders by his son, Hunt Broyhill. Named after one of the industry’s leading families and a company that long focused on executive training, the award features a torch motif, symbolizing the passing of leadership to new generations.
Each Future Leader is under 40 years of age and is selected for their leadership, personal growth, communications skills and commitment to the greater home furnishings industry. The reception and dinner honoring this year’s award winners will be held at the new Hall of Fame building at 311 S. Hamilton and hosted by Andmore.
Inducted Hall of Fame members Michael Amini, Irv Blumkin, Neil Goldberg and Kevin O’Connor will attend the dinner and participate in a discussion guided by Steve Pond, founder of Furniture Today.
In addition to the award, recipients will receive a framed Certificate of Achievement; the published “Oral History of Paul Hunt Broyhill”; and membership in the Leaders Circle of the Hall of Fame.
See also: Hall of Fame to honor 5 with 2023 Paul Broyhill Future Leaders Award