HIGH POINT, N.C. - The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. will recognize five rising stars with the Paul Broyhill Future Leaders Award during a reception and dinner at the April High Point Market.
“These bright emerging leaders – who have already made so many contributions to their own companies – are likely to be the groundbreakers who take the home furnishings industry to the next amazing level,” says Karen McNeill, CEO and President of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors. “A core mission of the Hall of Fame is to celebrate extraordinary leadership across the industry, and that includes up-and-coming young leaders such as these who have set their sights high on excellence and achievement.”
Named after one of the industry’s leading families and a company that focused on executive training, the Paul Broyhill Future Leaders Award is given annually to five emerging leaders by his son, Hunt Broyhill. The award features a torch motif, symbolizing the passing of leadership to new generations. 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.
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 and will be hosted by International Market Centers and Liberty Furniture Industries Inc. Five inducted Hall of Fame members will attend the dinner and participate in a discussion guided by Steve Pond, founder of Furniture Today.
“By bringing together five inducted members of the Hall of Fame with our five future leaders, a rich exchange of ideas creates a meaningful blend of new perspectives balanced by the wisdom and experience that can inspire each of us along our own journeys,” McNeill says. “The evening also sets the stage for future interactions, which will benefit the industry for many years to come.”
In addition to the award, recipients will receive a framed Certificate of Achievement signed by Hunt Broyhill, Paul Broyhill’s son; the published “Oral History of Paul Hunt Broyhill”; and membership in the Leaders Circle of the Hall of Fame
This year’s Paul Broyhill Future Leaders are:
- Laura Forsythe, Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Ashley Outlet: The granddaughter of Ashley Furniture Inds. Chairman Ron Wanek, Laura Forsythe began her career with Ashley in 2007, working as an intern in finance, supply chain and quality. In 2011, she moved to China to help launch the first internationally owned Ashley HomeStore in Shanghai. Today, she is responsible for Ashley’s merchandising team, vendor management, interior design team and retail finance and pricing. Throughout her career at Ashley, Forsythe has demonstrated exceptional leadership. While Forsythe was Vice President of Retail Finance, she implemented standardized reporting across the enterprise entities while creating a stronger partnership between the business and finance departments. Forsythe also played an essential role in launching Ashley's live chat tool for online customers, digital customer service for social media channels and home delivery tracking for enterprise store deliveries.
- Anderson Gibbons, Chief Marketing Officer of STI/Revolution Fabrics: As Chief Marketing Officer of STI, Gibbons has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth by developing marketing strategies and launching new textile products that meet the needs of its customers. Since joining STI in 2018, Gibbons has focused on building stronger partnerships with STI’s domestic yarn vendors and retailers to ensure that STI’s products are affordable and reach a wider audience. A self-proclaimed fabric “nerd,” Gibbons grew up in the textile business and graduated from the Jake Jabs School of Business at Montana State. After school, Gibbons moved to Nicaragua where he worked at a leather/ fabric cut-and-sew facility. Gibbons also has worked in leather tanneries in Italy. One of Gibbons' key achievements has been his role in helping develop and launch the Revolution performance fabrics brand. He also helped build STI’s e-commerce business, which sells to over 26,000 designers and upholstery shops in the U.S. and Canada.
- Tiffany Hinkle, Director of General Accounting, Haverty Furniture Cos.: As Director of General Accounting for a $1 billion-plus publicly traded company, Hinkle’s responsibilities entail a wide variety of skills. Along with a comprehensive knowledge of accounting practices, Hinkle is proficient at everything from time management and software technology to leadership and communication. Her impact on the organization reaches far and wide. She enthusiastically collaborates with key leaders in the organization – from real estate and supply chain management to IT and merchandising – helping to ensure financial data is complete and accurate. At Havertys, she proactively developed a new process for submitting and reporting advertising expenses that resulted in improved efficiencies. Active in her community, Hinkle served as team leader for Havertys’ record-breaking 2022 United Way campaign. She also is a Hire Heroes USA supporter.
- Daniel Kirby, Director and General Manager of Value Customer Experience, La-Z-Boy Inc.: In his current role, Kirby is responsible for defining a new outlet shopping experience for La-Z-Boy customers. He leads a cross-functional effort that combines merchandising, finance, operations and more to create a completely new store and online brand presence. He is responsible for the store teams of this channel and has functional partners from other key areas. Kirby has been La-Z-Boy for 11 years, most recently serving as operations manager responsible for the retail division’s purchasing team, pricing and systems administrator. He also served as project manager for all corporate owned store openings, remodels, relocations and closings.While in this role, Kirby used his store experience to redefine how headquarters teams engage with store teams, and he crafted a communications protocol that keeps everyone at La-Z-Boy more engaged and has yielded better performance.
- Stuart Stump Mullens, Partner, Stump & Company: A former strategy consultant with McKinsey & Co., Stump brought a depth of corporate experience to Stump & Co., a mergers & acquisition advisory firm with over 50 years of experience in the global furnishings industry, which she joined in 2016. At Stump & Co., she is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm and serves as lead partner in all marketing, PR and IT activities. Her passion for strategic deal-making and ability to home in on synergies that unlock opportunities for buyers and sellers alike has made Mullens a changemaker in the industry. Her first deal, the sale of Brookline Furniture in High Point, was a big success, and she also has played a key role in other significant merger and acquisition transactions involving Hooker Furnishings, Bassett Furniture Inds., Fusion Furniture, Albany Inds. and Lexington Home Brands. She is a regular speaker at industry functions and moderator of the Stump Market Overview speeches and panel discussions held during many markets.
This press release was provided by American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.
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The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., is an industry-wide organization founded to preserve its history, to celebrate exceptional individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the U.S. home furnishings industry, to inspire the next generation of innovative leaders and to engage the community with the world of home furnishings. In 2019, the organization purchased a building at 311 S. Hamilton St. in High Point. Our new home will be a symbol of the Home Furnishings Capital of the World™ where the industry gathers, where we tell our story and learn from our past, and where we inspire future generations. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, funds support our history and leadership programming. The organization is based in High Point, North Carolina, at 311 S. Hamilton St., and can be reached at 336.882.5900. Watch for ongoing developments and details about the grand opening of a new permanent home at www.homefurnishingshalloffame.com in April 2023.
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