Tony R. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tony R. Smith is president and chief executive officer of International Bedding. He became the CEO in July of 2007, replacing Leon Ellman who founded International Bedding 35 years ago. With more than 500 employees, International Bedding is a top 10 U.S. manufacturer of quality sleep systems with six wholly owned manufacturing facilities across the country.
Smith comes to IB with 27 years of substantial bedding and furniture experience, previously holding the executive position of chief operating officer for Sealy Canada and previously as regional vice president of Sealy's western division.
Smith began his venture into the mattress industry at 24 years of age where he was named the assistant buyer for Gimbals' department store and was later promoted to lead bedding buyer.
Since joining International Bedding, Smith's primary goals have been to strengthen and position the company for future growth, to improve best practices across all functional areas and to expand its product portfolio with innovative products and features that are relevant to the mattress industry.
Smith received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from West Virginia University.
Eric Johnson, Sr. Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing
Eric Johnson is the senior vice president of marketing and merchandising and has been with International Bedding since 1996. Johnson is responsible for all of International Bedding marketing and merchandising efforts which include maximizing sales through product design, raw material procurement, pricing analysis, and positioning and branding strategies.
Johnson is a veteran in the furniture and bedding industry beginning his career in 1982 when he entered the retail arena selling waterbeds, eventually rising to a regional management position. Johnson then spent some time at R.C. Willey Home Furnishings. By 1991 he was able to broaden his experience and industry expertise by working as an independent sales representative concentrating on the specialty mattress category. Johnson also has extensive experience in sales and sales management throughout the United States in his long tenure with International Bedding.
Daniel J. Hige, Sr. Vice President, Manufacturing
Daniel J. Hige joined International Bedding in March 2008 as senior vice president of manufacturing. Hige brings over 15 years of mattress industry experience and 25 years experience leading successful operations and finance teams. Dan previously served as the vice president of operations in the northern region for Sealy, Inc. where he successfully directed numerous domestic bedding facilities to significant annual improvements in safety, productivity, material yield, distribution and fixed cost management. Hige managed Sealy's largest regions for the past 10 years, servicing sales in excess of $700MM annually.
In his new role, Hige is responsible for managing all six of International Bedding's manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. as well as efforts to improve product design, quality, delivery, service, purchasing and FR compliance. Dan has a long history of working closely with mattress retailers to meet their needs in driving volume.
Hige is a Magna Cum Laude graduate at the State University of New York School of Business with a bachelor of science degree in accounting.
