by Industry veteran will work with owner and CEO Nathan Cressman on sales and operational strategies that support the company’s continued growth
HIGH POINT – Industry veteran Doug Townsend has been named president of full-line furniture resource Magnussen Home Furnishings, filling an executive role that in the past was occupied by company owner and CEO Nathan Cressman.
Townsend brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the role. He was most recently chief operating officer of Parker House Furniture for the past three and a half years and before that worked with Home Meridian International for 18 years, including two years as president.
Before serving as president, he was chief financial officer and chief executive officer of the company’s Samuel Lawrence Hospitality division and also served as chief operating officer of the Clubs and E-Commerce channel as well as senior vice president, U.S. operations.
He also lived in Vietnam for a few years while serving as executive vice president, HMI Asia.
Before joining Home Meridian International and its predecessor Samuel Lawrence Furniture as CFO and SVP of operations, he was senior vice president, manufacturing operations of Bayla Home Furnishings, and before that was chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Mexico-based Canyon Furniture.
Earlier in his industry career, he also was chief financial officer and vice president of purchasing at Catalina Furniture.
In his new position, which has not been filled in recent years, he reports to Nathan Cressman, who said, “Doug has been a successful leader in our industry for many years and we are really excited to have him on board. He has many years of experience in the U.S. and in Asia in growing furniture companies and leading them through change. Doug is the perfect person to partner with during these current challenging times and will be a great fit on our executive team.”
Townsend, who began the position just around premarket in late March, said he is pleased to take on this new opportunity in the industry. In the position, he will use his extensive industry experience to work with Cressman on growth strategies, sales strategies and operational strategies that all support the company’s continued momentum.
“Magnussen is a great company with an almost 100-year history of success,” Townsend said. “It’s well known for its exceptional designs and values in case goods. My focus will be to lead the organization towards growth opportunities and operating efficiencies, while creating a culture of adaptability and continuous improvement. Ultimately, to win the game, we want to focus the organization 100% on serving the needs of our customers, whether they buy great value products via direct containers, or mixed containers out of Magnussen’s Vietnam warehouse, or domestically from the Southern California warehouse.”
