MILAN — In its pursuit to gain market share, Haworth Lifestyle — home to historic luxury Italian design brands like Poltrona Frau, Ceccotti, Cassina, Zanotta and Cappellini — has recruited one of American furniture and design’s top executives.

The company said John Edelman has joined its team in the new role of president, North and South America. Edelman will oversee operations of Cappellini, Cassina, Ceccotti, Poltrona Frau and Zanotta. He will report directly to Haworth Lifestyle’s chief executive officer Dario Rinero, who is based in Milan. Edelman is known for his 30-plus years in the industry, culminating in his revival of the ailing home interiors platform Design Within Reach, which he bought in 2010.

Edelman’s Vision

In an interview with WWD, Edelman said his main objective at Haworth Lifestyle is to create a singular, unified strategy to better resonate with the American market, where there is still room to grow, in design capitals like New York City and Miami, as well as second-tier cities like Nashville and Houston.

“My job is to develop a new strategy for the American markets encompassing all the brands with one overall strategy, versus having separate for each. That’s the exciting part of what I am going do,” he said, adding that the focus will be on improving engagement with architects, interior designers, the trade community and consumers, in a more compelling way.

How Heller Democratized Contemporary Design

In 2022, Edelman purchased and became CEO and president of Heller, which also became part of Haworth’s orbit of brands, the firm said Monday. Edelman will stay on at Heller as creative director, while Heller’s current chief operating officer, Andrew McPhee, will assume the role of general manager.

Heller has a unique history interwoven with European contemporary design. In 1971, Alan Heller discovered a set of stackable dinnerware designed by Massimo and Lella Vignelli and decided to bring those designs to America, launching Heller with Hellerware in 1971. In 1998, the firm expanded into furniture with Mario Bellini’s revolutionary Bellini chair, which was awarded the prestigious Compasso d’Oro design award in 2001. Since then Heller has partnered with design luminaries including Frank Gehry and Philippe Starck.

After Edelman took over Heller, he pioneered sustainable innovations like Worry Free Plastics technology, which allowed Heller’s furniture to transform into nutrient-rich soil at end-of-life. In 2014, Herman Miller Inc. purchased DWR and Edelman stayed on as CEO of both DWR and Herman Miller Consumer Group before departing in 2019.

Edelman’s long history in the interiors sector goes back to his first job sorting hides at his family’s company Edelman Leather, which his parents bought in 1981 and which eventually became a leading provider of premium leather furniture design. “I learned about the private airplane market. I learned about the high-end interiors of hotels and restaurants. I learned about all the great design firms.…I have a very rare knowledge of our industry,” he reminisced. Edelman also worked for Sam & Libby shoes, which was founded by his brother Sam Edelman and the latter’s wife Libby.

“I decided I didn’t love shoes. I just never fell in love with a business that changes every season. And I knew my parents had this company that was selling something that had a reputation for being the best in the world,” he said, underscoring his fascination for the attention to detail that goes into making luxury furniture.

An avid collector of design, Edelman said he has long been a fan of Haworth Lifestyle’s brands, which are steeped in storytelling. He lauded iconic pieces like the Zanotta Sacco bean bag and Poltrona Frau’s Vanity Fair chair.

At the moment, “you have a bunch of small voices versus one very large one,” he explained, adding that in comparison to luxury fashion, for example, luxury furniture isn’t privy to as broad of a broad audience.

Haworth Lifestyle is part of Holland, Mich.-based Haworth Group. The Haworth Group also owns JANUS et Cie, Luminaire, LuxuryLivingGroup and Tuohy. Based in Holland, Mich., the company has sales of $2.57 billion a year.

Last year Haworth Lifestyle revealed reorganization plans, grouping companies under its umbrella into divisions. Poltrona Frau and Ceccotti CEO Nicola Coropulis was tapped to lead the Luxury Division; Luca Fuso, CEO of Cassina, Zanotta and Cappellini, was named to lead the Design Division; while the Industrial Division is now spearheaded by Ervino Riccobon. That includes bespoke auto firms Poltrona Frau Interiors in Motion and the U.K.’s KJ Ryan Ltd., which is part of Poltrona Frau Interiors in Motion. At the time, the firm also said that it was eyeing further acquisitions and was interested in expanding its market share.

Rinero expressed confidence in Edelman’s capacity to translate Haworth Lifestyle’s ethos in the U.S. “I have personally known John for many years, and in that time, I’ve learned he is one of the most knowledgeable leaders in our sector in the USA.”