Melinda Whittington, La-Z-Boy ceo and president is to give the keynote speech at the next Women in Furniture Network event.
Whittington will make her presentation at the WIFN’s Bruch event at the Manchester Furniture Show on 11 July.
Before joining the upholstery manufacturer in 2021, Whittington was cfo at Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, a healthcare information technology solutions company and was previously senior vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer for Kraft Foods Group (now The Kraft Heinz Company).
From 1993 to 2014, she held various finance roles of increasing responsibilities at Procter and Gamble, including roles in global home products, North America home care, corporate accounting, and global business services.
Whittington serves on the boards of Best Buy; the American Home Furnishings Alliance; the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame; Business Leaders for Michigan, and the YMCA of Monroe, Michigan. She is a member of the Deans Advisory Council of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, her alma mater, where she graduated summa cum laude earning her a bachelor of science in business administration. She is also a certified public accountant.
‘I’m passionate about supporting the personal and professional development of women in the furniture industry and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to get to know the WIFN members in the UK. At La-Z-Boy Incorporated we have our own Women’s Employee Resource Group to support and represent the needs of women in the workplace and it will be interesting to learn more about synergies in other parts of the world,’ she says.
‘This will be our fifth event and a great opportunity for our network members to hear from talented leaders in the industry. Melinda’s journey I know will be a source of inspiration
for many,’ says Zoe Bonser, WIFN founder and Clarion retail portfolio director.
