Gardner White in Warren has announced the appointments of Debra Berman as the company’s first chief marketing officer and David Patterson as vice president of merchandising.
As chief marketing officer, Berman brings more than 30 years of experience in branding and marketing strategy, with a diverse background spanning consumer packaged goods, retail, and technology sectors.
She has held chief marketing officer roles at both Yahoo and JCPenney, where she led large-scale brand and marketing transformations. Earlier in her career, Berman drove account planning for Kraft Foods and held roles in advertising, brand strategy, and management consulting.
Over the course of her career, Berman has worked on brand strategy for more than 250 brands, developed tools that have reset brand and marketing effectiveness, and aligned brand messaging in complex, global organizations.
Berman holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
“Debra’s extensive expertise in brand and marketing strategy, creative vision and cross-industry experience make her a perfect fit to elevate our brand,” says Rachel Stewart, CEO of Gardner White. “We are excited about the dynamic impact that Debra brings to Gardner White, our team, and our customers as we continue to grow.”
Patterson has joined Gardner White as vice president of merchandising, where he will oversee the company’s merchandising strategy and product direction. As a fourth-generation furniture industry executive from Grand Rapids, he brings with him a strong track record of driving sales performance and operational excellence across the home furnishings industry.
Most recently, Patterson served as regional vice president of sales at Flexsteel Industries Inc., where he led a team of 15 sales representatives. Prior to that, he was regional sales manager at La-Z-Boy Inc., providing strategic business consulting to independent retailers across sales, merchandising, marketing, operations, and administration — leveraging system-wide best practices to deliver measurable results.
Patterson is a graduate of Grand Valley State University.
“David brings a deep understanding of the furniture industry, along with a strong track record of driving sales, building relationships and leading high-performing teams,” says Stewart. “His expertise and commitment to retail excellence make him a valuable addition to our leadership team.”
