Gary Fazio, former chief executive officer of Mattress firm, recently was inducted as the first member of the Houston-based company’ s Hall of Fame.
Gary Fazio, former Mattress Firm chief executive officer, became the first inductee of the Mattress Firm Hall of Fame in March.
The Houston-based retailer announced the induction during its BedTalks annual leadership conference in San Antonio.
Fazio was CEO from 2001 to 2010, retiring as CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding at the end of 2015. He spent 44 years in the bedding industry.
His accomplishments included “generating more than $800 million in sales, accelerating the company’s regional growth strategy and increasing relative market share in more than 44 markets,” according a news release.
In presenting the award, Steve Stagner, recently named Mattress Firm executive chairman, praised Fazio’s “ commitment, integrity and unwavering morals.”
“Gary is a legend in this industry,” Stagner added. “ He’s a true visionary whose accomplishments are unparalleled, and there is no one more deserving to be chosen as the first inductee into our Hall of Fame.”
During his acceptance, Fazio said, “My time at Mattress Firm was the most gratifying time of my career. The team had a great sense of ‘ positive discontent,’ which ultimately propelled the organization to become the largest specialty mattress retailer in the country. I was honored to play a role in not only building an incredible company, but working with some of the brightest leaders in the industry.”
At BedTalks, Mattress Firm also awarded a number of its suppliers—CorpU received the Best Strategic Partnership award, Corsicana Bedding earned the Service Excellence award, Progressive Leasing received the Best In-Store Service award, and Simmons was named Partner of the Year.
